NICE, France — They all know him at the snack bar on the outskirts of Nice that Omar Diaby established between prison stints and before he left here for Syria in 2013 to become France’s number one recruiter of jihadists.

Word got out last August that Diaby, the so-called superjihadiste also known as Omar Omsen, the prescient PR mastermind who began disseminating pro-jihad and anti-Western-imperialism videos in 2012, well before the rise of the so-called Islamic State widely known as ISIS, had been killed. But last week it turned out that Diaby faked his own death—and took to French television to discuss it.

When The Daily Beast reached him by Skype on Saturday, Diaby told us he lied about being dead so he could go to Turkey on the down-lowonce-famed jihadist, known for fronting Michael-Bay-style recruitment videos, has lost a little heat and needed to jack up his global profile with a faux death and a sexy resurrection?

Opinions were flying thick and fast Saturday at the snack bar where most of the customers knew Diaby back in the day and many had been pressured to join him after he left for Syria.

Among the clientele were Salafists (hard-line Muslims who follow fundamental precepts but who denounce the violence of ISIS and al Qaeda), everyday Muslims, and teenage friends of youngsters who Diaby recruited. While downing hamburgers and french fries, they argued over Diaby’s current status in Syria.

Some wondered if Diaby is cooperating with French authorities in order to cut a deal to return to Nice, where his lively