Page 1 of
2 Pakistan's radical Red Mosque
returns By Farhana Ali and
Mohammad Shehzad
The reopening of
Pakistan's Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad in
October after a government siege in July is a
direct threat to the country and to the world
community fighting religious extremists and
international terrorist networks. Three months
after clashes between homegrown militants and the
Pakistani army, whom many believed eliminated part
of the extremist threat in the capital city, the
use of the mosque for Friday prayers and
inflammatory speeches against President General Pervez
Musharraf is evidence of a
violent trend that the army may not be able to
control.
To Pakistan's surprise, the
army's raid against the mosque in the summer did
little to silence the extremists' chant for an
Islamic revolution. Rather than crush the
militants, the government's siege provoked
extremists throughout the country to seek
vengeance on behalf of those who were killed
during the nine-day standoff in July. Soon after
the radical mosque reopened, extremist cleric
Maulana Abdul Aziz delivered a sermon that called
on his followers to start a revolution. He noted,
"The nation should be ready for jihad because only
jihad can bring a revolution ... The students of
schools, colleges and universities should spread
in the nook and corner of Pakistan and work for
bringing Islamic revolution."
In
retaliation for the death of Aziz's brother, Ghazi
Abdul Rasheed, and the students of the Red Mosque
during the siege, Aziz further stated that those
who were killed "were dear to Allah. That's why
they have embraced martyrdom [which] has boosted
our morale. Every mosque in the country is Lal
Masjid."
Echoing Aziz's desire for
martyrdom, the call for jihad by local groups and
by al-Qaeda in its recent videotapes and
communiques prove that the Red Mosque affair is
far from over. On the jihadi website Murasil
al-Buraq, a September 20 statement entitled, "A
call for jihad by the lion, Sheikh Osama bin
Laden", launched by al-Sahab Productions,
contained a message warning the Pakistani public
and its armed forces that jihad is the only
answer. The voice of al-Qaeda's "grand
strategist", Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri, offered praise
for a number of Pakistani clerics, particularly
Ghazi, the cleric of the Red Mosque who was killed
by Pakistan's armed forces. Seeking revenge for
his death, al-Qaeda urged the Pakistani public and
the army to rise against Musharraf for his
"submissiveness" to the United States.
The
recent video also recognizes the tribes of
Waziristan, an area in Pakistan's tribal belt
identified with religious extremism, Pashtun
nationalism and an al-Qaeda safe haven. Al-Qaeda
applauds the tribal leaders and clerics in the
province for their "great stand in the face of
international kufr [disbelief]," a
reference to the United States and its allies. In
a strong show of support for the tribal lords,
al-Qaeda states, "O Allah, [President General]
Pervez [Musharraf], his ministers, his
ulama [religious scholars] and his soldiers
have been hostile to your friends in Afghanistan
and Pakistan, especially in Waziristan, Swat,
Bajaur and Lal Masjid; O Allah, break their backs,
split them up and destroy their unity" [1].
On another website, Ana al-Muslim, a
jihadi known as "Al-Saqr 99" posted a new
80-minute video entitled "The power of truth", in
which the al-Qaeda leaders denounced Musharraf for
killing Ghazi. Al-Qaeda further discredits the
Pakistani leader as someone who "does not deserve
the honor of defending Pakistan because [it] is a
Muslim land whereas the forces of Musharraf are
hunting dogs under [President George W] Bush's
crucifix" [2]. In a similar message posted on July
11, Zawahiri called Musharraf's order against the
Red Mosque a "despicable crime". Consistent with
previous recordings, al-Qaeda urges Muslims inside
Pakistan to facilitate an armed rebellion against
the country's rulers for their participation in a
war against the international terrorist movement.
Yet how much support does bin Laden have
among Pakistanis? In a poll conducted by Terror
Free Tomorrow, al-Qaeda has a 43% approval rate,
the Taliban have 38%, and support for local
extremist groups falls between 37 to 49%. Overall,
bin Laden has a 46% approval rating, with
Musharraf falling behind at 38% - an astonishing
figure, according to Ken Ballen, the director of
the polling agency, because it reflects that the
Taliban and al-Qaeda "are more popular than our
allies like Musharraf". Despite the apparent
support for the terrorist movement, most
Pakistanis (ie, 75%, according to the poll)
rejected suicide bombings.
While most
Pakistanis disagree with suicide terrorism, a
determined, dedicated and decisive al-Qaeda in
Pakistan has adopted the tactic to launch attacks
against targets inside both Pakistan and
Afghanistan. Through a wave of suicide bombings,
al-Qaeda and local jihadis have proven the
lethality of their attacks inside Pakistan which
have mostly been directed at the Pakistani armed
forces, paramilitaries and the police.
Borrowed from the Iraqi insurgents, the
use of suicide as a weapon of choice has had
deadly consequences. In the first half of 2007,
there have been more than two dozen suicide
attacks in Pakistan. From January to March,
suicide bombings have accounted for 67% of
civilian casualties, compared to 41% in 2006. From
2003 to 2006, at least 150 tribal elders in the
Waziristan tribal areas have been murdered, most
presumably by the Taliban, who have publicly
criticized many elders for siding with Pakistan in
its war against militants.
Unprecedented
in Pakistan's history, suicide terrorism is an
emerging trend that has gained popularity among
militants after the Red Mosque event and the
breakdown of a peace agreement between the tribal
lords of North Waziristan and the Pakistani
government.
Pakistan has witnessed a new
trend in suicide terrorism, with female
fedayeen (fighters) being prepared to carry
out suicide
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
