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Monday 9 July 2012

Taliban shoot 22 Yrs. Old Woman 9 times in public execution

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Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A shot rings out, but the burqa-clad woman sitting on the rocky ground does not respond.
The man pointing a rifle at her from a few feet away lets loose another round, but still there is no reaction.
He fires a third shot, and finally the woman slumps backwards.
But the man fires another shot.
And another. And another.
  Nine shots in all.
Around him, dozens of men on a hillside cheer: "God is great!"

Officials in Afghanistan, where the amateur video was filmed, believe the woman was executed because two Taliban commanders had a dispute over her, according to the governor of the province where the killing took place.

Both apparently had some kind of relationship with the woman, said Parwan province governor Abdul Basir Salangi.
"In order to save face," they accused her of adultery, Salangi said.
Then they "faked a court to decide about the fate of this woman and in one hour, they executed the woman," he added.
Both Taliban commanders were subsequently killed by a third Taliban commander, Salangi said.
"We went there to investigate and we are still looking for people who were involved in this brutal act," he said.
It is not clear from the video when it was filmed.
The killing took place in the village of Qimchok, not far north of the capital Kabul.
Lawmaker Fawzia Koofi called it a huge backward step for women's issues in Afghanistan.
"I think we will have to do something serious about this, we will have to do something as women, but also as human beings," she said. "She didn't even say one word to defend herself."
Koofi wept on Saturday as she watched the video of the execution.
The United States condemned the killing "in the strongest possible terms," calling it a "cold-blooded murder."
"The protection of women's rights is critical around the world, but especially in Afghanistan, where such rights were ignored, attacked and eroded under Taliban rule," the American embassy said in a statement on Sunday.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan also condemned the execution.
"Let's be clear, this wasn't justice, this was murder, and an atrocity of unspeakable cruelty," ISAF commander Gen. John Allen said in a statement Sunday. "The Taliban's continued brutality toward innocent civilians, particularly women, must be condemned in the strongest terms. There has been too much progress made by too many brave Afghans, especially on the part of women, for this kind of criminal behavior to be tolerated."
The public execution is the latest and among the most shocking examples of violence against women in Afghanistan, but it is far from an isolated case.
The Taliban also does not have a monopoly on the violence, cautioned Christine Fair, with the Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University.
"It's really important to not see this exclusively in terms of the Taliban, but this is a set of practices that actually have existed and continue to exist throughout Afghanistan," she said.
Nearly nine out of 10 women suffer physical, sexual, or psychological violence or forced marriage at least once in their lifetimes, Human Rights Watch said in its 2012 annual report.
The country has 14 shelters for abused women, a number which the campaign group says "does not meet even a small fraction of the need."
Hundreds of students and teachers at girls' schools in the country have been hospitalized with suspected poisoning this year alone. Girls were forbidden to go to school when the Taliban ruled the country from 1996 to 2001.
Salangi, the provincial governor, spoke to CNN about the killing on Sunday, the same day that representatives of more than 80 nations and organizations met to consider pouring billions more aid dollars into the country.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged delegates including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton not to demand complex reforms in exchange for the money.
"Afghan institutions are still in their nascent stages," he said. "The very programs which offer the best hope of sustainability of Afghan institutions should not be held hostage to complex preconditions."
Clinton said donors at the conference pledged about $16 billion for Afghanistan over four years. That amount did not include money from the United States because any foreign aid must be approved by Congress.
Under a security pact with Afghanistan, nearly all U.S.-led NATO troops will withdraw from the country by the end of 2014.
"We can ask the question what will happen when we leave, but let's remember that this is actually happening while we're still there," said Fair, with Georgetown. (CNN)

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Wednesday 20 April 2011

Indonesian Jihadism: Small Groups, Big Plans

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Violent extremism in Indonesia increasingly is taking the form of small groups acting independently of large jihadi organisations. This is in part a response to effective law enforcement that has resulted in widespread arrests and structural weakening of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), Jama’ah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT) and other organisations accused of links to terrorism. But it is also the result of ideological shifts that favour “individual” over “organisational” jihad and low-cost, small-scale targeted killings over mass casualty attacks that inadvertently kill Muslims. The suicide bombing inside a police station mosque on 15 April 2011 and a spate of letter bombs delivered in Jakarta in mid-March are emblematic of the shift. The government needs urgently to develop prevention strategies to reduce the likelihood that more such groups will emerge.

Unlike the small group proponents, advocates of “organisational” jihad believe that nothing can be accomplished without a large organisation and a strong leader, but if the ultimate goal is an Islamic state, then it is imperative to build public support. Rather than engage in violence, groups like JI and JAT are focused for the moment on building up a mass base, by finding issues that resonate with their target audience. Increasingly this means a greater focus on local rather than foreign “enemies”, with officials who are seen as oppressors, particularly the police; Christians; and members of the Ahmadiyah sect topping the list. It also means a greater willingness than in the past to join coalitions with non-jihadi groups.

In some ways, the two strands of jihadism are complementary. The larger organisations can fund the religious outreach that attracts potential recruits for the small groups. They can also provide the translators and distributors for material downloaded from extremist websites in Arabic or English that buttress the small group approach. They can maintain plausible deniability for acts of violence while trying to rebuild their ranks, while at the same time providing the cover under which small groups emerge. The larger organisations have not abandoned jihad, only deferred it.

The report looks at detailed case studies of small violent groups that have emerged in Indonesia in 2009 and 2010 in Medan and Lampung, on Sumatra, and in Bandung and Klaten, on Java. All involved at least one former prisoner; three of the four had links to JAT but operated independently of JAT control. Three of the four also involved mosque-based study groups that evolved into hit squads, and all were committed to the idea of ightiyalat, secret assassinations. In none of them was poverty a significant driver of radicalisation.

Information about these groups is only available because their members were caught. This raises the question of how many similar small groups operating under police radar exist across Indonesia that will only come to light when one of their murderous attempts succeeds.

Prevention strategies that go beyond law enforcement are critical, and the new National Anti-Terrorism Agency (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Terorisme, BNPT) has an important role to play in designing and testing them. All such strategies, however, must be based on well-grounded research and informed by serious study of what has and has not worked elsewhere.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To the National Anti-Terrorism Agency:

01. Start work immediately on designing prevention programs:
a) Hire a small research team to comb through the trial dossiers of all extremists arrested to date, making a database of mosques, schools and other institutions that have repeatedly hosted lectures, meetings and study groups involving individuals subsequently arrested for terrorism. From these, identify five or six communities for pilot prevention projects.

b) Hold a series of small brainstorming sessions, not with prominent religious leaders or politicians, but with Indonesian scholars working on radical movements and others who can generate ideas about possible programs. A series of focus group discussions in the target areas to assess awareness of the problem and how to address it would also be useful, as would talking to commercial marketing experts who have done market research in these communities to know what kinds of appeals work best.

c) Compile a summary of prevention programs that have been tried in other countries; those involved in the brainstorming sessions should read it and discuss what might be adapted to an Indonesian setting and how.

d) Compile examples of Indonesian communities that have rejected extremist preaching to understand how the protests developed and how decisions were made with a view toward encouraging similar stands in other areas.

02. Make videos of repentant teenagers (with identities disguised) who have been arrested for terrorism and who can talk on camera about the shame they have caused their families and where they went wrong. Interviews with family members, also with disguised identities, about problems caused by their children’s arrest would also be useful. These videos should be tested on teenage audiences before being screened more widely in the target areas.

03. Hold small, closed sessions with principals of state junior high and high schools in target areas to:
a) understand what guidance is given to teachers who supervise religious extracurricular programs and how that guidance might be improved to ensure these programs do not encourage extremism or advocate violence;

b) understand how these supervisors are chosen and how safeguards against extremism might be built into the selection process;

c) ensure that principals who are concerned that some of these programs do encourage support for violent extremism have a range of options available, including changing the supervisor or shutting down the activity; and

d) ensure that there are detailed records of any outside donors for extracurricular activities using school facilities.

04. Find ways to audit the funds collected by jihadi organisations for a variety of causes – disaster relief, alms for the poor, assistance to families of imprisoned mujahidin – and expose any irregularities or suspected abuse.

05. Ensure greater awareness of trends in jihadism and resulting changes in tactics and targets by:
a) hiring an Arabic linguist with an interest in ideological developments;

b) developing contacts with counterparts in the Middle East to understand new trends in jihadism that will likely find their way to Indonesia through translations; and

c) identifying jihadi revisionist tracts that might be useful to disseminate in the Indonesian jihadi community.

06. Share the results of the research in Recommendation 1, above, with the large social organisations like Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama and provide funding for well-designed proposals that their respective youth and student groups could undertake with their members, aimed at preventing advocacy of violence in areas that have a history of extremist activity.

To the Ministry of Law and Human Rights:

07. Consider drafting a new regulation on conditional release that would ban anyone convicted of terrorism from speaking, hosting or being a resource person for religious study sessions (pengajian or taklim) at least for the duration of his or her probation.

08. Strengthen programs currently underway to improve training of prison personnel; monitoring and supervision of high-risk detainees; and post-release programs.

09. Give high priority to programs to reduce the unacceptable level of prison corruption, including through better inspections, better training, better auditing and merit-based rather than money-based appointments to internal prison positions.

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Thursday 2 December 2010

Pakistani Diplomats Hurt Image of Islam in Sri Lanka

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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Pakistani Diplomats Hurt Image of Islam in Sri Lanka

Assalamu Alaikum,

Dear Brothers And Sisters in Islam,

Today morning (02-11-10) I’m going to draw your attention to a very sad situation. Today morning when I saw the paper headlines being read on the TV, the presenter showed a photograph. He said it was the picture of Pakistan Foreign Minister tying a chanted Pirith thread on the hand of the High Commissioner of Pakistan here in Sri Lanka, Miss Seema Illahi Baloch.
This TV presenter went on saying this is an example for Sri Lanka Muslims! Pakistan being the second largest Muslim country in the world but look how moderate their Lady High Commissioner is. He further said this is a very good example for extremist Muslims in Sri Lanka!

The TV presenter went on saying to look at the dress of the high commissioner. This should be an example to follow for those [Muslim women] in Sri Lanka covering their faces!

What Is Pirith Thread?

Buddhist believe the Pirith is the Sutra chanted by the Buddha from his own mouth. Buddhist Monks recite the Pirith Sutra while holding the thread and afterwards tie them on the hands of the Pirith attendees. Buddhist believe by tying these recited/chanted Pirith Threads on the hands you get blessings and protection.

Finally as da’ees we are trying to uplift the image of Islam in Sri Lanka. So far a single Muslim country or Government has helped us in this monumental task. But now we see whatever image we are trying to build with great difficulty, some foreign diplomats break and shatter in a one moment.

Here is a link to Daily Mirror newspaper with photos of this act.

May Allah bless you.

Ahmed Anver Manatunga (Servant of Allah).


Ahmed Anver Manatunga's Speech;


Tuesday 28 September 2010

Threat of Islamic extremists propagating fundamentalism in Sri Lanka: No cause for alarm, assures leaders

Following disturbing reports that an extremist Islamic sect propagating fundamental ideologies was unfolding its wings and infiltrating the moderate Muslim community in Sri Lanka, the Sunday Observer contacted a number of Muslim community and religious leaders in a bid to extract fact from fiction.

The news gained momentum after Indian media reported that a Lashkar e taiba terrorist, the mastermind behind the blast at the German Bakery in Pune, confessed to Indian investigators that he underwent bomb making training in Colombo, a claim vehemently denied by the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Later the Indian reports said the terror suspect Mirza Himayat Baig did not in fact undergo training in Sri Lanka but instead had come to Colombo to meet two 'elites' (leaders).
 
The news reports indicated that mosques propagating the preachings of an extremist Wahabist Islamic sect were mushrooming in the country and these institutions are funded by certain Islamic countries.
 
The following question was posed to those interviewed: "What can you say about the reports that there is a fundamentalist Islamic sect propagating their extremist ideologies here, creating divisions and rivalries among the moderate Muslims in Sri Lanka?"
Western Province Governor Alavi Mowlana

I think somebody is trying to gain cheap publicity at the expense of our religion. There are various sects among the Sri Lankan Muslim community but there are no schools preaching terrorism.

I met theologists of all sects, even Tawhid Jamaat this morning (Thursday), and some of the religious leaders and Muslim journalists again at 4.00 p.m. This news has created quite an uproar among the community and we are highly disturbed.

There may be differences of opinion. But there is no such issue that extremism or fundamentalism is seeping into the country. Any foreign link or funding is connected to development and every cent is being sent to the mosques. This is not being used to develop forces bearing weapons against the country. We have been preached to love our country from birth.
SLMC Leader and MP Rauff Hakeem


Every community has intra communal issues and occasional reports of violence. That there is Wahabism infiltrating the country, is an unwarranted speculation.
 
Allegations that there are violent movements and Jihadist groups, those are all speculation. In any community there are tensions.
 
The Beruwala mosque attack (two Wahabi followers were killed in an attack by a group of Sufis at the Masjidul Rahuman Mosque in Beruwala in July 2009) was one such incident. The attack was due to differences in religious opinions. People realize that a few individuals flare up these things.
 
The Society of theologians are a powerful community. There is also no foreign interference and funding. Someone is trying to create a mountain out of a mole hill.
 
If US had knowledge of such a thing, they should have communicated it to the proper authorities, not to the media and cause panic. It is unbecoming of them. There is no such thing as a Jihadi problem in Sri Lanka.
 
The country has a well honed intelligence network. In my opinion this whole issue ridicules our own intelligence network.
 
Sri Lankan Muslims are a peace loving community. We pride ourselves on that. We don't allow any foreign force to disrupt this set up.
 
During the LTTE war, groups of Eastern Muslim youth were given arms training (similar to that of civil defence force). That was exclusively to protect their villages from LTTE attacks. Whoever who retained arms in the Muslim community did that with the knowledge of the intelligence community. But the war is over now and things have all been settled.

All Ceylon Musim Cleric's Association(ACMC), President Cleric M.I.M. Rizwe


Wahabism does not preach terrorism. It is not like the LTTE. They have a different approach on Islamic teachings that may sometimes hurt feelings of other Islamic sects. Those are religious differences and have nothing to do with terrorism.
 
I can, with authority, say that there is no such issue in our country. The Defence Secretary was very correct when he said that there was no room for terrorists in Sri Lanka. We appreciate his statement. He is well aware of the situation.
 
ACJU will shortly convene an international conference on Terrorism. The date is to be finalized at a meeting scheduled on September 25. We are living in a Buddhist country where Muslims consist of just 10 per cent. We respect all religions and want to live in harmony.
 
Muslim Media Forum President N.M. Ameen
The war has been won and the country is on a development footing. This could be an attempt by foreign elements to destabilize the country and create problems in the region. They are trying to magnify a trivial issue.
 
There had been isolated incidents of violence but most of the time the victims were followers of Tawhid Jamaat. The Beruwala incident was an example. The two individuals who got killed were from Tawhid sect. The court case into the Beruwala mosque attack is still proceeding in the Kalutara Courts.
 
There are differences of opinion over religious practices but to imply that there is terrorism involved, is inane. The Muslims lamented in IDP camps for 20 years due to the conflict. They never took up arms or fought back.
 
I spoke to the person who whipped up this allegation and said that he should have settled his differences within the community. Sri Lanka is a liberal country. We have never had problems with the Sinhalese. Many Buddhist monks were seen in Mosques during the recent Ifthar celebrations.
 
The Sinhala Traders Association in Mawanella organized a special Ifthar for their Muslim brothers. Muslims are highly worried that these disturbing reports will damage this communal harmony.
 
A Community Leader Riyaz Sally

 
People have criticized me over my revelations about the presence of an extremist sect. They have accused that I am after cheap publicity.

I studied at D.S. Senanayake College and I learned from my father not to mix up religion and education with politics. The Sufis follow a century old tradition and there is no need for a new group to preach us on the proper way of practising Islam.
You don't point a gun at one's head and say what to do. Religion is your own free will. These Tawhid Jamaat people are extremists. They are disrupting the Janaza (funeral) rituals and creating discord even within families.
 
They are setting up mosques outside the norms set by the Waqf board. According to law a new mosque needs the consent of three mosques in the area and the Jamayyathul Ulema's (the leading association of Islamic theologians) approval. Such places are mushrooming in the country now. They are being funded generously by the Middle East. Their extremist ideologies have infiltrated the state sector, private international schools, and even the media organizations.
 
I have nothing against Saudi Arabia. If the Saudi Government sends in their money for poverty alleviation and development activities and if it has been put to wrong use, they must look into this.
 
President Mahinda Rajapaksa gave leadership to eradicate terrorism. Now we have no terrorist problem here in the country. There should be no room for new problems as well. After my expose, there are threats on my life. But I am not scared.

A Journalist (name withheld) based in Sri Lanka

I wrote a series of articles on the Islamic preachings of the new school and how it has made a positive impact on the lives of the community especially the Muslim women, after a visit to Kathankudi in the Eastern province. I was introduced to the local community by a resident and the article was compiled after interviewing some members of the community. Following its publication, the story was reproduced in the local vernacular press. Unfortunately the translated version did not convey the exact meaning.
 
I received a number of threatening calls thereafter and a team from Kathankudi came to Colombo in the hope of confronting me. They had planned to organize a demonstration here in Colombo against my report.
 
But due to the intervention of a well meaning intermediary, the team was dissuaded and sent home after handing over a copy of the original report that was compiled by me."
The fact is that there are contradicting reports on the presence of an alleged extremist Islamic sect in the country. Thus it is the responsibility of all stakeholders to take appropriate action to ease tensions within the Muslim community before it snowballs into a bigger issue. (sundayobserver.lk)

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Sunni and Wahabism had always been there among us. There is nothing to fear. None of them engage in any unlawful activity. Recently the ACMC sponsored a unity declaration among all Islamic sects. This was given little publicity as against the news on Islamic terrorism and fundamentalism.
This news which has been disseminated by a certain interested party has been given undue publicity. It has caused us, community leaders, a lot of stress. The person who had been very vocal on this issue is telling this over personal prejudices.

Thursday 23 September 2010

Illicit Arms in Indonesia

Part 01; Media Release


The Indonesian government could reduce the circulation of illegal firearms by improving procedures for guarding and monitoring police and military armouries, conducting regular audits of gun importers and enforcing controls over the “airsoft” industry.

Illicit Arms in Indonesia , the latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, examines four sources of illegal guns in Indonesia: theft or illegal purchase from the security forces, leftover stockpiles in conflict areas, manufacture by local gunsmiths and smuggling. The issue has come to public attention after a rash of high-profile robberies and the discovery in February that weapons used in a terrorist training camp came from old police stocks.

“The problem should be manageable because Indonesia has one of the lowest rates of civilian gun ownership in the world”, says Sidney Jones, Crisis Group’s Senior Adviser. “The problem is that corruption undermines what on paper is a tight system of regulation”.

There are several major gaps in the system of gun control now in place. While civilians were not supposed to own weapons for self-defence after 2005, enforcement of the new policy was decidedly lax and online sales of firearms continue. Procedures for storage of guns by military and police seem stringent but armouries in many areas are neither as well-guarded or inventoried as they should be, as evidenced by the trial that began last week of two police officers suspected of selling 28 guns to jihadis from a warehouse for outdated weapons. A homemade gun industry continues to produce illegal pistols that fire real bullets. While customs inspections have improved in recent years, smuggling of small quantities of weapons from abroad remains a problem, with some contractors operating in the gray area between legal imports and illegal sales.

One area that needs more attention is the regulation of the hugely popular “airsoft” guns that replicate trademark models of pistols and assault rifles but fire plastic pellets. Initially considered toys like paintball guns, they were included in 2004 regulations on civilian gun ownership after they began to be used in the commission of crimes. There is no enforcement, however, and stores in Jakarta sell them over the counter without permits. Terrorists are attracted to airsoft guns because they can hone their military skills on them, and some dealers advertise in Indonesian jihadi magazines and websites.

The briefing looks at smuggling routes from Thailand used in the past by the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM) and from Mindanao used by Jemaah Islamiyah, KOMPAK and other extremist groups. While GAM is no longer in the gun-buying business, the routes and contacts are important to understand because they can be used by others, including drug dealers and jihadi groups.

Indonesia is in much better shape than most of its neighbours with respect to illegal guns. “Unlike Thailand or the Philippines, Indonesia has no ‘gun culture’, and the scale of the problem remains relatively small”, says Jim Della-Giacoma, Crisis Group’s South East Asia Project Director. “Addressing it has taken on a new urgency, however, as extremist groups, worried about Muslim casualties in bombings, have begun to discuss targeted killings as a preferred method of attack”.

Part 02; OVERVIEW

A bloody bank robbery in Medan in August 2010 and the discovery in Aceh in February 2010 of a terrorist training camp using old police weapons have focused public attention on the circulation of illegal arms in Indonesia. These incidents raise questions about how firearms fall into criminal hands and what measures are in place to stop them. The issue has become more urgent as the small groups of Indonesian jihadis, concerned about Muslim casualties in bomb attacks, are starting to discuss targeted killings as a preferred method of operation.

The Indonesian government could begin to address the problem by reviewing and strengthening compliance with procedures for storage, inventory and disposal of firearms; improved vetting and monitoring of those guarding armouries; auditing of gun importers and gun shops, including those that sell weapons online; and paying more attention to the growing popularity of “airsoft” guns that look exactly like real ones but shoot plastic pellets.

The problem needs to be kept in perspective, however. It is worth addressing precisely because the scale is manageable. Indonesia does not have a “gun culture” like the Philippines or Thailand. The number of people killed by terrorist gunfire in Indonesia over the last decade is about twenty, more than half of them police, and most of the deaths took place in post-conflict central Sulawesi and Maluku. The nexus between terrorism and crime is not nearly as strong as in other countries. There have been a few cases of bartering ganja (marijuana) for guns – and one case of trading endangered anteaters – but in general, narco-terrorism is not a problem.

Jihadi use of armed robberies as a fund-raising method is a more serious issue, with banks, gold stores and ATMs the favourite targets. As of this writing it remained unclear who was behind the Medan robbery – although criminal thugs remain the strongest possibility – but jihadi groups have robbed Medan banks before, most notably the Lippo Bank in 2003. Such crimes constitute a miniscule proportion of the country’s robberies, but it is still worth looking at where the guns come from when they occur. The problem may increase as the larger jihadi groups weaken and split, particularly those that once depended on member contributions for financing day-to-day activities. Recruitment by jihadis of ordinary criminals in prisons may also strengthen the linkage between terrorism and crime in the future.

There are four main sources of illegal guns in Indonesia. They can be stolen or illegally purchased from security forces, taken from leftover stockpiles in former conflict areas, manufactured by local gunsmiths or smuggled from abroad. Thousands of guns acquired legally but later rendered illicit through lapsed permits have become a growing concern because no one has kept track of them. Throughout the country, corruption facilitates the circulation of illegal arms in different ways and undermines what on paper is a tight system of regulation. (ICG)

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Danger of the RED Mosque of Pakistan & Lesson for Sri Lanka

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The Red Mosque

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Wahhabist terriorist training in Sri Lanka? THE ISSUES

Last week, we cautioned that unregistered mosques of a Wahhabist Islamic sect would become a hotbed for propagating religious extremism.
We reported quoting a Muslim community leader that out of 200 mosques which had recently been opened by Tawhid Jamath, which follows an austere brand of Islam, only 35 had been registered with relevant the authorities.
Our report came in the wake of Indian media reports which alleged that a Laskhar- e- Taiba terrorist arrested by Indian police over a bomb attack in Pune had confessed that he received his terror training in Colombo. However, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in a statement posted on the defence ministry website, denied that extremist groups operating in Pakistan had received training on Sri Lankan soil.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, stressed that Sri Lanka was free of terrorists and there was no ground for terrorists to receive training on Sri Lankan soil.
But, if anything to go by, the rise and spread of Wahhabism, the austere brand of Islamic teaching which follows a literal interpretation of the Quran, and is the core ideological force of al Qaeda led Salafi Jihadi revival, is a cause for concern.
A mainstream Muslim preacher in Colombo, who requested anonymity, citing fears of reprisals by Tawhid followers, says the Tawhid sect has got its followers in key positions in government ministries, bought air times in the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation and revised school text books to give a Wahhabi outlook.
He says the Tawhid sect is generously funded by Saudi Arabia, of which Wahhabism is the state religion.
A number of charity organizations function as front organizations for Tawhid Jamath.
Among them are International Islamic Religious Organization (IIRO), Islamic Religious Organization (IRO), Al Muslimath, and ACTG etc, which maintain close links with Tamil Nadu Tawhid Jamath (TNTJ) founded by leading Wahhabi preacher P. Jainul Abideen (PJ).
He admits that these groups help the poor, but warns that they have used charity work to propagate religious extremism.
“They helped victims of tsunami in the East, then subtly preached them their version of Islam”
“People were naturally obliged to listen to them, because they had already been assisted by Wahhabists in their hour of need. Wahhabists exploited that weak spot,” he says.
The spread of Wahhabism in the East, most notably in the predominantly Muslim town of Kattankudy is attributed to aggressive proselytizing by the Tawhid sect, backed by generous financial support to new converts.
The flow of money to the Wahhabist sect from the Middle East should be monitored, he recommends.
He says Petro dollars have been used to buy over the key officials in government ministries. “These officials help Wahhabists to operate and propagate with ease,” he says.
Even the religious text book committee of the department of education has been infiltrated by Tawhid followers, he alleged, adding that school text books have been revised to provide a Wahhabi outlook of Islam.
“By this pace, fundamentalist indoctrination would start right there at schools,” he alleged.
Another community leader Riyaz Sally, Chairman of Islamic Solidarity Fund alleges that some private Muslim international schools propagate Wahabbism to students.
“When children come home, brainwashed by ‘incorrect’ religious teaching, they begin to question moderate faith,” he says.
Mainstream Sri Lankan Muslims follow Islamic traditions infused with mystical Sufism. Shrines, where Islamic holy men were buried had been part and parcel of most Sufi mosques, many of which are centuries- old.
Wahhabism, derived from the teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab, and eighteenth century religious zealot, after whom the movement is named, decries shrines as un-Islamic.
“When children, who are taught Wahhabism in schools come home and see their parents paying homage to a saint enshrined in a tomb, they then say parents are not Muslims,” says Sally.
“I know some families have split because of Wahhabist indoctrination,” he says.
Tawhid followers who, through subtle mechanizations, took control of the trustee committees of centuries-old Sufi mosques are infringing on Sufi practices.
“For instance, a Tawhid group took control of the trustee board of a mosque in Kollupitiya and shut down the centuries old shrine which devotees visited daily,” he says.The dispute ended only after the Court ordered the shrine to be open.
Sally alleges that the Tawhid sect is using air time in SLBC to propagate Wahhabism.
“They have bought two hours of air time from 12 noon to 2 pm of the SLBC Muslim Service, and through air waves, are often challenging practices of mainstream Muslims,” he said.
He says he complained to the chairman of the SLBC, but his protest was in vain.
“This program is radicalizing housewives,” he alleged.
Saudi Arabia is criticized by international groups, including Freedom House for exporting its ‘hate ideology’.
Freedom House in an earlier report said that Wahhabi publications in a number of mosques in the United States were preaching that Muslims should not only “always oppose” infidels “in every way”, but “hate them for their religion ... for Allah’s sake”, that democracy “is responsible for all the horrible wars of the 20th century”, and that Shia and certain other non-Wahhabi Muslims were infidels.
Saudi Arabia had spent 87 billion US Dollars to propagate Wahhabism abroad during last two decades according to a report of the US Senate Committee on Judiciary, and Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security in 2003.
The Islamic Religious leader, quoted earlier in this report alleged that handsome Saudi funding was behind the mushrooming of Wahhabi mosques.
Though mosques should be registered with the Waqf board, the majority of Tawhid mosques disregard this requirement.
“The Tawhid sect purchases houses at exorbitant prices and turns them into Madrasas. They indoctrinate poor local youth in Wahabbism in these places.”
He says Wahabbism in the East has taken a violent turn, expressing fears that Jihadi groups in the area are possessing firearms. Last year, several Muslim groups handed over weapons responding to a government announcement.
He alleges the Jamiyathul Ulema, the leading association of Islamic theologians in the island, is turning a blind eye to the rise of extremism.
“In 2009, after media reported about Jihadi groups in the East, the Jamiyathul Ulema issued a media statement denying the existence of such groups. But, what do they say now after an illegal radio station operated by the Tawhid sect in Beruwala was seized by the police?” he asks.
Two months back, police raided an unauthorized radio station operated by Tawhid followers in Beruwela and seized equipment worth 10 million rupees.
“A decade back, our mosques were places of peace; we went there in peace, prayed in peace and came out with peace of mind,” he says.
“This new sect has caused quite a lot of disharmony among Muslims.”
“The government should act now, before it is too late. The flow of funds from the Middle East should be monitored. And teaching in these madrasas should be regulated and monitored,” he says, adding :
“Fundamentalist threat is real.” (by; Ranga Jayasuriya)

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Monday 6 September 2010

50 years ago: Kennedy addresses Catholicism and the separation of Church and State

John F. Kennedy, the Democratic nominee for the presidential election of 1960, sought to defuse the “religion issue” in a speech delivered to a group of protestant religious leaders in Houston, Texas, on September 12. Kennedy would be the first and only Roman Catholic president in US history.

By emphasizing the separation of church and state, Kennedy spoke in terms that would become, decades later, beyond the pale in official US political discourse, where religiosity and every manner of personal identity emerged as primary subjects of media focus in elections.

“I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute,” Kennedy said. “[W]here no Catholic prelate would tell the president—should he be Catholic—how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference… where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials.

“I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters; and the church does not speak for me. Whatever issue may come before me as president, if I should be elected, on birth control, divorce, censorship, gambling or any other subject, I will make my decision in accordance with these views.”

Speaking the language of Cold War liberalism, Kennedy decried the injection of religion into politics as a distraction from “far more critical issues,” among which he placed in first position “the spread of Communist influence.” (WSWS)

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Monday 23 August 2010

MUSLIM MADRASAS (Talibanisation Centres) - implications for Sri Lanka

 The recent trend in Sri Lanka has been the establishment of Muslim Madrasas in various names - a major Madrasas that has been proposed to be established is in the form of an NGO called Al Haj Adul Jawad Alim Valiyullah Trust.

Muslim Madrasas in several countries, have been identified today, to be education and training centres of Muslim fundamentalism, extremism and violence, especially those in Muslim dominated countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. Pakistan alone has more than 13,000 mandasas of which many are said to be promoting Muslim fundamentalism and extremism. It is noteworthy that Madrasas have been banned in several non-Muslim countries. It is widely reported that some Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders have obtained radical political views at Madrasas.

Some allege that Madrasas provide Islamic extremism and militancy and are a recruiting ground for terrorism. Some Mandasa are well recorded to be promoting a militant form of Islam and teach and train Muslim students to fight non-believers and stand against the moral standards of the western society. Some who have investigated the functioning of certain Madrasas say that they are wholly concerned with teaching violence. The suicide bombers involved in the July 2005 London terror attack are said to have spent time in Pakistani Madrasas.

Details of the curriculum and training activities of Muslim Madrasas, already started in Sri Lanka and especially of those proposed to be established in Sri Lanka should necessarily be known in full in order to avoid possible socio-religious problems in the future. This trend should receive cautious attention by all Sri Lankans, including members of the Muslim community, some of whom may not be fully aware of this trend and more, about the possible negative impacts of this trend.

It is necessary that we take necessary action to avoid possible problems in the future that can have serious direct and indirect negative social-religious-political implications for the nation as a whole. It is important that authorities, especially religious leaders in our country take serious note of this trend. There need to be an open dialogue and polite interaction between the Muslim leaders and other religious communities in the country, in order to have an in-depth understanding of the specific mission and specific objectives of establishing Madrasas in this country.

In some countries such as India, Pakistan, Afganistan and Bangladesh, Muslims are among the most deprived communities in terms of education and therefore establishment of certain type of Madrasas for basic educational purposes has become necessary and most people find them to be affordable as compared to other educational institutions in these countries. This is definitely not the case with Sri Lanka where there is no Muslim educational deprivation or backwardness as far as the Muslims are concerned. In fact, our school system is open to all Muslims if they wish to attend them, and there are many Muslim students attending regular schools in Sri Lanka. Also, there are exclusively Muslim national schools in Sri Lanka and importantly, most international schools in the country are owned and operated by Muslims where Muslim students predominate.

Madrasas as educational institutions are said to offer instructions in Islamic subjects including but not limited to the Quoran. It also includes Jurisprudence or "figh" and Muslim law or Sharia Law and the teaching and practice of "sufi" which encompasses Islamic mysticism. These teachings and practices should be investigated and known in sufficient detail in order to understand their impact on social harmony and national unity and solidarity in Sri Lanka.

If Muslim Sharia law is given official recognition by means of registering Madrasas as NGOs, it can result in serious legal problems in the future. There can be only one law in our country and that is a secular law which is applicable to all citizens irrespective of their ethnicity or religious affiliations. There is no need to introduce any other law, especially religious law such as Muslim Sharia Law, and cause problems in our country.

It is known that Muslim Madrasas work in collaboration with other foreign Muslim organizations and Madrasas in providing vocational training for Muslim youth. This again should be of concern to Sri Lanka.

In the light of the increased interest in the country for consolidation of national unity, divisive tendencies of any nature should not be encouraged under any circumstances. With our massive success in containing LTTE terrorism and our determined efforts to bring the various communities together as One Nation, it is important that divisive tendencies in our society be eliminated. This is especially necessary in the light of a national resurgence that is clearly noticeable in the country at the present time and increased interest in fully restoring democratic principles of social organization. It is important that we try to prevent polarization of our communities by all means available. (S-News)

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