Author: R. Upadhyay
Publication: South Asia Analysis Group
Date: September 4, 2008
URL: http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers29%5Cpaper2831.html
Going by the account of the educational and
economic background of a number of suspects of terror blasts in recent years
provided by Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh police it
appears that Islamist terrorism in no more only the career of uneducated and
economically backward Muslim youths. Contrary to the mainstream notion that
unemployment, inadequate education and economic deprivation have enticed the
Muslim youths to seek the path of terrorism as career, the demographic composition
of some of the terror suspects suggests that they also belong to the categories
ranging from white colour professionals like doctors, engineers, IT specialists
to small traders, religious preachers and underworld criminals. The language
of e-mail sent to some TV channels before the Ahmadabad blasts in August 2008
by 'Indian Mujahideen' was in English and signed by Al-Arbi-al-Hind' (Arab
of India) also gives an indication that the sender was well educated person
from within the Indian Muslim society. It may be recalled that most of the
persons involved in September 11, 2001 terror incidents in USA were highly
qualified Muslim youths. It is also said that a sizeable number of the followers
of Oasma bin Laden are specialists in different areas of science and technology.
Profiles of some of the suspects as disclosed
by police are as follows:
1. Dr. Bashid, MD in Forensic Sciences from
the Aurangabad University. He was arrested by Bombay police in 2003. Other
arrestees included a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from a well-known
Mumbai college, a computer technologist, two chemical engineers and an aeronautical
engineer.
2. Safdar Nagori national general secretary
of SIMI belonging to a well to do family of transporters of Ujjain was arrested
in March 2008. He was an engineering graduate. As per media report he has
masters in journalism and mass communication.
3. Abdul Rashid alias Abul Bashir Qasami also
known as Mufti Abu Bashir Ilahi from Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh and
a SIMI activist had his education from Dar-ul- Uloom, Deoband. He confessed
before the police about his involvement in Ahmadabad blasts.
4. Hafiz hussain Mulla alias Adnan alias Zaid
is a young computer engineer and a prominent SIMI organizer. He was arrested
along with some other SIMI leaders in Indore in March 2008
5. Shivli P.D. Ekkalalias Savit is a diploma
holder in computer science from Model Polytechnic from Calicut in Kerala
6. Amil Parwaz is a holder of diploma in engineering
7. Sajid Mansuri aged 35 and a native of Surat
has a bachelor's degree in Psychology. He claimed as trader in acid and phenol.
Arrested in Ahmadabad blast case in August 2008.
8. Imran Ibrahim Sheikh, aged 23 who did a
course in human rights and journalism in the MS University of Vadodara was
arrested in Vadodara in August 2008.
9. Usman Agarbattiwala, aged 24, a B.Com from
MS University of Vadodara. His laptop was allegedly used for programming the
plan for Surat blast which failed to explode.
10. Abdul Subban Qureshi, an explosive expert
who holds a diploma in electronic engineering is the one who had reportedly
procured ammonium nitrate and timers for the Ahmedabad operation and attended
the meetings of the SIMI to plan the serial blasts.
11. Abrar Ahmed, a medical graduate doing
internship in the Sawai Man Singh Medical College, from the college hostel
here, and his colleague Anwar Hussain from his native place, Niwai, in Tonk
district.
12. Arshad alias Ehtesham Ali is MA Iin Arabic.
13. Mohammad Aleem Qureshi is Msc in Chemistry.
14. Mohammad sahrab alias Babbu is LLB.
15. Waliullah, an activist of Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami
(HUJI) who was sentenced to 13 years of rigorous imprisonment and a penalty
of Rs 1 Lakh by Lucknow session court on August 26 for providing logistic
support to terror modules involved in Varanasi blasts. He used to work as
an Islamic cleric in Allahabad.
Given the educational background of the accused
persons who have confessed before the police of their involvement in terror
crimes, the question arises as to why the modern educated Muslim youths who
are professionally quite competent to get dignified jobs are taking the path
of terrorism as career which carries much risk? To find out the answer it
is worth looking into the background of the on going menace of Islamist terrorism
in India.
It is a known fact of Indian history that
ever since the losses of Islamist power in the region, 'Al-Arab Hind' or Arab
Indians are not found to have reconciled with the political reality on the
ground. Carrying forward the legacy of the medieval mental load from generation
to generation they always fought with successive governments by raising the
bogey of religious identity which was nothing but revival of the political
glory of Islamist power in the country.
Seventies of the last century was a turning
point in the history of contemporary India after its independence in 1947
when a sizeable Muslim population stayed back in this country. Emergence of
Bangladesh as a new nation in 1971 after seceding from Pakistan added fuel
to the fire in their hearts. However, after the first loss of power to the
Congress party in centre and emergence of Janata Party, a loose coalition
of different ideological group, the demoralized Al Arab Hind Youths from within
the Indian Muslim society formed Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)
under the patronage of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind in April 1977. In Bangladesh too
the Jamaat-e-Islami of this country formed its student front known as Islami
Chhartra Shibir. The development was a new effort of the Islamist radicals
in the region to mobilise the educated Muslim youths for restoration of the
institution of Caliphate by jihad.
Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in 1979
was another major development which brought the Islamist establishments from
all over the world to unite and fight in the name of Islam. Formation of Harkat-ul-Jihadi
Islami (HUJI) in 1980 which meant movement for Islamic Holy War or jihad against
the Soviet army under the guidance of the ISI in Pakistan worked as a catalyst
to energise the Islamist youths in the region to join this first terror group
for restoration of the institution of Caliphate. Huge funding from the then
Reagan administration of U.S.A. and Saudi Arabia encouraged the Islamist world
to dispatch Mujahideens(Holy Warriors of Islam) to join this Pan- Islamic
jihad against the Soviet army. In course of their training the Mujahideens
were told, "If you had spent some time with a whore in Bangkok, you would
come to fight jihad to purify yourself" (Warriors of the Prophet by Mark
Huband, 1998, page 3).
Osama bin Laden, a wealthy Arab in his early
twenties and an extremist Sunni Muslim of Wahabbi tradition emerged as a prominent
hero in this jihad and founded an umbrella organization of the 'Holy warriors
of Islam' known as Al-Qaida in 1988. "The goal of Al Qaida, a group that
espoused a harsh, a more militant version of Islam was to unite all Muslims
and to establish a government, which follows the rule of Caliphs and the only
way to achieve this was through the use of force". (Terrorism and Low
Intensity Conflict in South Asian Region - Edited by Om Prakash Mishra and
Sucheta Ghosh, 2003, page 102). Withdrawal of Soviet army from Afghanistan
in 1989 enhanced the popularity of Al Qaeda and worked as morale booster for
the Al-Arab Hind youths. Getting support from the youths of Islamist world,
Osama bin Laden also formed International Islamic Front in 1998 and gave a
call for jihad against the Crusaders and the Jews.
Inspired with the success of Taliban led
jihad in Afghan war against a super power like Soviet Union followed by the
latter's collapse, another call of jihad by Osama bin Laden against Crusaders
and Jews in 1998 and a successful terror attack on World Trade Tower in USA
on September 11, 2001, SIMI also adopted the path of militancy against the
democratic Indian government with full support from ISI and financial assistance
from oil rich Arab world.
What to talk of others when a progressive
cinema actress like Shabana Azmi in a television interview said that she could
not buy a flat in Mumbai on account of being a Muslim and therefore blamed
Indian democracy not being fair to Indian Muslims. Is she not aware that how
Amir Khan, Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan who are also Muslims could have palatial
building in Bombay. Indian government in its 54th National Film Awards 2006
(Held on September 2, 2008) conferred first time life achievement award to
Dilip Kumar, a Muslim actor of yesteryears. Is it a discrimination against
Muslims in India?
However, the prevailing so called grievances
among the Muslim youths provided suitable opportunity to SIMI for transforming
a significant section of them for joining jihad. Accordingly, it succeeded
in boosting the morale of a sizeable section of demoralized generation of
Al-Arab Hind youths, encouraged them to take the path of terrorism as career,
successfully activated thousands of sleeper terror cells being regularly created
by radical Islamists within the Muslim society in the country and used them
for assisting the ISI sponsored various terror outfits operating in India.
If the statement of Ahmadullah Siddiqui, the first president of SIMI as appeared
in a Hindi daily Rashtriya Sahara (August 6, 2008) is analysed, the objective
of Simi is to transform India into Islamic society. It means Islamisation
of India is the prime task before it. SIMI was banned in 2001 but its clandestine
activities continued.
The arrestees in Ahmadabad blast case have
confessed before the police of their prominent position in SIMI and also confirmed
that 'Indian Mujahideen' is the pseudonym of the banned organization. Lot
of funding from oil rich Arab world and ISI and also a belief in guarantee
of luxurious style of living in heaven if they die in the holy war have worked
as motivating factors to attract even the highly educated Muslim youths towards
jihad as career. Since white colour crimes have attracted lot of youths all
over the world it is not surprising if Muslim youths are also taking terror
crimes as profession.
By and large people may not read too much
in the above quoted examples of well educated Muslim youths taking terrorism
as career. However, is not their fast changing profiles which also suggest
that SIMI has made a significant dent in a section of opinion makers in Muslim
community a matter of grave concern for country's security? Even though the
trend has sent a danger signal to the country in general and Indian Muslim
society in particular, the most unfortunate part of the scenario is the pro-SIMI
statements of political party leaders like Lau Prasad Yadav of Rastriya Janata
Dal , Mulayam Singh Yadav of Samajvadi Party and Ram Bilas Paswan of Lok Jan
Shakti Party. The statements are not only having a demoralizing impact on
the security agencies, it also encourages Islamists to join Jihad as they
have taken for granted the support of the vote seeking political class for
whom country's security is irrelevant if it increases their chances of winning
election. This is a sad commentary on the current political situation in the
country where the Muslims are still being looked as 'vote banks'.
(The author can be reached at e-mail ramashray60@rediffmail.com)
