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Al-Qaeda is a pan-Islamist militant organization led by Sunni Jihadists who self-identify as a vanguard spearheading a global Islamist revolution to unite the Muslim world under a supra-national Islamic state known as the Caliphate. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include people from other ethnic groups. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian, economic and military targets of the US and its allies; such as the 1998 US embassy bombings, the USS Cole bombing and the September 11 attacks. The organization is designated as a terrorist group by NATO, UN Security Council, the European Union, and various countries around the world.
The Deobandi movement or Deobandism is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam that adheres to the Hanafi school of law. It formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name derives, by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, and several others, after the Indian Rebellion of 1857–58. They consider themselves the continuation of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaat. The main purpose of this movement was to reject the grave worshipping, shirk and protect the orthodoxy of Islam from Bidah, as well as the influence of non-Muslim cultures on the Muslim of South Asia. The movement pioneered education in religious sciences through the Dars-i-Nizami associated with the Lucknow-based ulema of Firangi Mahal with the goal of preserving traditional Islamic teachings from the influx of modernist, secular ideas during British colonial rule. The Deobandi movement's Indian clerical wing, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, was founded in 1919 and played a major role in the Indian independence movement through its participation in the Pan-Islamist Khalifat movement and propagation of the doctrine of composite nationalism.
State-sponsored terrorism is terrorist violence carried out with the active support of national governments provided to violent non-state actors. States can sponsor terrorist groups in several ways, including but not limited to funding terrorist organizations, providing training, supplying weapons, providing other logistical and intelligence assistance, and hosting groups within their borders. Because of the pejorative nature of the word, the identification of particular examples are often subject to political dispute and different definitions of terrorism.
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan was a militant Islamist group formed in 1998 by Islamic ideologue Tahir Yuldashev and former Soviet paratrooper Juma Namangani; both ethnic Uzbeks from the Fergana Valley. Its original objective was to overthrow President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan and create an Islamic state under Sharia; however, in subsequent years, it reinvented itself as an ally of Al-Qaeda. The group also maintained relations with Afghan Taliban in 1990s. However, later on, relations between the Afghan Taliban and the IMU started declining.
Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation (AHIF) was a charity foundation, based in Saudi Arabia. Under various names it had branches in Afghanistan, Albania, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Comoros, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Tanzania, and the United States, and "at its height" raised between $40 and $50 million a year in contributions worldwide. While most of the foundation's funds went to feed poor Muslims around the world, a small percentage went to Al-Qaeda, and that money was "a major source of funds" for the terrorist group. In 2003, Saudi authorities ordered Al-Haramain to shut down all overseas branches, and by 2004 Saudi authorities had dissolved Al-Haramain. However, US intelligence officials believed it had reopened branches under new names.
Lashkar-e-Taiba is a Pakistan-based militant Islamist Salafi jihadist organisation. Described as one of Pakistan's "most powerful jihadi groups", it is most infamous outside Pakistan. The organisation's primary stated objective is to merge the whole of Kashmir with Pakistan. It was founded in 1985-6 by Hafiz Saeed, Zafar Iqbal Shehbaz Abdullah Azzam and several other Islamist mujahideen with funding from Osama bin Laden during the Soviet–Afghan War. It has been designated a terrorist group by numerous countries.
The Maktab al-Khidamat, also Maktab Khadamāt al-Mujāhidīn al-'Arab, also known as the Afghan Services Bureau, was founded in 1984 by Abdullah Azzam, Wa'el Hamza Julaidan, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to raise funds and recruit foreign mujahideen for the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan. MAK became the forerunner to al-Qaeda and was instrumental in creating the fundraising and recruitment network that benefited Al-Qaeda during the 1990s.
Jaish-e-Mohammed is a Pakistan-based Deobandi Jihadist terrorist group active in Kashmir. The group's primary motive is to separate Kashmir from India and merge it into Pakistan.
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Rashid Rauf was an alleged Al-Qaeda operative. He was a dual citizen of Britain and Pakistan who was arrested in Bhawalpur, Pakistan in connection with the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot in August 2006, a day before some arrests were made in Britain. The Pakistani Interior Minister, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, claimed that "he is an al Qaeda operative with linkages in Afghanistan". He was identified as one of the ringleaders of the alleged plot. In December 2006, the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi found no evidence that he had been involved in terrorist activities, and his charges were downgraded to forgery and possession of explosives. A 2022 article offers an assessment of the impact of Operation Overt and refers to Rauf's alleged role
Lajnat Al-Da'wa al Islamia(LDI, also known as the “Islamic Call Committee”) is a Muslim non-governmental organization based in Kuwait. It says that it is a humanitarian aid organization. It has provided aid in Afghanistan and other areas of western Asia.
Pepe Escobar is a Brazilian journalist and geopolitical analyst. His column "The Roving Eye" for Asia Times regularly discusses the multi-national "competition for dominance over the Middle East and Central Asia." He has reported from Afghanistan and Pakistan, writing about Osama bin Laden before 9/11 and interviewing Afghan leader Ahmad Shah Massoud.
Pakistan and state-sponsored terrorism refers to the involvement of Pakistan in terrorism through the backing of various designated terrorist organizations. Pakistan has been frequently accused by various countries, including its neighbours Afghanistan,India and Iran, as well as by the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, of involvement in a variety of terrorist activities in both its local region of South Asia and beyond. Pakistan's northwestern tribal regions along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border have been described as an effective safe haven for terrorists by Western media and the United States Secretary of Defense, while India has accused Pakistan of perpetuating the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir by providing financial support and armaments to militant groups, as well as by sending state-trained terrorists across the Line of Control and de jure India–Pakistan border to launch attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir and India proper, respectively. According to an analysis published by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution in 2008, Pakistan was reportedly, "with the possible exception of Iran, perhaps the world's most active sponsor of terrorist groups... aiding these groups that pose a direct threat to the United States. Pakistan's active participation has caused thousands of deaths in the region; all these years Pakistan has been supportive to several terrorist groups despite several stern warnings from the international community." Daniel Byman, a professor and senior analyst of terrorism and security at the Center For Middle East Policy, also wrote that, "Pakistan is probably 2008's most active sponsor of terrorism". In 2018, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, suggested that the Pakistani government played a role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks that were carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist group. In July 2019, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, on an official visit to the United States, acknowledged the presence of some 30,000–40,000 armed terrorists operating on Pakistani soil. He further stated that previous administrations were hiding this truth, particularly from the United States, for the last 15 years during the War on Terror.
The Haqqani Network is an Afghan Islamist group, built around the family of the same name, that has used asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan government in the 21st century. It is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United Nations. It is considered to be a "semi-autonomous" offshoot of the Taliban. It has been most active in eastern Afghanistan and across the border in north-west Pakistan.
Abdul Rauf is a Pakistani Deobandi fundamentalist Islamist militant commander of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a Deobandi Islamist militant organization which has carried out Islamist militant activities in India & Afghanistan under the support of Pakistan's main intelligence agency.
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Sa’d bin Sa’d Muhammad Shariyan Al Ka’bi is a known Qatari financier and facilitator of financial services that support the Qatari branch of Al-Qaeda, as well as Al-Nusra Front (ANF) for the People of the Levant (ANF), an al-Qaeda Syria based affiliate, which is listed by the United States as a terrorist group.
Kuwait has been frequently accused of supporting terrorism financing within its borders. Kuwait has been described as the world's biggest source of terrorism funding, particularly for ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani, also known as Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani, Khalil al-Rahman Haqqani, Khaleel Haqqani and Khalil Ahmad Haqqani, is the Afghan Minister of Refugees and a prominent leader of the Haqqani network.
The Taliban is a militant Islamist organisation, which has ruled Afghanistan under a theocratic emirate several times in the last 30 years. In August 2021, the Taliban took control of the country, and subsequently established a new government, thus completely succeeding the former. As of late 2022, no country recognizes them as the lawful government of Afghanistan, however, there has been limited recognition of their de facto governance over the country.
References
- ↑ Pakistan Archived 19 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine . Mapping Militants. Stanford University.
- ↑ "Mapping Militant Organizations: Al Rashid Trust". Stanford University. 19 July 2012. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
In 1996, ART started charity and welfare projects in Afghanistan and Pakistan to provide financial and legal support to Muslim militants around the world.
- ↑ "Designation of 10 Terrorist Financiers Fact Sheet". United States Department of the Treasury. 19 April 2002. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
When President Bush initiated the financial war on terrorism in September 2001, the al Rashid Trust was among the first organizations named as a financial facilitator of terrorists. The organization changed its name to The Aid Organization of the Ulema (AOU) and remains active. The AOU is headquartered in Pakistan, and continues to operate offices there. They have been raising funds for the Taliban since 1999.
- ↑ "Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 895/2013 of 18 September 2013 amending for the 202nd time Council Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 imposing certain specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities associated with the Al Qaida network". legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ↑ Zahid Ur Rashdi (13 October 2006). "الرشید ٹرسٹ کی فلاحی و رفاہی خدمات". Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ↑ Collins, Robert O.; Burr, Millard (2006). Alms for jihad : charity and terrorism in the Islamic world. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521673952.
Before being banned by the Pakistan government after 9/11 the Al Rashid Trust, during its short life, had provided financial and legal assistance to Islamists in jail, established a network of madrasas and mosques in Afghanistan, and coordinated its activity with the Wafa Khairia, an Afghan charity 'largely funded by bin Laden.'[cited to PE "Anatomy of a 'Terrorist' NGO"]
- ↑ Know Thy Enemy: Profiles of Adversary Leaders and Their Strategic Cultures. USA: USAF Counterproliferation Center. 2003. pp. 81–82. ISBN 9780974740300. Archived from the original on 9 September 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
Publications it controls have also been promoting and directly praising the Arab suicide bombers who attacked the twin towers and the Pentagon.
- ↑ "Protecting Charities". United States Department of the Treasury. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
The Aid Organization of the Ulema (AOU) is based in Pakistan and is a successor organization to Al Rashid Trust, listed by the UN as a financial facilitator of terrorists in September 2001, under UNSCR 1333. Al Rashid Trust was among the first organizations designated as a terrorist financier and facilitator.
- ↑ "THE AID ORGANIZATION OF THE ULEMA". sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov. Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ↑ Escobar, Pepe (26 October 2001). "Anatomy of a 'terrorist' NGO". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
The Pakistani-based Al-Rashid Trust is one of the key organizations included in America's black book of terrorist groups...Pakistani banks, after President General Pervez Musharraf's spectacular pro-US realignment, froze Al-Rashid's bank accounts, but this does not seem to pose a problem: the trust opened new accounts in the names of individuals.
- ↑ "Pakistan tightens curbs on Dawood, Hafiz Saeed". Hindustan Times . 23 August 2020. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
Pakistan's foreign ministry quietly issued two statutory regulatory orders on August 18 to enforce UN Security Council sanctions against ... terror groups, front organisations such as Al Rashid Trust that has been linked to al-Qaeda,
- ↑ "UK Government has ordered to freeze assets of additional 300 persons related to ISIL and AL-QAIDA". The Financial . 3 October 2020. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
AL RASHID TRUST ... Banned in Pakistan since October 2001. Despite the closure of its offices in Pakistan in February 2007, it has continued its activities.