In reply to cragtaff:
> He was brought up in a devout muslim family where his father was a leading light in the local mosque, so presumably the principles of islam have been shoved down his throat all of his childhood, probably reinforced by attendance at a madrassa after mainstream school finished.
From the BBC website:
"Salman Abedi is understood to be a 22-year-old born in Manchester to parents of Libyan descent, and a former University of Salford student.
He attended Burnage Academy for Boys in Manchester between 2009-11.
Hamid El-Said, who worked for the UN on tackling radicalisation and now works at Manchester Metropolitan University, said Abedi had a "really bad relationship" with his family and his parents had tried but failed to keep him on the "right path".
"Eventually he was doing very bad at his university, at his education, and he didn't complete, and they tried to take him back to Libya several times. He had difficulties adjusting to European lifestyle," he added.
A former classmate of Abedi's told the BBC that he was a "very jokey lad" but also "very short tempered" and would get angry at "the littlest thing".
The man, who did not want to be identified, said Abedi was "away at random times throughout the year" but he did not know if he was abroad or playing truant because he hung around "the wrong crowd and was very, very gullible".
"You could tell him anything and he would pretty much fall for it."
He said that, before leaving the school in 2011, Abedi became "more and more religious" and that this might explain why he cut ties with former classmates.
A Muslim community worker, who did not want to be identified, has told the BBC that two people who knew Abedi at college had made separate calls to a hotline to warn the police about his extremist views.
He said they had been worried that Abedi was "supporting terrorism" and had expressed the view that "being a suicide bomber was ok".
The friends had argued with him, telling him he was wrong but had become so concerned they contacted the police, the community worker said.
The calls are thought to have been made five years ago, he added."
Post edited at 18:07