The Battle over Culture: Fundamentalist threats and secular response in Bangladesh, Radical Islamism and Jihad, NewAgeIslam.com

The Battle over Culture: Fundamentalist threats and secular response in Bangladesh

The Baul statues episode

by Harsh Kapoor, 12 November 2008

A compilation of reports and analysis

sacw.net | 12 November 2008

Last Thursday the Shibir activists assaulted a female student of the university and threatened others for staging a drama, as part of their protest programme against the dismantling of the Baul sculptures. The Shibir men got away without any punishment or even a warning. The police did arrive and ‘calmed the situation’ which means they made no difference between perpetrators and victims. This was succour to the marauders and on Friday, according to a New Age report, they threatened to burn alive some individuals belonging to the cultural organisation Udichi. The report further mentions that a militant organisation, Anjuman Al-Baiyanat, announced reward for those who could kill the people declared as ‘murtad’ (apostates). This is an open declaration of selective terrorism. While the government has imposed an open ended state of emergency on the grounds of safeguarding the law and order situation in the country, it does nothing when radical Islamists are issuing death threats against citizens. All must unite to resist it. It is a challenge not only for the progressive secular sections but also for the moderate religious groups which are uneasy over the perverse zealotry in the name of religion but have not acted against it thus far.

http://newageislam.com/the-battle-over-culture--fundamentalist-threats-and-secular-response-in-bangladesh--/radical-islamism-and-jihad/d/979

Pakistan: The new frontline in US 'war on terror', War on Terror, NewAgeIslam.com

War on Terror

Pakistan: The new frontline in US 'war on terror'

Anti-American feelings are high in Pakistan

The newly-elected Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has said the Taleban has "the upper hand" and he has vowed he will defeat the Islamic militants.

His task is complicated by the differing nature of the insurgency in different tribal areas. Al-Qaeda is thought to be most active in North Waziristan and Bajaur.

The Pakistan Taleban meanwhile has control of most of South Waziristan and is using its base there to launch suicide attacks throughout Pakistan.

Strategic

In Kurram tribal agency the Islamic militants are mostly motivated by sectarian divisions between Sunnis and Shias, whilst in Khyber tribal agency there are criminal gangs posing as Islamists as well as an intra-Sunni sectarian dispute.

Although it is relatively peaceful at the moment, Khyber is probably the most strategically significant of all the tribal areas.

It has the historic trade route that leads from the Pakistani city of Peshawar, through the Khyber Pass, and on to Kabul in Afghanistan.

Today it is a vital supply line used to transport 85% of the fuel used by the Western forces in Afghanistan.

Earlier this week the Pakistani authorities were forced to close the road for a few hours amidst warnings of imminent Taleban attacks.

http://newageislam.com/pakistan--the-new-frontline-in-us--war-on-terror-/war-on-terror/d/771

Questions for Ulema to answer clearly: Is jihad a natural state of Islam? Must Muslims always be in conflict with non-believers?

Radical Islamism and Jihad

Questions for Ulema to answer clearly: Is jihad a natural state of Islam? Must Muslims always be in conflict with non-believers?

By Q. Isa Daudpota

Around 1977, the author of the statement, Sayyid Imam al-Sharif, joined Egypt’s Al Jihad terrorist group formed by Zawahiri. Sharif (Dr Fadl being his underground identity) and Zawahiri were two of the original members of Al Qaeda, the formation of which dates back to August 1988 when they met Osama bin Laden in Peshawar. Earlier, Dr Fadl escaped arrest when thousands of Islamists were rounded up after the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat by soldiers affiliated with Al Jihad. Zawahiri suffered torture in prison and was released after three years, thirsting for revenge. His reputation also came under serious doubt in prison as he divulged the names of his comrades under torture. Dr Fadl, during this time, moved to Peshawar to join the Afghan war and worked as a surgeon for injured combatants.

Jihadis needed guidance through a text on the real objective of fighting battles which was not just victory over the Soviets but martyrdom and eternal salvation. Fadl’s The Essential Guide for Preparation appeared late for the Afghan war but became one of the most important texts for jihadis’ training. Lawrence Wright, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, notes that the Guide begins with the premise that jihad is a natural state of Islam: Muslims must always be in conflict with non-believers. Fadl asks that peace is recommended only in moments of severe weakness. Otherwise every Muslim must seek divine reward through sacrificing his life for Islam and thereby bring about an Islamic state.

http://newageislam.com/questions-for-ulema-to-answer-clearly--is--jihad-a-natural-state-of-islam?-must-muslims-always-be-in-conflict-with-non-believers?---/radical-islamism-and-jihad/d/808

What Pakistan's Intelligence Ties Say About Ending Terrorism, War on Terror, NewAgeIslam.com

War on Terror

What Pakistan's Intelligence Ties Say About Ending Terrorism

By Douglas Farah

July 30, 2008

While the central argument of the study is to make police work and intelligence the backbone of the counterterrorism efforts, it also argues strongly for a greatly reduced U.S. military presence and overall reduced footprint abroad.

Make policing and intelligence the backbone of U.S. efforts. Al Qa’ida consists of a network of individuals who need to be tracked and arrested. This requires careful involvement of the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as their cooperation with foreign police and intelligence agencies.

Minimize the use of U.S. military force. In most operations against al Qa’ida, local military forces frequently have more legitimacy to operate and a better understanding of the operating environment than U.S. forces have. This means a light U.S. military footprint or none at all.

The problem with that approach, particularly in Afghanistan and along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border is precisely that many of those who are classified as allies in combating radical Islamist are, in fact, not allies at all.

http://newageislam.com/what-pakistan-s-intelligence-ties-say-about-ending-terrorism/war-on-terror/d/364

Algeria’s New Islamists Won’t Rock The Boat,

The War within Islam

Algeria’s New Islamists Won’t Rock The Boat

by Lamine Chikhi

At least one ex-senior member of Ennahda, the third alliance partner, has been given an ambassadorship. Abdelmadjid Benasra, head of the Front for Change, served as industry minister during Bouteflika's first term and used to be in the MSP.

Most of the Islamists in the election are also close to the ruling elite in terms of ideology. Their campaigns focus on bread-and-butter issues and make little mention of the role of Islam in public life.

In its speeches and campaign literature, the Green Alliance does not mention the integration of Sharia, or Islamic law, into the justice system. For many people in the Arab world, backing the adoption of Sharia is the test of a true Islamist.