Govindu Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 The Islamic State’s (ISIS) Increasing Focus on India Amid religious polarization in India, Islamic State is renewing efforts to expand its presence in the country. https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/the-islamic-states-increasing-focus-on-india/ By Saurav Sarkar March 30, 2020 Kashmiri protesters hold Islamic State flags as they shout slogans during a protest in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, May 31, 2019. Credit: AP Photo/Dar Yasin On March 25, a lone terrorist affiliated with Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) carried out an attack on a Sikh place of worship, the Gurudwara Har Rai Sahib, in Kabul, Afghanistan killing 25 worshipers. Some reports mentioned the presence of three attackers, including suicide bombers, in an attack that lasted for hours holding some 80 people hostage. The terrorist behind the Kabul gurudwara attack has been identified as Abu Khalid al-Hindi (real name Mohammed Mohsin) from the Indian state of Kerala. A statement by the Islamic State’s (IS) Amaq media claims the attack was “revenge for the Muslims in Kashmir” who were facing alleged atrocities at the hands of the Indian government. The recent attack, scattered violence in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), and recent propaganda directed toward Indian Muslims suggest a reorientation of IS strategy in an attempt to garner support by capitalizing on recent incidents of civil unrest in India. IS has always thrived on polarization between religious groups and social chaos for its activities and recruitment, and India is no exception. This was the second ISKP attack on Afghanistan’s minority Sikh community after the 2018 suicide bombing of a convoy of Hindus and Sikhs in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, which killed 19 people. Attacking non-Muslims such as Sikhs — and even Muslims that do not adhere to its Salafi leanings, such as Shias — is a hallmark of IS ideology. The latest attack comes at a time when ISKP has been reportedly defeated in Afghanistan by U.S., Afghan, and Taliban forces, with the group restricted to small pockets of Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan and numbering some 2,000 fighters. However, ISKP has managed to survive and indeed carried out a significant number of attacks this year in Afghanistan, especially after the signing of the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement, presumably to derail the peace process. The recent surge in attacks by ISKP is meant to attract hardline Taliban and al-Qaeda members opposed to the peace deal and to cause friction between the United States, Afghan government, and the Taliban. That said, the India facet of the attack should not go unnoticed. Around 100 people from Kerala alone had joined ISKP since 2016; many Indian nationals were among the 1,400 ISKP terrorists and their dependents who surrendered to the Afghan government earlier this year. The man alleged to be behind the attack, al-Hindi, left India in 2018 and traveled to Afghanistan via the United Arab Emirates and then Iran to join ISKP, the South Asian branch of the Islamic State. IS released a video message by al-Hindi recorded just prior to the attack where, speaking in fluent Urdu, he mentioned IS members who were imprisoned in India, probably to instill a sense of camaraderie and retribution for their imprisonment. Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month. On March 29, IS released the second edition of its propaganda magazine focused on India, Sawt al-Hind (Voice of Hind/India) in which it once again calls the Taliban apostates and urges the group’s fighters to defect to IS. The magazine includes an old propaganda message from a deceased Kashmiri IS terrorist, Abu Hamza al-Kashmiri (real name Abdul Rehman), who was killed in 2018. In the first edition of the same magazine, IS eulogized Huzaifa al-Bakistani, a Pakistani terrorist tasked with radicalizing Kashmiri youth, who was killed in 2019 in Afghanistan. The cover page had the tagline, “So where are you going? A call to Muslims of India,” asking Indian Muslims to rally to IS in the name of Islam in the aftermath of the 2020 Delhi riots. The Islamic State clearly sees an opportunity in social unrest pegged to the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which grants Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants who came to India before 2014 from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. The magazine criticized everyone from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to opposition leaders such as student leader Kanhaiya Kumar and Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi for “misguiding the Muslim youth.” IS also dismissed India’s democratic system and constitution by saying that Indian Muslims can only thrive under an Islamic political system, such as the caliphate. In February, Islamic State’s new agency, Amaq, released unverified photos of arson attacks on Indian police and paramilitary bunkers and a church in Srinagar, J&K. Though the photos were dated January 2020, the supposed attacks were not claimed by IS at the time, which is strange. In February, Amaq also claimed a clash between two IS Wilayat al-Hind (India province) terrorists and Indian paramilitary forces in J&K, which led to the death of a paramilitary trooper and the two terrorists. IS had declared its India province in May 2019 soon after the Sri Lankan Easter bombings and the loss of its last territory in Iraq and Syria. Using an Indian national for the Kabul gurudwara attack serves three purposes for IS. First, it gives an Indian face to an attack in one of the Afghan capital’s most secure areas, especially when the city is under lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. By doing so, IS aims to inspire other Indian Muslims sympathetic to the cause to support it and even carry out attacks in its name in India. Second, it demonstrates that IS is not yet defeated in Afghanistan, much less globally. The group has fighters in its ranks not just from Afghanistan and Pakistan, but also from democratic secular nations like India — even after the fall of its caliphate and death of its caliph in 2019. Third, using an Indian Muslim to attack Sikhs could be an attempt at driving a wedge in India’s social fabric, which celebrates harmony and equality between Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, and other religions. While Sikhs are a small minority in Afghanistan, a large number of them reside in India and have occupied top positions in the government, military, and politics. The civil unrest in India over the CAA, while being mostly nonviolent, has sparked notable spasms of violence between Hindus and Muslims like the Delhi riots, which resulted in a large number of deaths, injuries, and incidents of arson. Groups like IS will use such incidents to galvanize support, expand its reach in India, and execute possible attacks on Indian targets abroad such as in Afghanistan. Some reports in Indian and Afghan media had indicated that the original target for the attack on March 25 was not the gurudwara in Kabul but rather the Indian consulate in Jalalabad or the Indian Embassy in Kabul. However, increased security after previous attacks on Indian diplomatic missions in Afghanistan had forced the last minute change of the target. If this is true, then this could be a major security concern for India, especially since New Delhi had invested so much capital in Afghanistan and put so much effort into its relationship with the Afghan government. Even more alarming is that apparently the Pakistan-based Haqqani Network and ISKP had together carried out the attack, So far Indian Muslims have strongly dismissed the IS narrative and the number of Indians who subscribe the IS ideology or have traveled abroad to fight for IS is minuscule. But the recent polarization in society has the potential to radicalize some sections. In February, Islamic State’s branch in Jammu and Kashmir released a communique that specifically mentioned Indian intelligence agencies and Hindu nationalist groups such as the “Sangh Parivar” (most probably referencing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) as targets. Indian authorities have busted multiple IS modules and disrupted terror plots; however, radicalization remains a long-term threat with the large number of Wahhabi and Salafi madrassas in India, the ease of access to IS propaganda online, and ongoing militancy in J&K. Takeaway: - The continued rapid growth of Covid-19 shows signs of a Bio-Terrorism attack. Saurav Sarkar is a Research Associate at the Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Govindu Posted April 2, 2020 Author Share Posted April 2, 2020 https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3077934/coronavirus-outbreak-muslim-group-tablighi-jamaat Coronavirus outbreak at Muslim group Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi spurs Islamophobia in India The missionary group linked to an outbreak at Malaysia’s Sri Petaling mosque complex in February, has been criticised for holding an event in New Delhi This has snowballed into anger against Muslims in India, with social media posts suggesting they were the main carriers of Covid-19 Sonia Sarkar Published: 3:56pm, 1 Apr, 2020 Updated: 9:27pm, 1 Apr, 2020 363 Indian paramedics facilitate the transport of Muslims to a quarantine facility, after several people who attended an Islamic congregation earlier this month in the Nizamuddin area of New Delhi tested positive for Covid-19. Photo: AP Hafiza Sheikh, a homemaker in Greater Noida in India ’s Uttar Pradesh state, was suddenly flooded with anti-Muslim messages on social media on Tuesday morning. Some of these called Muslims “illiterate” while others labelled them as “carriers” of the coronavirus infection. Confused about the reason for these Islamophobic messages, she checked a news site and found out that 24 Muslims who recently attended an event organised by missionary group Tablighi Jamaat had tested positive in New Delhi. “The entire community became the target of right-wing propaganda machinery,” Sheikh said. “Just once again.” Muslim pilgrims wait in bus that will take them to a quarantine facility from the Nizamuddin area of New Delhi, India. Photo: AP Social media users expressed anger at the organisation for holding an event in early March as the coronavirus pandemic was already raging across the world. A similar gathering by the same group in Malaysia’s Sri Petaling mosque complex in February, with 16,000 attendees, resulted in hundreds of infections across Southeast Asia. The government has declared New Delhi’s Nizamuddin area, a neighbourhood of narrow, winding lanes where Tablighi Jamaat has its international headquarters, as one of the country’s 10 coronavirus “hotspots”. Authorities said people kept visiting the five-storey building from other parts of the country and abroad, and that the group had delivered sermons to large groups of people despite government orders on social distancing. Coronavirus Update Newsletter Get updates direct to your inbox By registering, you agree to our T&C and Privacy Policy Hundreds of people were crammed into the building until the weekend, when authorities began taking them out for testing. More buses arrived on Tuesday to take them away to quarantine centres in another part of the city. But the online criticism soon snowballed into anger against Muslims in India, with a new hashtag #coronajihad dominating on Twitter and posts suggesting that Muslims were the main carriers of Covid-19 in India. Live #CoronaJihad In india , these terrorist skull caps are spreading Corona in india 80% Corona Infected people are #Muslims pic.twitter.com/IuES9lTW4S — AshishMishraPunewale (@Maashish81us) March 31, 2020 One person tweeted “#CoronaJihad” is more “dangerous” than coronavirus while another said that both “Corona virus and Quraan-e-virus” are harmful for humanity, making a reference to the Islamic holy book. Members of Tablighi Jamaat were called “despicable creeps” for “spitting out of windows” of the bus which was taking them to hospital for treatment. DESPICABLE CRЕЕPS!! What is this if not #CoronaJihad ?? The #TablighiJamat Mullаhs who were being taken in Buses for treatment STARTED SPITTING out of Windows to spread #CoronaVirus further!! What kind of SIСK Mentаlity these MusIims have!! #CoronaUpdate #Nizamuddin #Delhi #India pic.twitter.com/nGUtpwl3jv — Rosy (@rose_k01) March 31, 2020 Delhi Minorities Commission chairman Zafarul Islam Khan said linking Muslims with coronavirus is part of the systematic ostracisation of the country’s 201 million Muslims that has been taking place since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government took power in 2014, with the latest example being the Delhi violence that killed at least 40 Muslims in February. He stressed that Tablighi Jamaat members were “wrong and insensitive” to organise an event at such a sensitive time but to blame all Muslims for spreading the infection is “vindictive”. Seven people who attended the event along with visitors from Covid-19- affected countries including Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, have reportedly died of coronavirus in other states. India’s poor, robbed of livelihoods by virus lockdown, flee cities 30 Mar 2020 In a statement, the organisation said it had informed the police that many attendees were living in its headquarters and they could not leave because of the nationwide lockdown. On Tuesday, authorities sealed off the building and lodged a police complaint against the organisers for negligence after people staying there tested positive for Covid-19 and 300 more displayed symptoms. This gave another reason to many Hindu right-wingers to troll Muslims. One video on social media showed a man pulling out a skull cap and wearing it when a passer-by asked him to wear a mask, while another showed young Muslim men defying medical advice not to shake hands because Islam said shaking hands will strengthen love and not spread the infection. A woman wearing a protective mask leaves after attending the Friday prayers at the Jama Masjid (Grand Mosque) in the old quarters of Delhi, India, on March 20. Photo: Reuters Delhi-based political scientist Ajay Gudavarthy pointed out that the anti-Muslim content on social media was largely “manufactured by the Hindu right-wingers to vilify Muslims” to fit into the current “anti-Muslim rhetoric”. Since many questions on coronavirus remain unanswered, Gudavarthy said calling Muslims the carrier of the infection was “simple, easy and acceptable in today’s India”. Some videos have even been used out of context to target Muslims. For example, a video showing Muslims licking utensils to spread coronavirus that went viral on Tuesday was discovered by fact-checker Alt News to be an old video showing a custom followed by Bohra Muslims in which they lick leftovers to avoid wastage. India’s doctors are being evicted amid expected flood of coronavirus cases 30 Mar 2020 Amid reports that the attendees of the gathering had spread the coronavirus infection to other states across the country, Pratik Sinha of Alt News observed that anti-Muslim content will dominate the social media ecosystem in the coming days. Looking at the “pattern of misinformation and propaganda” of similar kind that he has fact-checked in the past, Sinha said that there will be an attempt to “delegitimise” the community through such content. Many “liberal” non-Muslims and Muslims called the organisers “ignorant”, saying they should have been mindful as many attendees at the recent event in Malaysia had spread the infection to different countries. Some also emphasised that Muslims were aware of the risks linked to mass gatherings and had stopped mass prayers in mosques long before the lockdown. Others pointed out that many Hindu temples across India welcomed large gatherings until mid-March but nobody is questioning them. People also shared a video of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath taking part in a religious ceremony on March 25, defying the nationwide lockdown. But Sheikh said it would be difficult to convince hatemongers who now had “more fodder” to troll Muslims. “This vilification of us won’t end any time soon,” she feared. Additional reporting by Reuters Takeaway: - The continued rapid growth of Covid-19 shows signs of a Bio-Terrorism attack. Ignoring Government orders at such emergency times and having that many foreigners indicates something fishy This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Outbreak at Muslim event fuels more Islamophobia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 :raviteja-ni-bonda-ra-ni-bonda-gif: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naresh1243 Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 evaru emipoyina .. ela sachina.. veella pani veellade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krishna_Bidda Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Good that people are realising the hidden agenda of desert cult...these things existed from long back but no one knows because media has no freedom in the past...it is time for people to boycott the comments economically and show them what can happen if majority boycott them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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