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