By Piers Akerman
July 31, 2007 12:00am
THE civil liberties' lobby and its fellow travellers are trying to portray Dr Mohamed Haneef as the new David Hicks, conveniently glossing over the fact Hicks was a self-confessed al-Qaeda trainee whose own father believed he was a terrorist.
That was before the hand-wringers airbrushed all mention of their martyr's terrorist training and his love letters to global Islam out of the picture because they were inconvenient to the real cause: Fighting the Howard Government.
Hyperbolic claims are being made in a frenzied blame game in the pre-election atmosphere but they need to be examined through the prism of reality.
It is therefore notable that Bangalore police will meet Dr Haneef in the next few days to talk to him about any knowledge he may have of a December 2005 terrorist attack on the Indian Institute of Science in India's IT capital.
According to the Hindustan Times, a scientist died in the attack, which police believe was the work of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) - one of the groups Hicks trained with before going to Afhganistan for al-Qaeda finishing school.
Not that Dr Haneef is suspected of any involvement, but the Bangalore police are still exploring every lead in their fight against terror - as authorities are doing the world over - and with good reason.
A week ago Italian police raided what they called a "bomb school" at a mosque in Perugia in central Italy, arresting three and presenting evidence of training in explosives and poisons and instructions on flying a Boeing 747.
Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community director Sheik Abdul Adid Palazzi told the BBC he was not surprised to hear of the arrests because "like in the rest of Western Europe, most mosques are controlled by pro-terror organisations - 90 per cent of mosques. And I think the percentage is more or less the same in Italy, Britain, France and Germany."
While Australia's handling of the Haneef case will no doubt be used by enemies of the nation to encourage the erroneous perception Australia is a racist redoubt that goes after people like Dr Haneef just because he's Muslim, it's worth recalling that prominent Indian journalist Barkha Dutt used the issue to explore inadequacies in India's treatment of terrorist suspects.
"In a case eerily similar to Haneef's, didn't our investigating agencies almost put an innocent man on death row?" Dutt wrote in the Hindustan Times.
"The Pota court trying the case in its early stages convicted a Delhi-based college teacher along with the other accused and sentenced him to death.
"The entire case against Professor S.A.R. Geelani was based on the fact he had some telephonic contact with the prime accused in the days before the attack. It was left to the Supreme Court to throw out the case against the professor and acquit him of all charges.
"Even today, intelligence officials and investigating officers insist their case against him was foolproof and they had been let down by the courts. I don't remember any public outrage defining the national response to the Professor Geelani case."
As it happens, a gaggle of the hate-Australia brigade met at a rally in the Sydney suburb of Bankstown organised by the global Islamist movement Hizb ut-Tahrir to express outrage at the lack of support shown by the Muslim community for Sydney men arrested in the nation's biggest counter-terrorism sweep, Operation Pendennis.
Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser, who had promised them a written statement to be read out to the crowd but withdrew his message, came in for some flack but local lawyer Adam Houda sent a message in which he made the preposterous claim Muslims had become targets of the anti-terror laws and scapegoats for political ends.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned in several European nations but not the UK or Australia, though an investigation into the organisation is under way.
There is no doubt aspects of the Haneef matter ill serve the nation's interests but it must also be noted Dr Haneef's father-in-law Ashafaq Ahmed Ahmed has expressed remorse for booking a one-way ticket to India for Dr Haneef, saying that factor added to the Australian police's suspicions.
Dr Haneef appears to have emerged unscathed, albeit richer after selling an interview.
How much more compensation he should receive is a moot point but the Australian public deserves an explanation from Queensland's Premier Peter Beattie and Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson of the leaks that seem to have come from the state police.
Similarly, Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty and Federal DPP Damian Bugg appear at odds about evidence (and non-evidence) that was to support the case against Dr Haneef and question remain about the material Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews was shown before he cancelled Dr Haneef's visa.
That there was no terrorist threat proven does not mean we will be any safer but, in the interests of transparency, to restore faith in our system and to ensure better co-ordination, an explanation of the flawed process should be provided and revision of the system conducted.
Tuesday 31 July 2007
Opium stash, extremist leaflets of Hizb ut-Tahrir discovered near Bishkek
Bishkek, July 31, Interfax - Agents of the Kyrgyz Drug Control Agency have discovered a cache of Hizb ut-Tahrir extremist organization near the Bishkek-Kant highway.
"The cache contained 1,478 grams of opium, 26 radical religious leaflets and 39 7.62-mm caliber cartridges," Interfax was told at the agency on Tuesday.
The contraband was discovered under fragments of a concrete panel three kilometers away from the Russia's Kant airbase, a spokesman said.
"The cache contained 1,478 grams of opium, 26 radical religious leaflets and 39 7.62-mm caliber cartridges," Interfax was told at the agency on Tuesday.
The contraband was discovered under fragments of a concrete panel three kilometers away from the Russia's Kant airbase, a spokesman said.
SCO PREPARES LIST OF BANNED RADICAL GROUPS
By Roger McDermott
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Radical groups operating within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states will be placed on a new, common list of banned organizations. On July 24 Toygonbek Kalmatov, from the Kyrgyz government agency for religious, confirmed that SCO representatives recently held a closed meeting in order to list international “religious extremist” organizations currently banned within member states. The criteria for placing groups on this new list have not been made public, nor has the list itself. Interestingly, Kalmatov refused to comment on the precise nature of the list, preferring to reinforce the message that the SCO member states face threats from banned organizations, either directly or indirectly, and confirming that additional investigations are underway in connection with designating these groups as outlawed.
His comments highlight the complex and often politicized nature of threat assessments in Central Asian security thinking. Moreover, given China’s increased diplomatic security activity ahead of the SCO summit in Bishkek in August, it suggests a possible widening of the scope for placing certain groups under scrutiny, while the actual “threat” posed by these groups remains unclear. Will such a list serve as a focal point to guide the collaborative work of the regions intelligence agencies? Critics believe it may simply serve to supply and exaggerate de facto justification for political repression in the SCO countries.
Kalmatov did reveal that the list involves several well known and lesser known groups including: the Ul-Shura Higher Military Majilis of the United Forces of Mujahideen of the Caucasus, Al-Qaeda, Al-Jihad, the Muslim Brothers, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, Lashkar-i-Taiba, the Islamic Party of Turkestan, and the Taliban. He commented that the number of banned groups varies among the member states; there are 17 in Russia, six in China, and 24 in Uzbekistan (Akipress, July 24).
Multiple Kazakh media sources have reported rising militant activity in Central Asia, although their reports concentrate on neighboring Kyrgyzstan. Hizb-ut-Tahrir is singled out, buoyed by allegedly empowering the impoverished, poorly educated Kyrgyz youth. The message is clear: radical ideology is gaining ground and becoming an established, growing network in the region (Khabar Television, July 23).
Kyrgyzstan's intelligence agencies have allegedly observed that religious extremist organizations operating within the country have become more active. However, evidence appears sporadic, including leaflets containing extremist calls for the forcible overthrow of the government, which are typical of extremist propaganda throughout the region. What appear new, however, are the locations involved, spreading from southern Kyrgyzstan to almost every part of the country. Arrests have led to the seizure of weapons, triggering fears that militants could be planning to take action.
Local residents in southern Kyrgyzstan have noted increasing activity from Hizb-ut-Tahrir since the militant incursion into southern Kyrgyzstan in 2006. “We are all frightened. We fear that militants might come here at any moment. When they said that they were in the mountains here, we got afraid very much. In fact nobody knows for sure. They might be there even now,” explained one anxious Kyrgyz resident.
Indeed, members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir were detained on July 25 in Kyrgyzstan’s northern Chuy region. Leaflets were seized at a traffic checkpoint and, on the same day, 20 leaflets were seized during the arrest of two Hizb-ut-Tahrir activists in the village of Chuy (Kabar, July 25).
Kazakhstan may well be pushing its own security agenda by drawing attention to the weaknesses of the Kyrgyz security agencies, while denying that these problems are as extensive within Kazakhstan. Astana is placing itself at the forefront of an approach stimulating greater inter-regional cooperation while displaying its own regional leadership, but it also acknowledges Beijing’s own security agenda. Alik Shpekbayev, Kazakhstan’s deputy interior minister, and the Chinese ambassador to Kazakhstan, Zhang Xiyun, have discussed the prospects for cooperation in the fight against transnational crime: “We want to strengthen our international relations with foreign colleagues, especially in those regions where we share borders with China, Russia, and countries of the Central Asian region. We are raising the issue of improving these relations,” Shpekbayev noted. Kazakhstan wants more access to Chinese police training for its own officers, knowing this will be cost effective and demonstrate Astana’s commitment to strong bilateral security relations. “I fully agree with the deputy minister that both traditional and new threats are common to our countries,” the Chinese ambassador said. Beijing also wants more joint activities between the Kazakh and Chinese police.
Zhang praised the level of bilateral security cooperation between the two countries. China’s Ministry of Public Security has provided “no-strings” technical aid worth $396,000 to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. “It is worth expressing a high opinion about cooperation between the police of Kazakhstan and China in the field of fighting crime and extremism. As a sign of gratitude for establishing good and lively contacts, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security has taken a decision to hand this technical equipment over to the Kazakh Interior Ministry,” Zhang explained.
China provided four all-terrain vehicles, two sets of scanners, five surveillance devices, 40 sets of equipment for crime detection, 30 cameras and video cameras, 30 notebooks, as well as communications equipment and office equipment. The materials will be distributed to police departments in Almaty and Eastern Kazakhstan, which borders China. Beijing has a vested interest in Kazakh security, and can deliver equipment quickly once a decision has been made, cutting through unnecessary bureaucracy (Interfax, July 20).
The emergence of a commonly agreed list of banned organizations encompassing the SCO member states may in fact betray an eastward drift in the security strategies and thinking within the security agencies of the region. SCO dynamics may play a key role in determining the groups and individuals regarded as “radical” and by definition subject to the scrutiny of the region’s security agencies. Nonetheless, the SCO will have to produce more than just a list of banned extremist groups in order to establish its security credentials among its critics.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Radical groups operating within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states will be placed on a new, common list of banned organizations. On July 24 Toygonbek Kalmatov, from the Kyrgyz government agency for religious, confirmed that SCO representatives recently held a closed meeting in order to list international “religious extremist” organizations currently banned within member states. The criteria for placing groups on this new list have not been made public, nor has the list itself. Interestingly, Kalmatov refused to comment on the precise nature of the list, preferring to reinforce the message that the SCO member states face threats from banned organizations, either directly or indirectly, and confirming that additional investigations are underway in connection with designating these groups as outlawed.
His comments highlight the complex and often politicized nature of threat assessments in Central Asian security thinking. Moreover, given China’s increased diplomatic security activity ahead of the SCO summit in Bishkek in August, it suggests a possible widening of the scope for placing certain groups under scrutiny, while the actual “threat” posed by these groups remains unclear. Will such a list serve as a focal point to guide the collaborative work of the regions intelligence agencies? Critics believe it may simply serve to supply and exaggerate de facto justification for political repression in the SCO countries.
Kalmatov did reveal that the list involves several well known and lesser known groups including: the Ul-Shura Higher Military Majilis of the United Forces of Mujahideen of the Caucasus, Al-Qaeda, Al-Jihad, the Muslim Brothers, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, Lashkar-i-Taiba, the Islamic Party of Turkestan, and the Taliban. He commented that the number of banned groups varies among the member states; there are 17 in Russia, six in China, and 24 in Uzbekistan (Akipress, July 24).
Multiple Kazakh media sources have reported rising militant activity in Central Asia, although their reports concentrate on neighboring Kyrgyzstan. Hizb-ut-Tahrir is singled out, buoyed by allegedly empowering the impoverished, poorly educated Kyrgyz youth. The message is clear: radical ideology is gaining ground and becoming an established, growing network in the region (Khabar Television, July 23).
Kyrgyzstan's intelligence agencies have allegedly observed that religious extremist organizations operating within the country have become more active. However, evidence appears sporadic, including leaflets containing extremist calls for the forcible overthrow of the government, which are typical of extremist propaganda throughout the region. What appear new, however, are the locations involved, spreading from southern Kyrgyzstan to almost every part of the country. Arrests have led to the seizure of weapons, triggering fears that militants could be planning to take action.
Local residents in southern Kyrgyzstan have noted increasing activity from Hizb-ut-Tahrir since the militant incursion into southern Kyrgyzstan in 2006. “We are all frightened. We fear that militants might come here at any moment. When they said that they were in the mountains here, we got afraid very much. In fact nobody knows for sure. They might be there even now,” explained one anxious Kyrgyz resident.
Indeed, members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir were detained on July 25 in Kyrgyzstan’s northern Chuy region. Leaflets were seized at a traffic checkpoint and, on the same day, 20 leaflets were seized during the arrest of two Hizb-ut-Tahrir activists in the village of Chuy (Kabar, July 25).
Kazakhstan may well be pushing its own security agenda by drawing attention to the weaknesses of the Kyrgyz security agencies, while denying that these problems are as extensive within Kazakhstan. Astana is placing itself at the forefront of an approach stimulating greater inter-regional cooperation while displaying its own regional leadership, but it also acknowledges Beijing’s own security agenda. Alik Shpekbayev, Kazakhstan’s deputy interior minister, and the Chinese ambassador to Kazakhstan, Zhang Xiyun, have discussed the prospects for cooperation in the fight against transnational crime: “We want to strengthen our international relations with foreign colleagues, especially in those regions where we share borders with China, Russia, and countries of the Central Asian region. We are raising the issue of improving these relations,” Shpekbayev noted. Kazakhstan wants more access to Chinese police training for its own officers, knowing this will be cost effective and demonstrate Astana’s commitment to strong bilateral security relations. “I fully agree with the deputy minister that both traditional and new threats are common to our countries,” the Chinese ambassador said. Beijing also wants more joint activities between the Kazakh and Chinese police.
Zhang praised the level of bilateral security cooperation between the two countries. China’s Ministry of Public Security has provided “no-strings” technical aid worth $396,000 to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. “It is worth expressing a high opinion about cooperation between the police of Kazakhstan and China in the field of fighting crime and extremism. As a sign of gratitude for establishing good and lively contacts, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security has taken a decision to hand this technical equipment over to the Kazakh Interior Ministry,” Zhang explained.
China provided four all-terrain vehicles, two sets of scanners, five surveillance devices, 40 sets of equipment for crime detection, 30 cameras and video cameras, 30 notebooks, as well as communications equipment and office equipment. The materials will be distributed to police departments in Almaty and Eastern Kazakhstan, which borders China. Beijing has a vested interest in Kazakh security, and can deliver equipment quickly once a decision has been made, cutting through unnecessary bureaucracy (Interfax, July 20).
The emergence of a commonly agreed list of banned organizations encompassing the SCO member states may in fact betray an eastward drift in the security strategies and thinking within the security agencies of the region. SCO dynamics may play a key role in determining the groups and individuals regarded as “radical” and by definition subject to the scrutiny of the region’s security agencies. Nonetheless, the SCO will have to produce more than just a list of banned extremist groups in order to establish its security credentials among its critics.
Kazakhstan to start trying members of banned Islamic organization
Karaganda, July 31, Interfax - The trial of 30 members of the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, which is considered extremist and is banned in Kazakhstan, will start in Karaganda, a regional center in central Kazakhstan, on Wednesday.
The trial will be held in camera at a pretrial detention facility, Judge Marat Ibrayev, the judge to preside in the hearings, told Interfax on Tuesday.
"I have ruled to hold the hearings behind closed doors, as the criminal case contains classified materials," he said.
The regional department of the Kazakh National Security Committee said in a statement that the defendants were detained on suspicion of affiliation with Hizb ut-Tahrir in December 2006. They have been charged with setting up an organized criminal group on Kazakh territory, fuelling ethnic and religious discord, and running a banned extremist organization.
The trial will be held in camera at a pretrial detention facility, Judge Marat Ibrayev, the judge to preside in the hearings, told Interfax on Tuesday.
"I have ruled to hold the hearings behind closed doors, as the criminal case contains classified materials," he said.
The regional department of the Kazakh National Security Committee said in a statement that the defendants were detained on suspicion of affiliation with Hizb ut-Tahrir in December 2006. They have been charged with setting up an organized criminal group on Kazakh territory, fuelling ethnic and religious discord, and running a banned extremist organization.
Uzbek Prisoner Dies In Unclear Circumstances
July 31, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- An Uzbek prisoner has died in jail under suspicious circumstances.
The body of 39-year-old Inomjon Yoqubov was given to his family and the burial took place on July 19 in the eastern Uzbek city of Margilon.
Yoqubov's sister, Nazokat, told RFE/RL's Uzbek Service today that there were several wounds on the body.
In 1998, Yoqubov was sentenced to 18 years in jail for membership in a banned Islamist group, Hizb ut-Tahrir.
The family says Yoqubov also suffered from tuberculosis he contracted in jail.
The body of 39-year-old Inomjon Yoqubov was given to his family and the burial took place on July 19 in the eastern Uzbek city of Margilon.
Yoqubov's sister, Nazokat, told RFE/RL's Uzbek Service today that there were several wounds on the body.
In 1998, Yoqubov was sentenced to 18 years in jail for membership in a banned Islamist group, Hizb ut-Tahrir.
The family says Yoqubov also suffered from tuberculosis he contracted in jail.
Friday 27 July 2007
Haneef lawyer backs out of rally
The lawyer for accused terror suspect Mohamed Haneef has backed out of a rally organised by an extremist Islamic group with alleged links to the British car-bomb terror suspects.
Peter Russo and Haneef's visiting relative Imran Siddiqui were named as speakers at the Sydney rally organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir for Sunday.
But after Mr Russo was tipped off about the involvement of the extremist group he decided against attending.
A spokesman for Mr Russo told The Australian newspaper he had never confirmed the appearance and that Hizb ut-Tahrir had been premature in listing him as a speaker.
"He was concerned that his name had been listed without confirmation," the spokesman said.
But the spokesman declined to comment on whether Hizb ut-Tahrir was a factor in Mr Russo's decision not to attend the rally.
The group's Australian spokesman Wassim Doureihi told The Australian that Mr Russo and Mr Siddiqui had accepted the invitation to speak at the rally in the full knowledge Hizb ut-Tahrir was organising it.
He said on Thursday night that Mr Russo had called to say he was too busy too attend.
Hizb ut-Tahrir has dismissed links to the London attacks and denied supporting or sponsoring terrorism.
Haneef, an Indian national and a Gold Coast hospital registrar, is charged with providing support to a terrorist organisation by giving a SIM card to a relative later linked to the failed plot to bomb central London and Glasgow airport.
Brought to you by AAP
© AAP 2007
Peter Russo and Haneef's visiting relative Imran Siddiqui were named as speakers at the Sydney rally organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir for Sunday.
But after Mr Russo was tipped off about the involvement of the extremist group he decided against attending.
A spokesman for Mr Russo told The Australian newspaper he had never confirmed the appearance and that Hizb ut-Tahrir had been premature in listing him as a speaker.
"He was concerned that his name had been listed without confirmation," the spokesman said.
But the spokesman declined to comment on whether Hizb ut-Tahrir was a factor in Mr Russo's decision not to attend the rally.
The group's Australian spokesman Wassim Doureihi told The Australian that Mr Russo and Mr Siddiqui had accepted the invitation to speak at the rally in the full knowledge Hizb ut-Tahrir was organising it.
He said on Thursday night that Mr Russo had called to say he was too busy too attend.
Hizb ut-Tahrir has dismissed links to the London attacks and denied supporting or sponsoring terrorism.
Haneef, an Indian national and a Gold Coast hospital registrar, is charged with providing support to a terrorist organisation by giving a SIM card to a relative later linked to the failed plot to bomb central London and Glasgow airport.
Brought to you by AAP
© AAP 2007
Tuesday 24 July 2007
PAKISTANI ISLAMIC MISSIONARY GROUP ESTABLISHES A STRONG PRESENCE IN CENTRAL ASIA
Igor Rotar 7/23/07
Pakistan’s recent slide toward political instability could have important repercussions for Central Asian states. One of Pakistan’s most fervent Islamic groups, Tablighi Jamaat, also happens to be among the most active in proselytizing in Central Asia.
In Islamabad, the military government of Gen. Pervez Musharraf is coming under increasing pressure from Islamic political forces inside the country from one side, and the Bush administration from the other. Accordingly, the Pakistani president’s room for maneuver seems to be shrinking. Domestically, a government crackdown on religious extremist groups, underscored by security force’s attack on a radical mosque in Islamabad in early July, seems to have accelerated the erosion of Musharraf’s support base.
On the foreign front, Musharraf is being harangued for not doing enough to contain Islamic militancy. US officials have declared that terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden is alive and in hiding in Pakistan’s tribal areas, near the border with Afghanistan, and have dropped strong hints that Washington is considering a military raid inside Pakistani territory. Pakistan has angrily denied that bin Laden is using the country as a safe haven.
Lost amid the deterioration of security conditions is the spreading influence of the Tablighi Jamaat in Central Asia. Shamsibek Zakirov, an advisor of the head of the State Agency for Religious Affairs under the Kyrgyz Government stated that "it is not a secret that Islamic radicals from Pakistan are actively working among the Muslims in Central Asia, especially in Kyrgyzstan. The Tablighi Jamaat is the most active organization of all foreign Islamic missionaries."
The Tablighi Jamaat, which roughly translates as the Society for Spreading Faith, was founded in the late 1920’s in India. It was originally intended as a vehicle for the promoting a revival of Islamic piety, and, as such, it placed a heavy emphasis on missionary activity among its membership. The group has traditionally eschewed politics and concentrated its efforts on reinforcing the faith of Muslims, not trying to win converts. Today, it is based in the Pakistani city of Raiwind, near Lahore.
The first Tablighi missionaries visited Central Asia not long after the Soviet collapse in 1991. At first they targeted what were perceived as the least pious areas of Central Asia – northern Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Over time, Tablighi missionaries expanded their activities to include every state in the region, except Turkmenistan. The Ferghana Valley is now a particular object of missionary attention. Virtually all of the Tablighi members active in Central Asia are locals who have undergone training in either India or Pakistan.
The composition of the Tablighi Jamaat in Kyrgyzstan differs markedly from those of other Islamic organizations operating in the region, especially the underground radical group Hizb-ut-Tahrir. Most members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir in Kyrgyzstan are ethnic Uzbeks, whereas most Tablighi members are Kyrgyz, according to Shamsibek Zakirov, an official with the State Agency for Religious Affairs.
While Zakirov admitted that all available evidence indicates that the Tablighi Jamaat continues to adhere to an apolitical stance, he nevertheless adopted a skeptical stance toward the group. "Their views are, to put it mildly, not typical to modern Kyrgyzstan," Zakirov said. "Many Tablighi members are uneducated and very fanatical. I don’t think that importing the Pakistani version of Islam will promote the stabilization of Central Asia."
Ibragim Nurmuhamedov, a resident of Osh and a Tablighi missionary, said members of the group are instructed to discuss only religious topics, and are expected to do a fair amount of traveling. "In the evenings, we gather in the Al-Biruni mosque in Osh. We discuss different philosophical topics. We travel for three days every month. During these [trips], we preach Islam among the population. Each Tablighi member has to experience this sort of traveling," Nurmuhamedov said. "We avoid politics and discuss only general theological topics. "
"Members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir tried to establish contact with us. But we politely explained to them that we do not interfere in politics," Nurmuhamedov continued.
Sainbadji Kalykov, a top cleric in Osh oblast, estimated that there are about 10,000 Tablighi members in active in Kyrgyzstan today. "I don’t see anything negative in their activities," Kalykov said. "The only thing that provokes misunderstandings occasionally and threatens people is the outward appearance of Tablighi members. They look very exotic to Central Asian Muslims because of their long beards and traditional Pakistani clothes with turban on their heads".
Political and religious leaders in other Central Asian states are not as tolerant toward the Tablighi Jamaat as those in Kyrgyzstan. In Uzbekistan, President Islam Karimov has classified the group as an "extremist organization." Meanwhile, in Kazakhstan, Tablighi members are frequently subjected to fines and other official sanctions for their illegal preaching, and authorities sometimes resort to force to break up their meetings. "Although Tablighi members claim that they converse only about God, we are not certain that they are not agitating our youth to go to Iraq and Pakistan for battle," said a Kazakhstani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Tablighi do not appear to be very active in Tajikistan. "There are very few Tablighi members in our country and they maintain a very low level of activity," said Muhiddin Kabiri, head of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistani. "Authorities are quite suspicious of their activity and try to keep them under control."
Editor’s Note: Igor Rotar is the Central Asian correspondent for EurasiaNet
Posted July 23, 2007 © Eurasianet
http://www.eurasianet.org
Pakistan’s recent slide toward political instability could have important repercussions for Central Asian states. One of Pakistan’s most fervent Islamic groups, Tablighi Jamaat, also happens to be among the most active in proselytizing in Central Asia.
In Islamabad, the military government of Gen. Pervez Musharraf is coming under increasing pressure from Islamic political forces inside the country from one side, and the Bush administration from the other. Accordingly, the Pakistani president’s room for maneuver seems to be shrinking. Domestically, a government crackdown on religious extremist groups, underscored by security force’s attack on a radical mosque in Islamabad in early July, seems to have accelerated the erosion of Musharraf’s support base.
On the foreign front, Musharraf is being harangued for not doing enough to contain Islamic militancy. US officials have declared that terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden is alive and in hiding in Pakistan’s tribal areas, near the border with Afghanistan, and have dropped strong hints that Washington is considering a military raid inside Pakistani territory. Pakistan has angrily denied that bin Laden is using the country as a safe haven.
Lost amid the deterioration of security conditions is the spreading influence of the Tablighi Jamaat in Central Asia. Shamsibek Zakirov, an advisor of the head of the State Agency for Religious Affairs under the Kyrgyz Government stated that "it is not a secret that Islamic radicals from Pakistan are actively working among the Muslims in Central Asia, especially in Kyrgyzstan. The Tablighi Jamaat is the most active organization of all foreign Islamic missionaries."
The Tablighi Jamaat, which roughly translates as the Society for Spreading Faith, was founded in the late 1920’s in India. It was originally intended as a vehicle for the promoting a revival of Islamic piety, and, as such, it placed a heavy emphasis on missionary activity among its membership. The group has traditionally eschewed politics and concentrated its efforts on reinforcing the faith of Muslims, not trying to win converts. Today, it is based in the Pakistani city of Raiwind, near Lahore.
The first Tablighi missionaries visited Central Asia not long after the Soviet collapse in 1991. At first they targeted what were perceived as the least pious areas of Central Asia – northern Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Over time, Tablighi missionaries expanded their activities to include every state in the region, except Turkmenistan. The Ferghana Valley is now a particular object of missionary attention. Virtually all of the Tablighi members active in Central Asia are locals who have undergone training in either India or Pakistan.
The composition of the Tablighi Jamaat in Kyrgyzstan differs markedly from those of other Islamic organizations operating in the region, especially the underground radical group Hizb-ut-Tahrir. Most members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir in Kyrgyzstan are ethnic Uzbeks, whereas most Tablighi members are Kyrgyz, according to Shamsibek Zakirov, an official with the State Agency for Religious Affairs.
While Zakirov admitted that all available evidence indicates that the Tablighi Jamaat continues to adhere to an apolitical stance, he nevertheless adopted a skeptical stance toward the group. "Their views are, to put it mildly, not typical to modern Kyrgyzstan," Zakirov said. "Many Tablighi members are uneducated and very fanatical. I don’t think that importing the Pakistani version of Islam will promote the stabilization of Central Asia."
Ibragim Nurmuhamedov, a resident of Osh and a Tablighi missionary, said members of the group are instructed to discuss only religious topics, and are expected to do a fair amount of traveling. "In the evenings, we gather in the Al-Biruni mosque in Osh. We discuss different philosophical topics. We travel for three days every month. During these [trips], we preach Islam among the population. Each Tablighi member has to experience this sort of traveling," Nurmuhamedov said. "We avoid politics and discuss only general theological topics. "
"Members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir tried to establish contact with us. But we politely explained to them that we do not interfere in politics," Nurmuhamedov continued.
Sainbadji Kalykov, a top cleric in Osh oblast, estimated that there are about 10,000 Tablighi members in active in Kyrgyzstan today. "I don’t see anything negative in their activities," Kalykov said. "The only thing that provokes misunderstandings occasionally and threatens people is the outward appearance of Tablighi members. They look very exotic to Central Asian Muslims because of their long beards and traditional Pakistani clothes with turban on their heads".
Political and religious leaders in other Central Asian states are not as tolerant toward the Tablighi Jamaat as those in Kyrgyzstan. In Uzbekistan, President Islam Karimov has classified the group as an "extremist organization." Meanwhile, in Kazakhstan, Tablighi members are frequently subjected to fines and other official sanctions for their illegal preaching, and authorities sometimes resort to force to break up their meetings. "Although Tablighi members claim that they converse only about God, we are not certain that they are not agitating our youth to go to Iraq and Pakistan for battle," said a Kazakhstani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Tablighi do not appear to be very active in Tajikistan. "There are very few Tablighi members in our country and they maintain a very low level of activity," said Muhiddin Kabiri, head of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistani. "Authorities are quite suspicious of their activity and try to keep them under control."
Editor’s Note: Igor Rotar is the Central Asian correspondent for EurasiaNet
Posted July 23, 2007 © Eurasianet
http://www.eurasianet.org
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