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Southeast Asia
With Malaysians' religious sentiments increasingly offended, ‘Outrage Industry' has field day
2024-03-30
[BenarNews] Nowadays, it appears many Malaysians are becoming outraged over the littlest things that offend their cultural or religious sentiments, analysts and academics say. What makes these small things blow up, rather than blow over, is the "Outrage Industry" — comprising news television, social media and political party members — which has come of age in Malaysia. This industry gleefully pounces on every slight, magnifies it, and puts a virtual megaphone in the hands of the overly sensitive to exploit them for ratings or political gains, observers say. And in a multiethnic and multireligious Malaysia, where religious conservatism is also on the rise, this coalescing of outrage is what most worries many political observers, because it has the potential to inflame communities.

Just three months into 2024, Malaysia is already facing four big outrage-driven controversies that have caused divisions and disruptions — and, in fact, continue to do so.

The latest brouhaha — a supermarket chain selling socks with the word "Allah" inappropriately printed on it — began as a legitimate grievance. But action was taken, with the chain’s founder, a Malaysian-Chinese man, apologizing and saying he had terminated the services of the supplier the socks came from. That was not enough for the youth wing of the United Malays National Organization, a party that ruled Malaysia for close to 60 years, claiming to be the champion of Malay Moslem interests. The youth wing is stridently calling for the supermarket’s stores to be boycotted because, it says, those who insulted Islam need to be taught a lesson.

UMNO soon backed the youth wing’s calls — after all, it was supposed to be the champion of Malays, the country’s ethnic majority. Starting in 2018, when it lost a general election for the first time, UMNO’s support among the Malays has declined drastically because of a slew of corruption scandals involving its members.

The party’s traditional support base has moved to the Perikatan Nasional group, which comprises the Bersatu party and the hardline Islamic party, PAS. UMNO claimed its decision to back the boycott was not political, it was moral.

UMNO is part of the federal coalition that consists of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s secular Pakatan Harapan group, but it says its stance will not affect ties within.

However,
some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go...
 Anwar is rather tired of the controversy around the socks being dragged on despite action having been taken.

"My stance is clear. ... lines were crossed and action must be taken. But after following the law, we move on," he told news hounds on March 20, according to several local media outlets.

"We shouldn’t continue discussing it as [if it is] a massive disaster. Take firm action and then move on."

At an event the next day, the PM didn’t bring up the controversy but had harsh words, presumably for those who were dragging it on.

Anwar said that endless "jumud" ("ignorant") and "lapuk" ("backward") discussions would be an obstacle in the development of Malaysia, the New Straits Times reported.

Political analyst Syaza Shukri told BenarNews that UMNO was playing identity politics with ethnic Malay Moslems with its reaction to the socks controversy.

"Identity politics itself is not dangerous if the understanding of our differences can be managed by a competent leader," Syaza, of the International Islamic University Malaysia, said.

"It becomes dangerous when the politicians instead of trying to solve problems only cause more problems. What we need are statesmen who see identity politics positively," the associate professor at the Department of Political Science said.

Ethnic Malays comprise 70% of Malaysia’s population, ethnic Chinese 22.6% and ethnic Indians 6.6%.

The other three recent controversies pitched ethnic Malays against ethnic Chinese, although one of the three also involved the Indians community. Malaysia has been relatively peaceful since the 1969 race riots, but the two larger groups continue to view each other with deep suspicion.


Nga Kor Ming, the minister of Local Government Development, announced on Feb. 1 that the government was making plans to nominate three villages — called Chinese "new villages" — for UNESCO World Heritage status.

Malaysia’s former colonial British rulers had interned Malaysian-Chinese on suspicion of ties with Communists in these villages.

A couple of weeks later, the government gazette published an announcement that the heritage commissioner had named a Malaysian-Chinese herbal pork dish, bak kut teh, one among 10 national heritage objects.

The third controversy kicked off after the Federal Court ruled that vernacular schools were constitutional and rejected an appeal application by two NGOs to overturn a lower court’s decision that also ruled these schools legal.

Many Malays were up in arms that Chinese villages were being nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Status. They said there were many Malaysian villages that were much older. In fact some Malaysian-Chinese were also unhappy, saying there was no need to make what were basically internment camps into a heritage site.

As for bak kut teh, the hardline Islamist party PAS and UMNO were outraged that a pork-based dish was being given national heritage status in a largely Moslem country. Followers of Islam are not allowed to eat pork.

Many in the Malaysian-Chinese community, in turn, claimed that the majority Malays were suppressing the minorities.

Vernacular schools for the ethnic Chinese and the Tamil Indians caused divisions in the country, UMNO claimed. The party said that for racial harmony there needed to be an integrated education system. The ethnic Chinese and Indian communities said they sent their children to these schools so they could learn their language.

In the past, similar tussles have arisen over the celebration of Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Oktoberfest, among others.

For Azmil Mohd Tayeb, from the Universiti Sains Malaysia, these controversies are a sign of how polarized Malaysia has become.

"Different groups retreat into their respective shells and become easily triggered by any perceived slights to their identity," the associate professor at the university’s School of Social Sciences told BenarNews.

He said these "ethno-religious" issues can turn dangerous and toxic if left to fester.

"People would simply focus on differences amongst them, which would deepen resentment and widen the polarization. It is dangerous and an affliction that Malaysia needs to slowly move away from," he said.

These issues arise also because many don’t respect diversity, said S. Shashi Kumar, president of the Global Human Rights Foundation.

"The acts of racial and religious intolerance exacerbate tensions and divisions within society," he told BenarNews.

"These acts not only showcase the ignorance and insensitivity of certain individuals but also highlight the need for greater understanding and respect for diversity in the country," he said.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch shot Black Bart's gun out of his hand......
 as another observer sees it, "Excessive outrage" on social media can get out of control and lead to issues blowing up rather than blowing over.

According to Helen Ting Mu Hung, of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, disaffection exists because minorities are disproportionately targeted by the country’s laws.

"More problematically, those who expressed extreme views openly on the social media, especially those against minorities, get away scot-free, in contrast to those who criticized the majority or the authorities, some of whom have experienced the weight of law swiftl," said the associate professor at the university’s Institute of Malaysian and International Studies.

"This lack of even-handedness may fail to appease a lingering sense of resentment especially when the event is viewed from a racial lens."

In a 2018 report, "Outrage in Malaysia: The Politics of Taking Offence," author Julian C. H. Lee said that in furores in the Southeast Asian country, "minority ethno-religious groups and individuals ostensibly caused offence to the majority Moslem Malay population."

Lee said that the so-called offenses were characterized "as transgressions of genuine sensitivities."

"[I] argue that politics of offence must be seen for the political utility it holds for those who claim to represent the majority group that has been putatively offended."
Link


Southeast Asia
Malaysia seeking return of 2 Gitmo detainees: home minister
2023-09-27
[BenarNews] Kuala Lumpur is working to bring home two Malaysian suspects in the 2002 Bali bombings who have been detained at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay for 17 years, the home minister said Monday after a trip to New York last week. In a Facebook post that has since been removed, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said he had discussed the matter while in New York with Tina Kaidanow, the U.S. special representative for Guantanamo affairs. He said he had traveled to the prison, located in Cuba, but did not say when.

Malaysians Mohammed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bin Lep were arrested in Thailand in 2003, along with Indonesian Encep Nurjaman, also known as Hambali
"I have met with two Malaysians detained there. Their story really touched me. It’s a downward spiral about life, about repentance, about the chance to be a better person," Saifuddin said. "With God’s grace, we will try to expedite the process for them to return to Malaysia."

The home minister did not reply to BenarNews’ request for comment about why the social media post was removed about nine hours after it went live.

Saifuddin and Inspector General of Police Razarudin Husain were part of the Malaysian delegation led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to the United Nations
...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly...
 General Assembly in New York. Contacted by BenarNews, Razarudin deferred to the home minister.

Malaysians Mohammed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bin Lep, along with Indonesian Encep Nurjaman, also known as Hambali
...real name Riduan Isamuddin, close personal friend of Osama bin Laden, one of the founders of Jemaah Islamiyah and the planner of the 2002 Bali bombings. He was captured with the help of a mid-Eastern intel service, shipped to Guantanamo to rot but he'll likely be released eventually because that was a long time ago and we were all so much younger then...
, were expected to face trial in a U.S. military court for their alleged roles in bombings in Bali and Jakarta in 2002 and 2003 that killed hundreds of people.

Following their arrests in Thailand in 2003, the three were sent to secret CIA prisons, so-called black sites, before being moved to Guantanamo in 2006. A U.S. Senate report released in 2014 found that each was tortured during his time in the black sites.

A court document filed by the lead prosecutor in August indicated that bin Amin would no longer be tried along with the other two defendants.
Why?
Bin Amin’s lead attorney, Christine Funk, declined to comment when asked by BenarNews about the significance of the move and whether it might pave the way for his departure from Guantanamo.

Bin Lep’s lawyer, Brian Bouffard, could not be reached for comment. But Nurjaman’s attorney, James Hodes, said he expected bin Lep’s case would also be "severed" from his client’s.

"That’s merely my understanding," he told BenarNews on Monday, while adding he did not know for sure.

Hodes said he did not expect either Malaysian defendant to attend the next sessions, scheduled for Oct. 16 to 27 on the court calendar. A court administrator told BenarNews the sessions would likely be cut to one week..

Hodes said Hambali was "happy on the one hand" that it appeared his co-defendants could be returning to Malaysia.

"He’s hoping that will be the end result for him as well," Hodes said.

’READY TO TAKE THEM’
The three Southeast Asians appeared in court for the first time in 2021 for a two-day arraignment hearing, but there has been little progress since then, largely due to defense attorneys’ concerns over poor translation services, and a lack of evidence provided to them.

On Monday, counter terrorism analyst Ahmad El-Muhammady of the International Islamic University of Malaysia told BenarNews that he believed the Malaysian government was working on a potential deal for the return of both bin Amin and bin Lep.

"This is the way forward and to meet the humanitarian rights perspective. They have been under detention for 20 years," he told BenarNews.

Ahmad, who is an adviser to the Royal Malaysian Police on terrorist rehabilitation programs, said both would need to undergo psychological and ideological assessment should they return home.

"But their return will be a lowkey affair due to the sensitivity of the issue. They also need to be put under rehabilitation programs like the former IS fighters and family who we brought home," he said.

Mohd Mizan Mohammad Aslam, security analyst at the National Defense University of Malaysia, said he would love for bin Amin and bin Lep to be repatriated.

"Let our judiciary system do its best for them. I believe our government is ready to take them and give them an opportunity to come back to our country because they are our people. If they already agree to any kind of consequences, that would be good for them," he told BenarNews.

"They might spend another few years in detention and then be released back into society."

In the past, when former Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
 fighters or their family members returned home, they were sent to prison or required to undergo rehabilitation and deradicalization programs, he said. Some had to wear electronic monitoring devices on their ankles for up to two years.
The poor darlings.
Related:
Mohammed Farik bin Amin: 2021-09-02 Guantanamo Tribunal Finishes Arraigning Southeast Asian Terror Suspects
Mohammed Farik bin Amin: 2021-06-29 Indonesian, Malaysian Terror Suspects to Be Arraigned at Guantanamo Aug. 30
Mohammed Farik bin Amin: 2006-02-11 How the US stopped Hambali
Link


India-Pakistan
Demographic changes in IIOJK can push region to war: Masood
2021-03-21
[DAILYTIMES.PK] The Azad Jammu and Kashmir
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
 (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan has warned that brazen demographic change by India in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK)
Ooooh, he’s upping the ante from the merely bombastic Indian Occupied Kashmir that sufficed until today...
is creating tensions that could push the region to a disastrous war.He came up with the warning while addressing a virtual conference on "BJP’s Demographic Re-branding of IOJK: A critical Review Under Contemporary International Law" which was organized by the Islamabad Institute of Conflict Resolution (IICR) here on Friday.

The conference was also addressed by Security Analyst, Lt General (retd) Amjad Shoaib, Professor Dr Mushtaq Ahmed, Professor Department of Law, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Mr Nasir Qadri, Human Rights Lawyer in IIOJK and Ms Sabah Aslam, Executive Director IICR.

In his address, the AJK president said that what India is doing in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is not just rebranding but a complete transformation of the demography and this demographic change is unprecedented in the 21st century.

He maintained that since the New Domicile Rules were adopted in April last year, more than 3.2 million Indian citizens have been issued domicile certificates in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir state, and this has been confirmed by Indian Minister for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy the other day.

"These demographic changes prepare the ground for settlements on the pattern of the Israeli settlements on Paleostine land," he said adding that massive investment is being diverted to entrepreneurs to make them a part of this settlement process. He said special colonies have been established in IOJK for army personnel, pundits and former Indian civil servants.



Link


Southeast Asia
Israel-Hamas shadow war follows Palestinian expats to Malaysia
2018-04-23
[IsraelTimes] Kuala Lumpur is home to large Paleostinian community, and a growing Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbung millipede, presence

It’s not surprising that the Mossad was immediately declared the prime suspect in the liquidation of Fadi al-Batsh, the mysterious Paleostinian electrical engineer originally from Gazoo who only after his liquidation in Malaysia on Saturday morning was revealed to be a member of Hamas’s military wing.

Most of the Paleostinian factions have already rushed to pronounce the Israeli spy agency the culprit. It’s hard to tell if they have anything to go on except the obvious question: Who has an interest in removing Batsh?

The operation to take down Batsh shares many similarities with the last liquidation attributed to the Mossad: that of the Tunisian scientist Muhammad a-Zawari, rubbed out by person or persons unknown on December 15, 2016, in Sfax, Tunisia.

In Zawari’s case, too, it was only after his death that Hamas publicized the fact that he was working for its military wing and was part of its efforts to develop advanced drones and an unmanned submarine.

Unlike Zawari, Batsh was born in the Gazoo Strip and grew up in Jabaliya. He was considered a genius in his electrical engineering studies and had close ties with several Hamas leaders in Gazoo.

He had lived with his family in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur for the past eight years, and even served as a holy man in one of the city’s mosques. In fact, it was during his early morning walk to dawn prayers that unidentified assassins riding a BMW cycle of violence fired 10 bullets at him, abruptly ejecting him from the gene pool.

It is not immediately clear what sorts of projects Batsh was involved in as a member of Hamas’s military wing. It is highly unlikely that he was working to develop clean energy sources for the organization, for example, and much more probable that his work involved research and development of new weapons systems.

Batsh’s decision to move to Malaysia may seem surprising, but not a few Paleostinians, especially students, have relocated to the country in recent years, sparking intensive efforts by Hamas on Malaysian campuses to recruit them to its cause.

According to a 2015 article in Malam, an Israeli journal that deals with intelligence and terrorism, Hamas once used Malaysia as the setting to train operatives for an especially audacious terror attack involving parachutists.

In the same period, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Hamas had recruited some 40 Paleostinian students to work as its operatives on Malaysian campuses. Batsh himself worked as a lecturer at a private university in the country.

Throughout Kuala Lumpur and elsewhere (including the International Islamic University in Gombak), there are activities by Hamas activists and visits from Hamas leaders. Even the son of Osama Hamdan, who is responsible for Hamas’s foreign relations, lives in Malaysia.

The liquidation on Saturday, as well as others that came before, offer glimpses into what appears to be a covert war taking place behind the scenes between Hamas and the State of Israel that may have dramatic consequences for the Gazoo Strip. Hamas is constantly trying to develop and acquire ever more efficient and deadly weapons, including of the sort that might tilt the balance of deterrence in its favor.

It appears someone ‐ possibly Israel, possible someone else ‐ is determined to stop it by any means necessary.
Link


India-Pakistan
Faisal Mosque official ‘target of incitement campaign’
2017-09-15
[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: Amid growing concerns regarding the radicalisation of students, especially in the aftermath of the tragic lynching of Mashal Khan, the issue of bad boy activities on campuses has acquired renewed significance.

On Wednesday, another worrying incident came to light when a senior Faisal Mosque official alleged that he had been made the target of a concerted smear campaign that had declared him to be ’Qadiani’ ‐ a pejorative term for Ahmadis ‐ on social media.

Speaking before the Senate Standing Committee on Interior, Mosque Deputy Director Mohammad Tahir accused a staff member of the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) of engineering the campaign, which instigated some 30,000 students to cause him physical harm.

The committee, chaired by Senator Rehman Malik
Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship.
, directed Senior Superintendent of Police Sajid Kiani to take the matter seriously and ensure the security of the complainant.

However,
those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things...
 IIUI Rector Dr Masoom Yasinzai told Dawn he had taken up the issue with the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and sought an explanation was sought from the staffer in question, who had denied involvement in any campaign against Mr Tahir.

Talking to Dawn, Dr Masoom Yasinzai said the issue surfaced when the university learnt that CDA wanted to take control of the mosque.

Briefing the committee, Mr Tahir also claimed that on July 25, he had told a parliamentary committee that the IIUI still occupied offices inside the Faisal Mosque premises.

"Following my appearance, an IIUI staffer declared me to be ’Qadiani’ and extolled the 30,000 students of the university to not tolerate it. Since then, I have been feeling insecure with students’ demeanour towards me. I can say oath on that I am a Moslem, but no one believes me," he said.

Mr Tahir said he had complained to both police and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Senator Malik said it was unfortunate that students were being instigated to take action against an individual who had been declared a ’Qadiani’ for personal gains, and asked the FIA about progress in the case.

Link


India-Pakistan
Faisal Mosque imam barred from speaking on political issues
2017-08-10
[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: The imam of Faisal Mosque has been barred from speaking on political issues or even seeking Allah’s guidance for the rulers of the country during his Friday sermons following a complaint by an intelligence agency.

"I have advised the imam not to indulge himself in political issues as Faisal Mosque is for all the Moslems irrespective of their political and religious affiliations," Dr Masoom Yasinzai, the rector of the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), told Dawn.

He said he took the step after a complaint by an intelligence agency that the imam during his recent Friday sermon had sought Allah’s guidance for the rulers.

The rector was talking to Dawn after a protest by the Federation of All-Pakistain Universities Staff Association (FAPUSA) against the IIUI administration for not allowing its representatives to hold an event in the university’s auditorium on Tuesday.

The association announced to hold a countrywide black day against what its office-bearers said anti-democratic and irresponsible attitude of the varsity administration.

The rector said universities were meant for academic discussions and for holding an event at the auditorium the organisers should have taken prior permission.

"We have a committee, which receives applications and discusses the agenda of any event before giving the final approval. After scrutiny of the agenda and the speakers, the university gives permission for holding the events. But in this case, the process was not followed by FAPUSA and the Academic Staff Association of the IIUI," the rector said.

Link


India-Pakistan
Senate body asks IIUI administration to vacate Faisal Mosque's premises
2017-07-26
[DAWN] Taking notice of the alleged occupation of Faisal Mosque by International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat on Tuesday asked the IIUI authorities to vacate the premises.

In a meeting of the Senate committee, chaired by Senator Talha Mehmood, Deputy Director of Faisal Mosque Mohammad Tahir said that IIUI administration had forcefully occupied the grand mosque's premises even though they were allotted the land for a limited period.

Tahir further said that IIUI has refused to vacate the mosque's premises even though the university administration was allocated 700 acre land by Capital Development Authority, (CDA) where a campus has already been built.

The mosque's deputy director alleged that the IIUI administration was receiving funds from the Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
's government in the name of Faisal Mosque.

The university administration has established its offices in what was the mosque's cafeteria and opened a store in the space reserved for aitekaf, Tahir said. "IIUI has also illegally opened a hostel in the premises as well."

He further complained that IIUI has even taken over the mosque's bookshop.

The members of the Senate committee expressed their displeasure and inquired from the CDA officials present at the session that why the university was not made to vacate the mosque's premises after they had been allotted land of their own.

The committee instructed CDA officials to ensure that the IIUI administration evacuates Faisal Mosque's premises as soon as possible. The committee has also summoned HEC Chairman Mukhtar Ahmed to appear in committee's next session.

However,
alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk...
 no one from the university administration was present at the meeting.

Link


India-Pakistan
Fatwa against terrorism
2017-06-02
[DAWN] WHEN violence is justified in the name of religion, it is best countered with the language of religion. Last Saturday, 31 prominent scholars from all Moslem schools of thought issued a unanimous fatwa condemning extremism and terrorism. Declaring the supporters of suicide kaboom as traitors, the religious decree defined jihad as being the purview of the state and disallowed the use of force to compel obedience to Islamic laws. The fatwa came at the conclusion of a national seminar organised by the International Islamic University in Islamabad to discuss the reconstruction of Pak society in the light of the Madina Charter. This document, often described as the oldest written constitution in the world, places emphasis on -- aside from various other issues -- peaceful resolution of disputes between people of different faiths, and the right of non-Moslems to autonomy and freedom of religion.

Granted, the fatwa contains little that is original: the Learned Elders of Islam have issued decrees along similar lines several times. There has been, in particular, a general consensus among them against suicide kaboom -- even if it has not always been unequivocal -- in which they have also been targeted. For instance, in 2009, Mufti Sarfaraz Ahmed Naeemi paid with his life for his robust condemnation of suicide kaboom in precisely such an attack. More recently, the JUI-F’s Maulana Ghafoor Haideri was injured when a jacket wallah struck his convoy, killing 27 people. The stance pertaining to jihad in the recently issued fatwa, however, is comparatively unusual. It harks back to the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
, Maulana Maudoodi, not to mention other religious scholars of yore, who held that only a state can declare jihad and no individual or group has the right to wage a private jihad of its own.

The eminently sensible, if obvious, assertions in the decree have been met with disapproval by Maulana Samiul Haq
...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time...
, who heads his own faction of the JUI. Known as the ’father of the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
’ because his madressah in Akora Khattak, KP, is the alma mater of several senior Afghan Taliban -- including their late leader Mullah Omar
... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality...
 -- the maulana has long been among the most strident supporters of militancy. Expressing concern over the fatwa, he contended that the rulers of the Moslem world were puppets of the West and could not therefore declare jihad against their masters. This is a perverse argument that has never lost currency among the ultra right and has been used to advocate armed struggle against the state. Certainly, resistance against the excesses of undemocratic or dictatorial regimes is morally justifiable, but its objective must be clear and violence should never be used to achieve it. Now, more than ever at this juncture, when various purveyors of violent extremism are creating mayhem in Pakistain and the region, it is important once again for religious leaders to reiterate the principles of peaceful coexistence.

Link


India-Pakistan
Throwing acid on IIUI staff’s car being probed
2016-05-11
[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: A three-member committee formed by the International Islamic University (IIUI) is inquiring into the recent incident of acid being thrown at one of its faculty member’s cars.

On March 14, acid was thrown on the car of Assistant Professor at the Physics department Dr Mumtaz, who was not in his car when the incident happened.

According to a source, one side of the car and its rear has been damaged which also caused fear among the faculty members. Soon after the incident, the university formed a three-member committee to inquire into the matter, said IIUI spokesperson Abid Masood.
Link


India-Pakistan
HuT activist arrested with ‘anti-state material’
2016-01-26
[Dawn] An activist of the banned outfit Hizbut Tahrir
...an al-Qaeda recruiting organization banned in most countries. It calls for the reestablishment of the Caliphate...
 (HuT) was incarcerated
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
 from the capital on Monday and anti-Pakistain and anti-army literature was recovered from him, police said.

Paperwork was started but nothing else was done against him at the Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
 Company Police Station on the complaint of Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Mubarak Ali under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) section 11-F for membership, support and meetings related to a proscribed organization.

The arrest was made when the police intercepted a Khyber car in G-9 sector and found two packets of anti-Pakistain literature, including 40 pamphlets and 464 copies of other reading material, in the rear seat of the car.

SHO Inspector Mubarak Ali said that after preliminary interrogation, the accused was presented before a court and was taken to jail on judicial remand.

The arrested man is a software engineer and is employed at a company, the SHO said, adding that he holds two masters degrees from the International Islamic University Islamabad.

During interrogation, it was found that HuT members communicate with each other via the internet and that literature, like that found with the arrested man, was also sent online and printed for distribution.

Security agencies had been asked last December to keep an eye out for possible activities by the banned HuT, a police officer told Dawn.

The officer said that reports had indicated that the banned outfit will be distributing reading material at worship places.

"It was suspected the outfit will do this after Friday prayers or after Isha prayers. Police were deployed at worship places on Friday and were directed to remain on duty there till the last worshiper had left," he added.

He said some buildings and areas, including E-11, I-9, I-10, Super Market and Jinnah Super were routinely patrolled as HuT had been active there in the past.

After a year of being inactive in the city, HuT had spurred into action in August of last year and had pasted and distributed pamphlets in I-8 and F-10 inviting residents to join the outfit for bringing a caliphate in the country, a police official said.

The organization had also sought help from the people to get rid of democracy and enforce Sharia, he added.

HuT is an international organization, formed in 1953 in Jerusalem by a Paleostinian scholar, that aims for all Muslim countries to come together and form an Islamic state or a caliphate that will be ruled with Islamic law.

It was banned in Pakistain in 2004 and the majority of its activists are from the upper class and are well educated professionals.
Link


India-Pakistan
Nato tanker arsonists 'hated America for invading Iraq'
2015-07-04
[DAWN] If the investigation into the attacks on NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization....
 fuel tankers is to be believed, the Iraq war of 2003 was the motivation for the attacks on NATO convoys in Pakistain.

Indeed, those convicted for torching oil tankers carrying supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan, seem to be educated, well-to-do and have said that the second US-led invasion of Iraq provoked them to carry out a 'jihad' against America.

On June 30, an Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi convicted Ali Imran, Aizazur Rehman and Shujauddin and awarded them the death sentence on eight counts. They have also been sentences to life in prison and fined heavily for burning NATO oil tankers on April 24, 2010.

According to the investigation, Ali Imran -- the principal accused -- was motivated by the US attack on Iraq to wage 'jihad' against the aggressing country.

A resident of the Doctor's Housing Society located near the Islamabad suburb of Koral, Ali Imran is believed to have joined the Jamaat Talba Islam (JTI) in the year 2000. His attorney, Malik Rafique, told Dawn that, at the time, Imran was a student at the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI). Imran's father, Dr Hafizur Rehman, was a former district president of the Al-Khidmat Foundation -- a non-profit charity organization linked to the Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
 (JI).

Advocate Aizazur Rehman, the second convict, was a law graduate and an active member of the district bar association in Jhelum and also taught at a local college, his lawyer told Dawn.

Shujauddin, the third convict, hails from tehsil Dina in Jhelum and was Rehman's cousin. The investigation also makes him out to be an active member of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa
...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba...
 (JuD).

The investigation revealed that Ali Imran met certain jihadi sympathisers in Islamabad, including Yaqoob alias Idrees, who took him to Wana in South Wazirstan for training. There, he is also believed to have met another Islamabad-native, Aslam alias Ibrahim.

After completing the training, Imran came back to Islamabad and kept in contact with Aslam. In their meetings, they discussed plans to disrupt the NATO supply line by setting fire to the fuel tankers.

Advocate Rehman's story is not very dissimilar; the investigation supposedly unearthed links he had with holy warrior organizations and claimed that Rehman met Imran in the summer of 2010 in Islamabad and together, they planned attacks the NATO fuel tankers.

Shujauddin is also said to have acquired training at a holy warrior camp in Wana. Investigators believe that he was the one responsible for setting fire to around 70 NATO tankers near Jeddah Town, Fateh Jang and Pindi Gheb.

Mr Rafique, who represents the three men, however, maintained that police had fabricated a false story to implicate his clients, who were well-educated individuals and not involved with militancy in any form.

However,
the hip bone's connected to the leg bone...
 Imran Qaiser, the public prosecutor in the case, told Dawn that the suspects were fully complicit in the attack on the NATO tankers. He said that the prosecution and investigation team had been warned and threatened by the suspects' sympathisers.

"This is a high-profile case and, therefore, the prosecution did its job and assisted the court as well as it could, even in the face of apparent danger," he said.

Mr Qaiser said that none of these men had attended a religious seminary, adding that all three were from relatively well-off backgrounds and had engaged an expert criminal lawyer to defend them.

This is not the only recent case of terrorism in the capital which has seen the involvement of middle-class and well-educated individuals. The alleged attackers and their controllers in the murder of Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali -- the prosecutor for the Benazir Bhutto
... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in...
 murder case -- also came from similar backgrounds. Three men, Abdullah Umar, Hammad Adil and Adnan Adil are currently staning trial in the matter.

The recently-apprehended Saud Aziz, who confessed to his role in the Safoora Goth carnage in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
, as well as the murder of Sabeen Mahmud, also attended IBA, the country's top business school, and came from a similarly well-to-do background.
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India-Pakistan
U.S. drones kill 2 leaders in Pakistan
2015-04-13
[DEFENCE.PK] U.S. drone strikes in Pakistain killed two leaders of al-Qaeda's Indian branch earlier this year, a front man for the bully boyz said Sunday, a major blow to the affiliate only months after its creation.

In an audio message, front man Osama Mahmood identified the dead as deputy chief Ahmed Farooq and Qari Imran
... the Qari Imran training camp is located in South Wazoo. It is named after its commander, Qari Imran alias Hakeem Nasir of the Mehsud group. Dawn describes Qari as an al-Qaeda facilitator, and the camp specializes in turning out boomers. 10 to 15 bad boyz were dronezapped at the camp on September 11th, 2008...
, in charge of the group's Afghan affairs. Mahmood said a Jan. 5 drone strike in North Wazoo killed Imran, while a later drone strike killed Farooq. His claim corresponds with dates that previously reported suspected U.S. drone attacks were carried out in Pakistain's tribal region near the Afghan border.

Mahmood said that Farooq's real name was Raja SLearned Elders of Islamn and that he graduated from Islamabad's International Islamic University. Mahmoud said Imran's real name was Hidayatullah and that he was from Pakistain's central city of Multan in Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....
province.

Mahmood also lashed out against Pakistain army over its operation in North Waziristan.

"This operation is being carried out under direct supervision of American forces, its leadership and with their direct help through drones and jets," Mahmood said. "The Mighty Pak Army is in fact just providing intelligence against the targets America wants to hit."

Mahmoud said U.S. drone strikes had killed some 50 members of his group. Pak officials had no immediate comment on the claims.

The CIA's drone strike program has killed al-Qaeda leaders, Pak Talibanfighters and other bully boyz hiding in its tribal regions even as it has evoked anger across Pakistain over allegations of widespread civilian casualties. Since 2004, the U.S. has carried out some 400 suspected drone strikes in the country, according to the New America Foundation's International Security Program, which tracks the American campaign.

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri
... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is...
 announced creation of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent in September. The terror group increasingly finds itself overshadowed internationally by the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
 group, which holds a third of Iraq and Syria in its self-declared caliphate.
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