Yemeni official accuses Iran, al-Qaeda of funding Houthi rebels

Jan 26, 2010, 12:38 GMT

Riyadh – The speaker of Yemen’s parliament accused Iran and al-Qaeda of supporting Shiite rebels fighting Yemeni forces along the country’s northern border, in an interview published Tuesday.

‘We used to avoid accusing the Iranian government of directly financing the Houthis,’ Yehia Ali al-Rai said in an interview with the Saudi daily Okaz.

Pakistan, the Radicalization of the Jihadist Movement and the Challenge to China

Dr. Ely Karmon1 – ICT Senior Researcher

I. Ideological Roots and Strategic Circumstances

Political Islam has always been a reality in Pakistan since its birth in 1947. It is likely that political Islam exhibits a greater influence on the country’s overall Muslim population than the myriad of extremist groups combined. The clearest manifestation of political Islam is within the creation of the Jama’at al-Islami (JI), Pakistan’s first and largest political party founded by the late Maulana Mawdudi (1903-79), a Sunni Pakistani theologian, political philosopher, and influential 20th century Islamic revivalist whose work on Islamic resurgence and doctrine defines the group’s activities and membership.2

When he speaks of “Islamic nationality,” Mawdudi means allegiance to the umma, which he envisaged as a sort of Islamic super-nation uniting all Muslims in the world into a single, indivisible community. He asserted a bi-polar worldview that juxtaposed the Islamic sphere with all else and insisted that Muslims should completely isolate themselves from those he deemed not to be Muslims. The struggle to make this change is known as jihad.3

For Mawdudi, jihad was akin to a war of liberation for the establishment of politically independent Muslim states. He significantly changed the concept of jihad in Islam and began its association with anti-colonialism and “national liberation movements.”4

Mawdudi was certain that the Islamic state would be “the very antithesis of secular Western democracy.” He had written about the need for a “revolution” to create an Islamic state, but he believed this revolution had to be prepared by a long campaign of persuasion. Mawdudi himself never had a sufficient following to make a concerted bid for power in Pakistan.5

Mawdudi’s ideas set the agenda for Islamic movements from Morocco to Malaysia. From his revivalist efforts came the inspiration to re-achieve the glory that is Islam.6 His ideas were carried to their ultimate conclusion by an Egyptian Muslim Brother, Sayyid Qutb (1906-66), who borrowed heavily from Mawdudi’s vision of an Islamic state, but was far more impatient and urged that a believing vanguard organize itself, retreat from impious society, denounce lax Muslims as no-nbelievers, and battle to overturn the political order.7 Qutb thus transformed what had been a tendency toward violence into an explicit logic of revolution and thus became the spiritual father of al-Qaeda.8

Zia-ul-Haq, the military ruler who came to power in Pakistan through a coup d’état in 1977, strengthened the Islamic Ideology Council, revitalized the religious ministry, appointed the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) as his advisors and declared himself the “soldier of Islam.”9 The legacy left by Zia-ul-Haq during the late 1970s further solidified the government’s ties to extremist groups.10

II. Radical Madrasas in Pakistan

Madrasas are Islamic religious seminaries, usually established by a cleric of some importance. Madrasas owe their allegiance to various Sunni and Shia Islamic schools. Sunni madrasas adhere to different doctrines, such as those of the Deobandi, Ahle Hadith and Brelvi schools of thought.11 Depending on their doctrinal leanings, individual madrasas are aligned with different federations, the most prominent of which are Wafaq-ul-Madaris al-Arabia, Tanzeem-ul-Madaris Ahle Sunnat, Wafaq-ul-Madaris Shia, and Rabiat-ul-Madaris al-Islamia. Wafaq-ul-Madaris represents the Deobandi school of thought, and has the largest number of followers.12

The vast majority of madrasas pursue highly political activities that set them apart from non-religious schools. The madrasas’ role in issuing Darul Iftas – religious edicts for individuals and organizations seeking legal opinion or Islamic legitimacy for their actions – also fuels sectarian tension. The poisonous books, pamphlets, audio and videocassettes published by sectarian organizations are widely distributed in madrasas.13

Bruce Tefft, fost agent CIA: Niciun strain nu are “dreptul” sa zboare in SUA. Cui nu-i convin masurile de securitate, sa nu mearga

de Adrian Novac HotNews.ro

Luni, 11 ianuarie 2010, 12:05 Actualitate | Internaţional

Bruce Tefft

Foto: Arhiva personala

In ziua de Craciun a anului trecut, un nigerian a incercat sa detoneze o incarcatura exploziva intr-un avion aflat deasupra orasului Detroit. Pe 30 decembrie, un atacator sinucigas se arunca in aer in interiorul unei baze CIA din Afganistan, omorand sapte americani. In prima zi din 2010, un artist danez care a publicat mai multe caricaturi cu profetul Mohammed este atacat in propria casa de un musulman somalez. De ce s-au intamplat toate aceste incidente? Cine se afla in spatele lor si ce semnificatie au masurile de securitate draconice luate in Statele Unite? Ne-a raspuns la toate aceste intrebari expertul in probleme de contraterorism Bruce Tefft, fost agent CIA.

Adrian Novac: Un tanar nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a incercat sa arunce in aer un avion al companiei Northwest Airlines folosind exploziv ascuns in chiloti; sapte ofiteri CIA au fost ucisi intr-un atac sinucigas in Afganistan; un somalez a incercat sa-l ucida pe caricaturistul danez Kurt Westergaard la inceputul acestui an. De ce crezi ca s-au intamplat aceste incidente teroriste in ultima perioada? Putem sa vedem o caracteristica comuna in toate aceste atacuri?
Bruce Tefft: Nu exista o caracteristica comuna in aceste atacuri, caci acestea ar insemna ca ele sunt similare.

Ceea ce vedem este manifestarea comuna a razboiului pe care musulmanii il poarta de 1400 de ani impotriva non-musulmanilor, asa cum le cere Mohammed si Coranul.

In toate operatiile militare – si terorismul este o activitate militara, nu criminala – tipul si executarea la timp depind de obiectivul si de pregatirile necesare indeplinirii acelor obiective. In timp ce unele incidente teroriste au tinte multiple, aceste atacuri pe care le-ai mentionat nu sunt nici simultane si nici nu reprezinta aspecte multiple ale aceleiasi operatiuni. Ele sunt, mai degraba, atacuri diferite, in locuri diferite, ale aceluiasi razboi.

Jihadis Inside the Gate

by Clare M. Lopez

Posted 01/06/2010 ET

As the new decade opens, the country is reeling: the year just past saw more attacks by Islamic jihadis directed against Americans than in any other year since 9/11. Several were discovered and stopped before they could claim any victims, including the Najibullah Zazi bombing plot, bomb plots in Illinois and Texas, and the case of the five American-born jihadi wannabes caught in Pakistan.

Two other attacks left Americans dead and injured outside a military recruiting station in Little Rock, Ark. and at Ft. Hood, Texas. That the Christmas Day terror attack by a Nigerian Muslim jihadi on board an intercontinental flight from Europe failed is due only to the incompetence of the al Qaeda bomb-maker who fashioned the device that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab carried on board NWA Flight 253 in his underwear.

Our national security agencies deserve credit for foiling any jihadi attacks. But the enemy is not just getting closer: he’s inside the gates. And the reason is because current U.S. national security policy is simply not adequate to the Islamic jihad challenge that’s coming at us. 

Detroit terror attack: Britain sends counter-terrorist forces to Yemen

Britain has dispatched a special counter-terrorist unit to Yemen as the mountainous Arab state emerges as the new frontline in the war against al-Qaeda, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.

By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent, Adrian Blomfield and Richard Spencer in Sana’a and Philip Sherwell in New York
Published: 7:00AM GMT 03 Jan 2010

Radical Islamist Shebab rebels in Somalia ready to cross the Gulf of Aden to support their extremist Arab allies in Yemen Photo: REUTERS

The force is training Yemeni military and will assist in planning operations against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group which claimed responsibility for the Christmas Day attack on a US airliner.

The disclosure comes as Western security analysts warn that the failed underwear bomb plot will serve as a test run for future overseas attacks by an increasingly sophisticated outfit still honing its terror techniques.

Revealed: the true extent of Islamic radical influence at UCL

The true picture of Islamic radicalism preached at the British university attended by Christmas Day airline bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab can be revealed today.

By David Barrett, Patrick Sawer and Sean Rayment
Published: 7:30AM GMT 03 Jan 2010

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who studied at University College London Photo: REUTERS

The Sunday Telegraph can disclose new details of radical Muslim speakers who have been invited to events organised by University College London’s Islamic society, the organisation headed by Abdulmutallab when he was an undergraduate at the institution in 2006-07.

Whitehall sources have confirmed MI5 is investigating Abdulmutallab’s possible links with other radical individuals at UCL and with Islamic student societies at other universities.

Al Qaeda’s Trojan Horse

Will the failed Christmas Day terror plot finally expose a former Gitmo detainee living in the UK for the jihadist that he is?
by Thomas Joscelyn

An intriguing name has surfaced in the worldwide investigation into Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s life. That name is Moazzam Begg, and it is a name that is well known to those left-wing journalists and human rights lawyers who take everything former Gitmo detainees say at face value.