[iwar] [fc:Young.Muslims.ready.for.'holy.war']

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-09-30 17:51:35


Return-Path: <sentto-279987-2537-1001897419-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com>
Delivered-To: fc@all.net
Received: from 204.181.12.215 by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.1.0) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Sun, 30 Sep 2001 17:53:07 -0700 (PDT)
Received: (qmail 9551 invoked by uid 510); 1 Oct 2001 00:51:46 -0000
Received: from n22.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.72) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 1 Oct 2001 00:51:46 -0000
X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-2537-1001897419-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com
Received: from [10.1.1.223] by cj.egroups.com with NNFMP; 01 Oct 2001 00:51:37 -0000
X-Sender: fc@big.all.net
X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com
Received: (EGP: mail-7_4_1); 1 Oct 2001 00:50:18 -0000
Received: (qmail 92428 invoked from network); 1 Oct 2001 00:50:18 -0000
Received: from unknown (10.1.10.142) by 10.1.1.223 with QMQP; 1 Oct 2001 00:50:18 -0000
Received: from unknown (HELO big.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta3 with SMTP; 1 Oct 2001 00:51:35 -0000
Received: (from fc@localhost) by big.all.net (8.9.3/8.7.3) id RAA17614 for iwar@onelist.com; Sun, 30 Sep 2001 17:51:35 -0700
Message-Id: <200110010051.RAA17614@big.all.net>
To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List)
Organization: I'm not allowed to say
X-Mailer: don't even ask
X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL1]
From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net>
Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com
Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com
Precedence: bulk
List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001 17:51:35 -0700 (PDT)
Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [iwar] [fc:Young.Muslims.ready.for.'holy.war']
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

                           SEPTEMBER 29 2001
                  Young Muslims ready for 'holy war'
                             London Times
                           BY DANIEL MCGRORY
   http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2001330021-2001335702,00.html

 YOUNG British Muslims are arriving in increasing numbers at mosques and
community centres, asking how they can fight in what they describe as an
imminent holy war. 

Muslim leaders said yesterday that they could not put a precise figure
on those wanting to volunteer to go to Afghanistan, but they admitted
that it was a growing problem.  Prominent Muslims are being asked to
tour the country next week to plead with young men to stay at home.  A
small number of British Muslims are believed to have left for Pakistan
already.  One man said yesterday that his brother had flown there after
meeting a radical Muslim group in Birmingham earlier this week.  The
man, who asked not to be named because he feared that Special Branch
would question his family, said: “He left with two friends saying they
will fight in Afghanistan, but they know nothing about guns or military
training.”

As some young men talked of fighting alongside Osama bin Laden
yesterday, their parents were besieging Muslim leaders at Friday
prayers, asking for their help to stop any mass recruitment drive.  Dr
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, leader of the Muslim Parliament in Britain, said:
“It is a problem for our community because we are getting reports from
mosques all over the country about young men wanting to fight.  This is
an urgent challenge for the Muslim community and we can only resolve it
by holding meetings to say please stay where you are.”

Militant Muslim organisations, which knew that they were under scrutiny
from ministers and the security services, denied they were behind a
recruitment drive.  Groups such as Al-Muhajiroun, led by the radical
Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, say that it is a Muslim’s duty to defend
fellow Muslims if they are attacked, but insist it is a matter for
individual conscience. 

The growing number of willing recruits in Britain will alarm security
agencies in America.  They have already asked Scotland Yard to trace an
estimated 500 Britons who the FBI suspects were trained in recent years
at camps in Afghanistan linked to bin Laden.  The FBI’s fear is that,
armed with terrorist skills they acquired in these camps, many of these
British recruits may have returned home where they remain as “sleepers”. 

They are among 11,000 volunteers who the FBI suspects were recruited
from Europe and America to join camps linked to the al-Qaeda network. 
Some of the British recruits are known to have been sent to fight in
what are seen as holy wars in Chechnya, Kashmir, Afghanistan and the
Balkans. 

One security source said: “The vast majority would have fired off some
automatic weapons, lived rough for a few months and been glad to get
home.  The threat is from those who see themselves as part of a silent
army waiting for the command.”

The FBI would not say yesterday how it arrived at its estimate of 500
British recruits.  Most are understood to have gone to camps in
Afghanistan since 1996 when bin Laden took up refuge there. 

The terrorist attacks in America prove that al-Qaeda uses recruits who
have spent years leading what appear to be respectable lives in Britain
and America until they are activated by the network’s organisers to
carry out suicide missions. 

The Britons are wanted to help intelligence agencies build up a picture
of the suicide hijackers, who were trained at the same camps inside
Afghanistan. 

British recruits are also believed to have been sent to Yemen, Pakistan
and the Balkans for training funded by groups loyal to al-Qaeda. 

Bin Laden’s disciplined organisation insists on its handpicked recruits
swearing an oath of allegiance that includes agreeing to carry out
attacks when ordered, even though they may have to wait years for the
call, like the suicide squads that died in America.  It is a
near-impossible task for the British authorities to track down these
recruits as many adopt Islamic names during their time at training camps
or fighting on the frontline. 

Britain is regarded as a popular recruiting station for al-Qaeda because
of its sizeable Muslim population and the presence of militant Muslim
groups that are being investigated for their part in sending volunteers
abroad. 

Police are to ask Muslim groups to help them identify recruits they have
sent for training. 

Some, like Al-Muhajiroun, say that they have not been contacted by the
security services since the terrorist attacks on America.  Asked if they
would supply information, a spokesman said: “It depends what we are
asked to do.  We don’t lie about what we do and have nothing to hide. 
We send young Muslims for training as the Koran requires but this
training has nothing to do with terrorism.” The spokesman insisted that
the group had never knowingly sent anyone abroad to a camp that was
funded or linked to bin Laden. 

“Many young men will go home to places like Pakistan because they are
afraid for their families there,” he said.  “We have had a few telephone
calls about going to fight in Afghanistan but we are not encouraging it. 
That may change if there are widespread attacks against the civilian
population in Afghanistan, and you could well see a Muslim backlash and
within that there will be an element who want to get physically
involved.”

The presence of Britons in training camps and their involvement in
terror attacks abroad has long been a source of complaint from foreign
governments, including Russia and India.  The Foreign Office says it
cannot stop this recruitment.  “We can’t stop any young man with a valid
passport flying to countries like Pakistan.  Once there they can easily
be moved across a porous border to Afghanistan,” a spokesman said. 


------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Get your FREE VeriSign guide to security solutions for your web site: encrypting transactions, securing intranets, and more!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/UnN2wB/m5_CAA/yigFAA/kgFolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

------------------
http://all.net/ 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 



This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-12-31 20:59:52 PST