Syed Asa
زائر
 |  موضوع: Islam,Terrorism and Jihad  الجمعة يونيو 05, 2009 4:09 pm | |
| Syed AsadullahIslam,Terrorism and Jihad
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 Lashkar-e-Tayyeba’s intimate relationship with the Pakistani state
Given
the Lashkar’s intimate relationship with the Pakistani state, Saeed’s
release is no surprise. Pakistan’s military establishment sees the
Lashkar as a partner and strategic asset, not a threat that must be
crushed. Even as Pakistan fights hostile jihadist elements that
threaten it in the west, it continues to patronise groups such as the
Lashkar; groups which, like the Pakistan Army itself, see themselves as
guardians of the ideological frontiers of the state. - Praveen Swami
Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, a Saudi-trained Islamist
In
the early 1980s, Saeed was again sent to Saudi Arabia for higher
studies by his university. There he met Saudi sheikhs who were
financing or actively taking part in the US-sponsored jihad in
Afghanistan against the Soviet troops. It is believed that it was then
that Saeed first started associating with jihadis and began identifying
with jihadi ideology. In 1987, Saeed, along with Abdullah Azzam,
founded the Markaz Dawa-Wal-Irshad, a group with roots in the Jamait
Ahl-e-Hadis — a branch of radical Sunni thought which believes that
only the sayings and doings of Prophet Mohammed, his followers and
family members form the sole basis of Islam. It was this organisation
that led to the creation of the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba in 1990 with the help
of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence to carry out terror strikes
in India to capture Jammu & Kashmir. - Rudroneel Ghosh
What next? Saeed for Nishaan-e-Pakistan? - The Pioneer Edit Desk
The flaw that let Saeed off the hook - Nirupama Subramanian
India: Pak not serious on terror - Ramesh Ramachandran
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| Radical Islamism & Jihad
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What
is being overlooked, meanwhile, is the fact that what the world is
fighting against in the Af-Pak area is a dangerous ideology. The
terrorists believe it is their manifest destiny to spread their cult
around the globe, and that this agenda can be achieved through
terrorism.
The
US, by proposing the contact group consisting of the European Union,
Russia, China, India, Iran, Central Asian Republics and Saudi Arabia,
has already acknowledged the global nature of the problem. The contact
group could develop a global approach, on the basis of which various
nations facing the jihadi threat could offer specific help. India, on
its part, has invested a billion dollars worth of aid in the
development of infrastructure in Afghanistan and has lost its people to
terrorism.
The
US's staying power in Afghanistan, and its ability to mobilise
meaningful international support, will depend on how it conceptualises
the global nature of the Taliban threat, and Washington's ability to
persuade the Pakistani army to accept such an assessment. While the
Pakistani army was responsible to a large extent for nurturing this
Frankenstein, the US, too, bears significant responsibility. Today, to
save Pakistan, Afghanistan, the rest of the world, and the fair name of
Islam, the jihadi threat has to be fought against in a spirit of global
cooperation. And in this campaign, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the
main battlefields. -- K Subrahmanyam
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| Spiritual Meditations
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 I
used to think that actually spirituality is the second line of defence
for the religious people. When they get embarrassed about traditional
religion, when it starts looking too down-market, they hide behind this
smokescreen of cosmos and super consciousness. But that is not the
complete truth. Because the clientele of traditional religion and
spirituality is different. ...You see that the clientele (of
spirituality) is well heeled, it is the affluent class. All right, so
the guru gets power, high self esteem, status, wealth…(which is not
that important), power…and lot of wealth too. What does the disciple
get? When I looked at them carefully I realized that there are
categories and categories of these disciples. It’s not a monolith.
There are different kinds of followers. Different kinds of disciples.
One, who is rich, successful, doing extremely well in his life, making
money, gaining property. Now, since he has everything he wants
absolution too. So guru tells him - whatever you are doing, is “niskaam
karma” – you are playing a role, this is all “Maya”, the money that you
are making every day and the property that you are acquiring, you are
not emotionally involved with it. You are just playing a role. You come
to me because you are in search of eternal truth....
And
what surprises me, and confirms my worst feelings, that today, the
enlightened people who know the cosmic truth, none of them stand up
against the powers that be. None of them raises his voice against the
ruling classes and the privileged classes. Charity, yes, when it is
approved and cleared by the establishment and the powers that be. But I
want to know which was that guru which took the dalits to those temples
which are still closed to them. I want to know which was that guru who
stood for the rights of the Adivasis against the thekedaars and
contractors. I want to know which was that guru who spoke about the
victims of Gujarat and went to their relief camps. They are human
beings. -- JAVED AKHTAR
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3 Comments
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-- Syed M. Asadullah |
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