Author: Roli Srivastava
Publication: The Times of India
Date: September 2, 2007
Mohammad Shahid alias Billal's alma mater
is Darsgah Jihad-o-Shahadat (DJS), a fundamentalist outfit working out of
Hyderabad. Its website says it is involved in the ''training of thousands
of Muslim youth to defend themselves and their community in various training
centres of DJS''.
Started in 1983 by Sheikh Mahboob Ali, a retired
employee of a government printing press to ''establish and perform Islamic
obligations'', DJS has been organising camps to train young men in ''self-defence''.
Some of these young men, alumni of the DJS, have hit national headlines for
their involvement in terror attacks, the most recent name being that of Billal.
But DJS' founder and president says he doesn't
remember if he had a student by the name of Mohammad Shahid. ''Even if he
was, what can I do about it,'' he asks. ''If he did become an ISI agent, go
shoot him. It is not DJS' policy to indulge in such violence,'' he says.
The aims and objectives of DJS revolve around
''safeguarding lives and properties of Muslims and educating them about jihad''.
Police officials say its key activity is indoctrination of youth from the
Old City of Hyderabad.
The outfit holds training camps for four months
every year (on the same lines as the RSS, as Ali is quick to point out) where
it trains 30 to 40 young boys from mainly Muslim pockets such as Mogulpura,
Rein Bazaar, Saidabad among others. ''The training involves karate lessons
and lathi drills, apart from sermons,'' says the official, adding that Ali
remains DJS' most powerful speaker.
''I am a fundamentalist,'' says Ali, adding
that he teaches his students the tenets of Islam. DJS has training centres
in Hyderabad and Secunderabad and in a few districts of the state. While Mahboob
Ali is the president of the group, his son-in-law Abdul Majid Khan is the
vice-president. Ali's son, Saifullah Khan, is the secretary. ''While these
are the three key people of the organisation, it is run single-handedly by
the 75-year-old Ali,'' a police official says.
The local police station has registered cases
against DJS, mainly for taking out processions without permission. ''The only
one it takes out with prior permission is the one on December 6,'' says a
cop.
In 2004, 20 members of DJS had created trouble
when the Gujarat police was in the city to arrest Maulana Nasruddin, involved
in Haren Pandya's murder. ''There was a case booked against three persons
including the outfit's president and some followers. The trial is going on,''
a police official says.
However, while DJS is largely perceived as
a fundamentalist outfit, it has sympathisers in the Old City. ''They are fair
people and teach Islam. There is nothing wrong with what they teach. The police
likes to target Islamic organisations,'' says Alim Baba, a teacher in the
Old City.
