Tag: Jihad

  • JIHAD  –   AS  A  UNIVERSAL CONCEPT

    JIHAD – AS A UNIVERSAL CONCEPT

    Allah cihad cihad jihadAyhan Ozer [ayhan313@verizon.net]

    The Islamic Jihad is an alarming word. In the west, either by ignorance or by design, it is loosely translated as “Holy War”. Yet, the Muslims claim that in Islamic teaching no war is holy; peace and harmony are divine injunctions in Islam. An attempt to present Islam as a warmongering faith is a stereotypical sensationalism handed down from by-gone era when Islam was painted as an arch-enemy of Christianity. If the Muslims are attacked with a faith- based intention then as a last resort Islam sanctions Jihad. Yet, Muslims are encouraged first to search for peaceful solutions to resolve their disputes and conflicts. Understanding, compromise and empathy should be given a chance to resolve hostility and confrontation as they are more constructive, and they lead to harmonious relations.

    Jihad is a multi-level concept, and has a larger connotation than its casual meaning would suggest. It is to strive in the way of God, and to struggle against evil inclinations within ourselves. It may come as a surprise to many but In that sense Jihad is not strictly religion-specific; rather, it is a way of dealing with adverse human conditions, which makes it universal. During a lifetime most individuals, even societies may have had their own moments of Jihad. For instance, the tremendous willpower put forth by a drug addict to free himself from the tentacles of addiction can be construed as a Jihad. Similarly, the ordeal of an alcoholic who seeks liberation from his predicament and his trials on this way can also be characterized as Jihad. All private struggles, such as gambling, over-eating that demand unrelenting will-power and nervous energy to overcome the evil within ourselves can be termed as Jihad.

    There is an anecdote attributed to Prophet Muhammad which illustrates the quiet inner struggle that each of us is required to exert from time to time. According to Traditions, the Prophet had just returned from a battle, victorious. He had proclaimed Jihad as the battle had been waged against the realm of disbelief to defend the faith and the faithful. One of his men said to Him, “Oh Muhammad, you have achieved your Jihad, you must rejoice it!” Prophet responded, “It was a lesser Jihad, now we have greater Jihad that lies ahead of us, and we must overcome it.” The man was puzzled, he asked, “Oh, Muhammad is there a goal more important than to be victorious in a battle?” Prophet replied, “Yes, there is! Now, it is time to conquer the evil force within ourselves, and restrain our ego lest we should slide into vainglory, and dilute our victory.”

    Almost every society has its own flaws. Some are intolerant of the religious or ethnic differences. Others are racist, and some societies oppress women, or deny basic civil liberties to their own people. Racism, for one, is a human defect inherently built in our sub-conscious. It plagues societies indiscriminately. America is a good example in that regard. At one time in its history America suffered from racism and ant –Semitism. As all the evils these two require constant vigilance lest they should raise their heads. Racism especially needs unyielding weariness; it may not be defeated yet it can be controlled through reinforcement and education. What is remarkable about America is its conscious and unrelenting persistence to purge itself of these moral shortcomings. And this can be termed as Jihad! The Civil Rights movement of the 1960s held a mirror to the psyche of the American society, and the country has become continuously vigilant against bigotry and prejudice, and eliminated them from the public sphere. What makes America great is the arduous journey it has undertaken tirelessly in the way of self edification, and its readiness to fight evil forces. In the Islamic lexicon it is called “Supreme Jihad.”

    The above are inspiring examples that describe the concept of Jihad from a larger perspective. The common thread in all those examples is the conscious effort to transcend the self in pursuit of moral rectitude.

    ****

    Ayhan Özer

  • Turkey: Victim of Its Own Enthusiasm for Jihad

    Turkey: Victim of Its Own Enthusiasm for Jihad

    by Burak Bekdil
    July 7, 2016 at 4:00 am

    • “Infidels who were enemies of Islam thought they buried Islam in the depths of history when they abolished the caliphate on March 3, 1924 … We are shouting out that we will re-establish the caliphate, here, right next to the parliament.” — Mahmut Kar, media bureau chief of Hizb ut-Tahrir Turkey.
    • “The magazine [Dabiq] creates propaganda for [ISIS]. It has an open address. Why does no one raid its offices?” — Opposition MP Turkey’s Parliament.

    The government big guns in Ankara just shrugged it off when on June 5, 2015, only two days before general elections in the country, homegrown jihadist militants for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syia (ISIS, or ISIL or IS) detonated bombs, killing four people and injuring over 100, at a pro-Kurdish political rally.

    Again, when IS, on July 20, 2015, bombed a meeting of pro-Kurdish peace activists in a small town on Turkey’s Syrian border, killing 33 people and injuring over 100, the government behaved as if it had never happened. After all, a bunch of “wild boys” from the ranks of jihad — which the ruling party in Ankara not-so-secretly aspires to — were killing the common enemy: Kurds.

    Then when IS jihadists, in October, killed over 100 people in the heart of Ankara, while targeting, once again, a public rally of pro-peace activists (including many Kurds), the Turkish government put the blame on “a cocktail of terror groups” — meaning the attack may have been a product of Islamists, far-leftist and Kurdish militants. “IS, Kurdish or far-leftist militants could have carried out the bombing,” the prime minister at the time, Ahmet Davutoglu, said. It was the worst single terror attack in Turkey’s history, and the Ankara government was too demure even to name the perpetrators. An indictment against 36 suspects, completed nearly nine months after the attack, identified all defendants as Islamic State members. So there was no “cocktail of terror.” It was just the jihadists.

    In the last year, there had been further jihadist acts of terror, targeting Turks and foreign tourists, but with relatively few casualties up to now. At an Istanbul airport, however, a mysterious explosion, which the authorities hastily attempted to cover up, was probably the precursor of the latest mega-attack in Istanbul. The management at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport said on Dec. 23, 2015 that: “There was an explosion at the apron and investigation regarding its cause is progressing … Fights have resumed.” That unidentified explosion consisted of three or four mortars fired at a passenger plane parked at the apron. The attack killed one unfortunate cleaner.

    The incident was quickly “disappeared” from the public memory. One person dying in a mysterious explosion was too minor for a collective Turkish memory that had grown used to casualties coming in the dozens. It was, in fact, a powerful message from the terrorists: We will target your lifeline — air traffic.

    Every year about 60 million travelers pass through Istanbul’s main airport, Ataturk. Turkey is now building an even bigger airport that will host 150 million passengers a year. Completing the mission from December’s “minor and unresolved” attack at the Sabiha Gokcen Airport, the terrorists visited Ataturk Airport on June 28, killing at least 45 and injuring hundreds of people.

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    Travelers are shown fleeing, trying to escape the terrorists attacking Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, June 28, 2016. (Image source: ABC video screenshot)

    Turkish prime minister, Binali Yildirim, said that it was “probably” an attack by IS. Days later, the suicide bombers were identified as jihadists of Central Asian origin.

    In a state of perpetual denial, Turkey’s Islamist rulers are still too bashful to admit any linkage between political Islam and violence. Ironically, their denial exposes their country to the risk of even more Islamic terror. Worse, the political Islam they fuel in their own country is growing millions of potential jihadists at home. In November, a Pew Research Center study found that 27% of Turks (more than 20 million) did not have an unfavorable opinion of IS — compared to, say, 16% in the Palestinian territories.

    In March, only three months before the latest jihadist attack in Istanbul, thousands of supporters of Hizb ut-Tahrir — a global Islamist group, viewed by Russia and Kazakhstan as a terrorist group but that defines itself as a political organization aiming to “lead the ummah” [Islamic community] to the re-establishment of the caliphate and rule with sharia law — gathered at a public sports hall in Ankara, courtesy of the Turkish government, to discuss the re-establishment of the Islamic caliphate. In his speech, Mahmut Kar, the media bureau chief of Hizb-ut Tahrir Turkey said:

    “Infidels who were enemies of Islam thought they buried Islam in the depths of history when they abolished the caliphate on March 3, 1924 … We are hopeful, enthusiastic and happy. Some 92 years later… we are shouting out that we will re-establish the caliphate, here, right next to the parliament.”

    It was not a coincidence that an opposition MP on July 1 took the speaker’s point at the Turkish parliament, showed a copy of a magazine, Dabiq, largely viewed as IS’s press organ, to an audience and said: “This is [IS’s] official magazine. It is published in Turkey. Its fifth issue is out now. The magazine creates propaganda for [IS]. It has an open address. Why does no one raid its offices?”

    That question will probably remain unanswered.

    Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

  • More than 22 Muslim Terror Training Camps on American Soil!?!

    More than 22 Muslim Terror Training Camps on American Soil!?!

    cihad women jihad cihat

    By Tim Brown / /

    While the Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to investigate 1,000 ISIS-tied individuals in the united States, there are at least 22 paramilitary Islamic communities in the US that they know of, but are not doing anything about. Now, the stage has been set for more Islamic jihad attacks on US soil under the watchful eye of the FBI.

    The groups are operated by Jamaat al-Fuqra, a Pakistan-based group, who main front group is Muslims of the Americas.

    Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani, a Pakistani cleric, heads up the group in Islamberg, New York. The communes operated by the organization are in mostly remote areas of California, Georgia, South Carolina, New York, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Michigan, Tennessee and other states.

    The Clarion Project reported on these camps:

    The organization says it has a network of 22 “villages” around the U.S., with Islamberg as its main headquarters in New York. Clarion Project obtained secret MOA footage showing female members receiving paramilitary training at Islamberg. It was featured on the Kelly File on FOX News Channel in October. A second MOA tape released by Clarion shows its spokesman declaring the U.S. to be a Muslim-majority country.

    A 2007 FBI record states that MOA members have been involved in at least 10 murders, one disappearance, three firebombings, one attempted firebombing, two explosive bombings and one attempted bombing. It states:

    “The documented propensity for violence by this organization supports the belief the leadership of the MOA extols membership to pursue a policy of jihad or holy war against individuals or groups it considers enemies of Islam, which includes the U.S. Government. Members of the MOA are encouraged to travel to Pakistan to receive religious and military/terrorist training from Sheikh Gilani.”

    The document also says that, “The MOA is now an autonomous organization which possesses an infrastructure capable of planning and mounting terrorist campaigns overseas and within the U.S.”

    Other FBI reports describe the MOA in similar ways, with a 2003 file stating, “Investigation of the Muslims of the Americas is based on specific and articulate facts giving justification to believe they are engaged in international terrorism…”

    MOA members believe the holiest Islamic site in the country is located at their Islamville commune in South Carolina. Other MOA entities include the International Quranic Open University, United Muslim Christian Forum, Islamic Post, Muslim Veterans of America and American Muslim Medical Relief Team.

    An Islamic commune in Mahmoudberg, Texas has been around since the early 1980s and one member of the group was shot and killed in a reported “accident,” as one member returned fire to what they claim were people harassing them. Several members have used false aliases, Social Security numbers and birth certificates, according to two FBI documents from 1992.

    Pamela Geller, author of Stop the Islamization of America, says that the communes are mostly made up of Blacks who converted to Islam while in federal prison and have operated “under the not-so-watchful eye” of the FBI since the early 80

    However, the real question is why are they allowed to operate? At the time of the writing of the Clarion Project’s article, MOA was designated as a terrorist organization. In 2005, Jamaat ul-Fuqra was also listed by Homeland Security as a possible sponsor of a terrorist attack on the US, and in 1998, the State Department’s Patterns of Global Terrorism report described the group as an “Islamic sect that seeks to purify Islam through violence.”

    In January 2002, the State Department was asked why MOA was no longer listed in their annual terrorism reports. Here was the reply:

    “Jamaat ul-Fuqra has never been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. It was included in several recent annual terrorism reports under ‘other terrorist groups,’ i.e., groups that had carried out acts of terrorism but that were not formally designated by the Secretary of State. However, because of the group’s inactivity during 2000, it was not included in the most recent terrorism report covering that calendar year.”

    The obvious question is why have these groups, with anti-American sentiments and violent intentions been allowed to grow under the supervision of the FBI?

    I’ll venture a guess that it is because the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the federal government in a similar manner to Communists and are working hand in hand for the destruction of America.

    The next San Bernardino, Garland, or Oklahoma is just waiting to happen, but will it occur in your city or state, and are you prepared to deal with the Islamists when they strike? Or, are you more willing to take the Constitutional approach to cut Islam off at the knees and deal with those that adhere to it as those engaged in sedition? The choice is yours.

    Take a look at Jihad in America: The Grand Deception for more on this topic.

  • Turkey Acts Against Jihadists

    Jamie Dettmer

    LONDON — Turkish authorities arrested two senior al-Qaida members and 28 other suspects this week in coordinated counter-terrorist raids in several provinces.

    Analysts say the action may herald a hardening of Turkey’s policy towards jihadists. The government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been criticized for months for not doing enough to stop them from transiting Turkey to fight in the civil war in neighboring Syria.

    Among those netted in the raids, according to Turkish security officials, were İbrahim Şen, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, and Halis Bayancuk, said to be al-Qaida’s top representative in Turkey.

    Three other high-ranking al-Qaida affiliated fighters fled into Syria before officers made the arrests, according to Turkish security officials.

    Authorities also raided a branch of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (İHH), a Turkish charity that at times has enjoyed close ties with the Erdoğan government and is Turkey’s largest supplier of humanitarian aid to Syrians. Accusations of jihadist links have swirled around IHH for several years. In 2010, Germany banned a branch of the charity for links to jihadists.

    Tuesday, the charity’s vice president said the raid was “part of a dirty plot.”

    Huseyin Oruc denied any ties to al-Qaida and said in a statement: “IHH aid is delivered to Syrian babies, children and those who freeze in the cold. This is an operation to change perceptions (about IHH) and stop aid from being delivered inside Syria.”

    On January 1, Turkish security forces seized an IHH aid truck in Hatay province headed for Syria. The truck was found to be loaded with weapons and ammunition. IHH denied any involvement in arms trafficking.

    Deportations

    The counter-terror raids came just weeks after foreign ministry officials said Turkey had been deporting European nationals linked to radical Islamist groups. According to a report shared with Western embassies in Ankara, more than 1,000 European jihadists linked to groups fighting the Syrian government were deported last year.

    Some analysts argue the deportation figure was exaggerated to quell Western fears about the rise of al-Qaida affiliates among rebel ranks in northern Syria.

    “There’s no actual evidence or other corroboration” of the deportations, said Aaron Zelin, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a U.S.-based think tank.

    Erdoğan’s government has been highly supportive of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and critical of U.S. and European powers for their lack of intervention. He has pushed for a no-fly zone to be established by the West to protect rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

    Western pressure

    Erdoğan also has allowed rebels to use Turkey as a lifeline for arms and supplies. In recent months, though, Ankara has come under mounting diplomatic pressure from its Western allies, especially Washington, over radical Islamist groups using Turkey as a base to fight in Syria. Anxiety has mounted in European capitals about a possible blowback from jihadists returning to their home countries.

    The head of Britain’s foreign intelligence arm MI6, John Sawers, told a British parliamentary panel in December that 300 young British Muslims had gone off to join jihadist groups to fight in Syria.

    “They are likely to acquire expertise and experience which could significantly increase the threat posed when they return home,” he warned.

    Belgium’s Interior Minister told reporters at a recent security summit in Brussels that about 2,000 Europeans so far have fought in Syria.

    via Turkey Acts Against Jihadists.

    more:

  • ‘Turkey deported 1,100 European jihadists’

    ‘Turkey deported 1,100 European jihadists’

    Ankara has sent a report to Germany, Belgium, France and the Netherlands, the ountries from where the fighters mainly came from, Xinhua reported quoting Haberturk daily.

    Turkey arrested these European citizens with the help of the National Intelligence Organisation, Gendarmerie forces and police units in 41 operations in 2013, the report said, adding there are still around 1,500 European citizens who want to go to Syria and fight on the front lines along with Al Qaeda.

    Turkey is on alert about suspected jihadists and has been sharing intelligence with European countries in this regard through Interpol, the report said.

    The country carried out 141 operations against Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda-linked groups in the last three years, detaining 518 suspects and imprisoning 217 of them.

    IANS

  • Islamic extremism: The languages of jihad

    Islamic extremism: The languages of jihad

    Islamic extremism

    The languages of jihad

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    Islamic extremists are an increasingly multilingual bunch, especially online

    Feb 16th 2013 |From the print edition

    Aussi disponible en français

    ARABIC was for long the unchallenged language of Islamic extremism. Its speakers far outnumber any other linguistic group. Arab lands are the most fruitful recruiting grounds. Without Arabic, tyros may struggle at training camps and on the battlefield. And fluency implies piety: the language of the Koran also connotes learning and wisdom.

    But the once monoglot world of jihad is increasingly multilingual. Al-Qaeda has long advocated the creation of self-starting, independent terrorist cells. Materials are being produced in the language of any part of the world that has a Muslim minority and thus potential sympathisers, says Thomas Hegghammer, an expert on violent extremism. Translations are appearing in the languages of countries where jihadist leaders want to see further activity.

    In his 1,600-page opus, “The Call to Global Islamic Resistance”, released in 2005, Abu Musab al-Suri, an al-Qaeda strategist, called for jihadi materials to be released in other tongues, including English. Over the past ten years grassroots activists who connect with each other online have published ever more on the internet in an ever greater variety of languages, says Aaron Zelin, a research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who runs a website called Jihadology.

    Groups such as Fursan al-Balagh Media and Al Qadisiyah Media (which specialises in Asian languages such as Bengali, Hindi and Urdu) translate jihadi propaganda. In one document Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud, leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, warns Western powers considering action in Mali: “If you want it [sic] a war then we will meet your desire and the Great Sahara will be the grave of your soldiers and an annihilation for your money, Allah willing.” Organisations such as the Global Islamic Media Front, a virtual entity, then vet such stuff and distribute it. The international version of Ansar al-Mujahidin, a big online forum, is a clamour of different languages. English is foremost, but publications are also available in Albanian, Bosnian, Filipino, French, German, Italian, Pushtu, Spanish, Urdu and Uighur.

    Militant groups need to reach enemies as well as possible friends. Threats lose their impact if the infidels do not understand the scolding. On the Ansar forum an al-Qaeda statement condemns the intervention in Mali of “crusader France” and threatens retribution—in French as well as English.

    Effective public-relations campaigns require not only English, but also the use of social media. Hence the eagerness of the al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab militia that controls most of south Somalia to tweet in English. Fewer than 5,000 people follow its Arabic Twitter feed (and under 500 follow the Somali one). But more than 20,000 subscribed to the English tweets by the time Twitter closed the account in January (it had carried threats to kill two Kenyan hostages if the Kenyan government did not respond to the group’s demands). A new account set up this month gained 2,000 followers in a week. Its tweets have lost none of the old menace. “Arm yourself,” urges one, “a #Mujahid would loathe to fight the unarmed.”

    From the print edition: International

    via Islamic extremism: The languages of jihad | The Economist.