Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Contours of a new terror matrix

By Wilson John - The Pioneer - India
March 14, 2006, New Delhi

The stage is set for a new terrorist confederation with the sole agenda of wreaking havoc across the heartland of India in the months to come. Ignorance or indifference to the clear signs of such an alliance - visible from Bangalore to Delhi, via Ayodhya, Nalgonda, Mulund and Varanasi - would prove suicidal for India.
One of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world, Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), operating in Pakistan almost freely with the blessings of the Pakistan state, especially the Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, has been re-activated at several locations in India.

LeT is the only terrorist organisation in Pakistan that has been allowed to expand its network, recruit and gather funds, despite a worldwide ban. It works under the cover of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, its parent organisation, which claims to be a charitable and educational organisation committed to bring about an Islamic revolution by teaching and training students in the Islamic way of life, while imparting in them the spirit and content of modern, scientific education.

LeT's first forays into India began after the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992, recruiting its first set of terror soldiers, Jalees Ansari, Azzam Ghauri and Abdul Karim Tunda, etc. Operational bases were set up in Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad, exploiting the widespread rage among Muslims in the wake of the demolition. The group exploits two sets of local support to execute its operations - the ISI assets and its ideological association with Ahl-e-Hadis, an Islamic school of thought, which emerged in India following the downfall of the Mughal empire with the objective of restoring Islam to its prior glory and power.

Hadis advocated return to the scriptures and called for purifying the religion of its external influences, like Hinduism and even Sufism. It was the followers of Hadis founding father, Shah Walilullah of Delhi, who launched their first jihad against Sikhs, and subsequently against the British, before being crushed by the British in 1857.

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Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Contours of a new terror matrix
By Wilson John - The Pioneer - India
March 14, 2006, New Delhi

The stage is set for a new terrorist confederation with the sole agenda of wreaking havoc across the heartland of India in the months to come. Ignorance or indifference to the clear signs of such an alliance - visible from Bangalore to Delhi, via Ayodhya, Nalgonda, Mulund and Varanasi - would prove suicidal for India.
One of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world, Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), operating in Pakistan almost freely with the blessings of the Pakistan state, especially the Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, has been re-activated at several locations in India.

LeT is the only terrorist organisation in Pakistan that has been allowed to expand its network, recruit and gather funds, despite a worldwide ban. It works under the cover of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, its parent organisation, which claims to be a charitable and educational organisation committed to bring about an Islamic revolution by teaching and training students in the Islamic way of life, while imparting in them the spirit and content of modern, scientific education.

LeT's first forays into India began after the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992, recruiting its first set of terror soldiers, Jalees Ansari, Azzam Ghauri and Abdul Karim Tunda, etc. Operational bases were set up in Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad, exploiting the widespread rage among Muslims in the wake of the demolition. The group exploits two sets of local support to execute its operations - the ISI assets and its ideological association with Ahl-e-Hadis, an Islamic school of thought, which emerged in India following the downfall of the Mughal empire with the objective of restoring Islam to its prior glory and power.

Hadis advocated return to the scriptures and called for purifying the religion of its external influences, like Hinduism and even Sufism. It was the followers of Hadis founding father, Shah Walilullah of Delhi, who launched their first jihad against Sikhs, and subsequently against the British, before being crushed by the British in 1857.

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