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Hafiz Saeed, the firebrand chief of Jamaat ud-Daawa (formerly Lashkar-e-Taiba) and a former professor at Lahore’s University of Engineering Technology, says suicide bombings are the “best form of jihad”. He was speaking with TFT shortly before addressing the Defence of the Muslim Ummah Conference here on April 3.
Saeed’s organisation was banned by General Pervez Musharraf on January 12, 2002, after the Lashkar was accused by New Delhi of mounting the December 13, 2001, attack on India’s parliament. Saeed admits Lashkar activists are still engaged in Kashmir but denies the US allegations of cross-border infiltrations. He also spoke about his organisation’s newest jihadi training camps. Following are the excerpts:
@SB TFT: Is violence the only means to achieve your objectives?
@EB @SB SAEED: Jihad is prescribed in the Quran. Muslims are required to take up arms against the oppressor. The powerful western world is terrorising the Muslims. We are being invaded, humiliated, manipulated, and looted. How else can we respond but through jihad?
Q.: How about non-violent, peaceful
resistance?
A.: It was exactly this sentiment
that led to the destruction of the Babri Mosque in India. If the ways of
the oppressor are not matched or countered, Islam would be snuffed out.
Muslim places of worship will be desecrated and destroyed.
Q.: Do you believe that Pakistan
could be the next US target?
A.: Pakistan will not be next.
Saudi Arabia and then Iran, possibly Syria will come first. Pakistan is
a nuclear power, is very close to China, and is a nation of jihadis. This
should avert disaster for some time.
Q.: What do you think of Pakistan’s
leaders?
A.: They are taking instructions
from foreign powers and have made a mockery of state sovereignty. These
people can’t defend Pakistan. We, the common people, will have to shoulder
this great responsibility. We will take to the streets and show the world
that Pakistan is no pushover.
Q.: What or who is the greatest
threat to world peace today?
A.: We must fight against the evil
trio: America, Israel and India. The Israeli- Indian defence pact is clearly
aimed at taking care of Pakistan. America will not attack Pakistan directly.
It will use India to do its dirty work. America has also declared the legitimate
freedom struggle in Kashmir a reign of terror. The need for jihad against
India is paramount.
Q.: India claims some 37,000 people
have died in Kashmir since 1989, Pakistan claims 80,000. Is it not perhaps
time to put down our weapons and talk, as General Musharraf is proposing?
A.: The solution is not to bow
before India and beg for dialogue. India has never been sincere in resolving
the Kashmir issue through talks. Our policy in Kashmir is studied and measured.
They only understand the language of jihad. We have no choice but to respond
by killing Hindus as they are killing Muslims.
Q.: Are militants crossing into
Indian-administered Kashmir from the Pakistani side?
A.: Not at all! This is totally
wrong. There is no infiltration across the line of control. The freedom
struggle is indigenous. Jamaat ud-Daawa is present in Azad Jammu and Kashmir
only as a social welfare organisation to provide aid and comfort.
Q.: The Muslim world has been criticized
for not doing anything for Iraq. How could they?
A.: The resources of a Muslim state
are not the personal property of its rulers but belong to the greater Muslim
nation. Ideally, the government of Pakistan should mobilize troops and
fight against the invaders. But this will not happen. Pakistan could even
ferry missiles and nuclear bombs to Saddam Hussein so he could use them
to protect Iraq. The least Pakistan can do is to warn the American government
of consequences not only to the US but also to Israel and India.
Q.: The Iraqi foreign minister says
some 6,000 people from across the Muslim world are coming to Iraq to act
as suicide bombers. Doesn’t this unnecessarily endanger the lives of civilians?
A.: Suicide missions are in accordance
with Islam. In fact, a suicide attack is the best form of jihad.
Q.: Do you have support within the
government?
A.: Muslim world agrees that jihad
is the only way to respond to aggression given today’s international scenario.
At the moment I would say all members of parliament agree with and support
jihad as a means of liberation.
Q.: Your call for jihad doesn’t
upset the government?
A.: We are not afraid of the rulers.
We only fear Allah and follow His word.
Q.: Your organisation is considered
close to the intelligence community. It is claimed that by virtue of this
connection you escaped a longer prison term. Former ISI chief Hameed Gul
is also here. Would you say such claims hold water?
A.: No. And Hameed Gul is a good
man and we are grateful that he has come to speak.
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