Podcast
The Jordan Harbinger Show
Matt Schreier detailed his experience as an Al-Qaeda captive in Syria, highlighting his efforts to survive and escape. The book includes stories of his captors, his cellmate, and the harrowing details of the prison environment.
It's the type of story whenever I do is speak in engagement and people ask how he was taken they all say the same thing after I finished they go you can't make that shit up.
— Episode: 217: Matthew Schrier | How to Survive in...
Episode: 217: Matthew Schrier | How to Survive in a Secret...
Matt Schreier detailed his experience as an Al-Qaeda captive in Syria, highlighting his efforts to survive and escape. The book includes stories of his captors, his cellmate, and the harrowing details of the prison environment.
It's the type of story whenever I do is speak in engagement and people ask how he was taken they all say the same thing after I finished they go you can't make that shit up.
Yeah, it's the equivalent to journalists of what Gomer Pyle was to Marines in full metal jacket.
He was like this little nerdy guy and he's just like standing there struggling around wearing it and that was the first time I ever saw one and I was like I never seen one of those before, you know, pinstripes huh.
You know, it's a testament to the fact that they were once alive and anyone who reads the book it doesn't matter if you're in the US military because I a lot of soldiers read my book you will love these guys they're just the best.
And he's like, I love that movie. I'm like, Oh my god. Like, yeah, like he literally was doing what that guy did.
Episode: 217: Matthew Schrier | How to Survive in a Secret...
The Dawn Prayer is a memoir written by Matt Schreier, an American photographer who was captured by Al-Qaeda in Syria in 2012, describing his seven months as a captive and his eventual escape.
He tells me his name and then he's got two names like straight off the bat, he doesn't really know which name to use and he's like all right, I told him this is my name, just use that name because the other one I wrote a book with it and it's linked to Islamic extremism and I don't want them to know.
He tells people that it was Al-Qaeda, but but there's just really a bunch of bunch of punks.
He's like, you know, he was always like, you should convert, you guys should convert and I was just like no, no, no, you know, because you don't want to do it, you don't want to jump in because you don't want him to know your you're faking it, so like two weeks in, he brought it up and I was like all right, you know, I was like, you know what, feeling I'm like, it feels like God is in the room whenever you are praying. I was like, I'm down man, let's do it.
He's like, yeah, so he tells me what to say. I say it and he's like, all right, welcome to the club, and I'm like that's it? And he's like, yep, you're a Muslim, pick your name and I'm like, I get to pick my name? And he's like yeah, he's like this is a very important part of the process, what is your name gonna be? So I was like, I was like, No Sir, and he's like why? I was like, after a great man I met in the left post shake obu no sir, but that was just bullshit, the truth is I'm a Nozzan, then I just thought I'd name myself after somebody would sit that sins with every syllable that comes out of his mouth.
He's like, I'm not doing it, it's the principal of it, and I'm like, you know, who cares, like, none of this is real, like, what are you talking about? Like, like this is fantasy land, like, you know, this is no thing. The old saying, you're a Muslim in this environment, is no different than telling your kid that there's a Santa. I mean, who gives a damn?
Episode: 217: Matthew Schrier | How to Survive in a Secret...
The Dawn Prayer is a memoir by Matthew Shryer, an American photographer, who was kidnapped by Al-Qaeda in Syria in 2012. The book details Shryer's experience in captivity, including the interrogation process, the harsh conditions of the prison, and the different groups he was held with, including Syrian soldiers fighting for Assad. Shryer's book also details his escape from captivity and the challenges he faced upon returning home.
And then he told me how he got captured, and that was just like, 'Oh, my god.' Like, it's the type of story whenever I do speak in engagements and people ask how he was taken, they all say the same thing. After I finished, they go, 'You can't make that shit up.'
Yeah, well, how did he get captured?
He tells people that it was Al Qaeda, but but there's just really a bunch of bunch of punks, yeah. They wanted like, they wanted beer money or whatever, basically. Yeah, they want them money for hashish, so he's they're like, 'All right, what are we doing with him now? We want $400,000, but they don't know how to collect it, so basically they just like give him away and he just ends up getting passed around from from group to group like a puppy nobody wants and eventually he ends up with these guys, you know.
It was a good culmination to the story and, you know, Theo, if people are like, 'Wow, you're really callous, Theo, you know,' he, like you said, he doesn't make it out, but he doesn't die there. He ends up getting let out later.
It's a great story. The book was really interesting as well, and there's a lot of little details in there. Of course we didn't get to nearly everything today, even though we went really long on the show here, because there's just so many details with like, the personalities of the people and the cells and the different transfers and the escape, the final escape attempts, and everything. It's just such a crazy mess over there.