Posted on 08/03/2006 12:34:16 PM PDT by WmShirerAdmirer
Southeast Asian jihadis dispatched for global war on Israel Natalie O'Brien and Stephen Fitzpatrick August 04, 2006 HUNDREDS of Southeast Asian suicide bombers have been dispatched around the world with a mission to attack Jewish interests in countries that support Israel such as Britain, the US and possibly Australia.
The radical Jakarta-based Asian Muslim Youth Movement gave The Australian details of the plot yesterday, claiming it was being funded in part with cash donations from two unnamed Australian-Indonesian businessmen.
The leader of the AMYM, Islamist author Suaib Bidu, warned that thousands more jihadis were preparing to join the resistance against Israel and die as"martyrs".
Mr Bidu said a "passing-out" ceremony for more than 3000 jihadis would be held tomorrow in the Indonesian city of Pontianak on the large northern island of Kalimantan.
But only about 200 would be sent immediately to targets aboard, with the remainder being active supporters.
Mr Bidu warned that his group would "monitor" the position of Australia towards Israel's current military operation in southern Lebanon, and that it too could become a target for suicide attacks.
"We have a lot of support, including in Australia, from people who don't believe Israel's attack (on Hezbollah) is just," Mr Bidu said.
Terrorism experts have warned that the radical group had the motivation and the backing to organise such a campaign of terror.
One of the foremost scholars in militant Islam, Zachary Abuza, described the group as a dangerous threat that deserved to be taken seriously.
"These people are willing to martyr themselves and that just feeds on itself," Dr Abuza told The Australian. "Events like this (the Lebanon conflict) are superb tools for recruiting and indoctrinating people."
He said the group had been active in Southeast Asia before and said Israeli sites in the region could be targeted.
Dr Abuza said the move could also have far-reaching ramifications because it gave the Southeast Asian militants the ability to network with jihadis in the Middle East.
Last night, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi said there were fears a "new wave" of terrorists could be generated by the Israeli offensive in Lebanon.
"Muslims are angry even in moderate Muslim countries," said Mr Abdullah, who hosted an emergency meeting of the 57 nations of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
And in Cairo, the leader of Egypt's extremist Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Mehdi Akef, said he was ready to send 10,000 fighters to Lebanon to battle Israel alongside Hezbollah.
But he admitted the chances were slim that any volunteers from Egypt would reach Lebanon.
"There are enough people but you would need Arab regimes to authorise their deployment or at least turn a blind eye on their departure," Mr Akef said.
The head of the International Centre for Terrorism and Political Violence Research's Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, Rohan Gunaratna, said the jihadis in Southeast Asia could quickly develop the capability to carry out their plan in so-called third-country attacks.
Although he said the numbers of recruits were probably being exaggerated to "provoke fear and anxiety", the group should not be underestimated.
Dr Gunaratna said the AMYM had sent fighters to Iraq in the past, albeit in small numbers.
The group has already sent 217 suicide bombers, including 72 Indonesians as well as citizens of six other Southeast Asian nations, to Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, Mr Bidu said.
They include seasoned mujaheddin fighters, some of whom had fought the Soviets in Afghanistan and then the Northern Alliance in the same country.
Mr Bidu said they were on a mission to infiltrate Israel and its allies "with the help of friendly networks".
"They will be charged with destroying infrastructure targets of Israel and its supporters, such as Britain and the US," he said.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qa'ida's second in charge, has already called for Sunni Muslims across the world to wage jihad against Israel.
The move comes as another group of fighters from a separate body known as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) announced it had 200,000 members ready to join the battlefield in southern Lebanon.
"When we apply for passports we say we are going to Singapore or to Mecca, so that we can fulfil our true aims'" FPI spokesman Habib Hasan al-Jufrie said.
He said the FPI held military training courses "at secret locations" every two weeks. The FPI is thought to be involved in gangster activity and extortion and protection rackets in the Indonesian capital. It attracts most of its support through advocating jihad to the nation's Muslim majority.
The AMYM and FPI have been blatant in their past condemnation of the US and its Middle Eastern policies. The AMYM has allegedly previously threatened to attack US interests in Jakarta and has sent fighters to the conflicts in Bosnia and Chechnya.
About 40 per cent of the AMYM recruits have military experience in countries including Afghanistan, Thailand, The Philippines, Palestine and Iraq. Those with field experience have learned how to make suicide bombs.
Mr Bidu said the fighters from his movement would not travel to Lebanon "because we don't want to face Israel from the front; we prefer to do it from behind".
A spokesman for the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah, Abu Bakar Bashir, said the cleric "fully supports opposing through jihad".
Ba’asyir will return to his madrassah, the Al Mukmin School, in Solo, Central Java. Though the school’s alumni are a who’s who of jihadists and terrorist in Southeast Asia, the Indonesian government refuses to shut it down.
Abu Bakar Ba’asyir Walks Out of Prison Today a Free Man: A Real Setback in the War on Terror in Southeast Asia - By Zachary Abuza, June 13, 2006 06:18 PM .
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/06/abu_bakar_baasyir_walks_out_of.php
Holy to them is just another racket. They have no clue - what a collection of dupes.
Who attacked who?
See how this is already changing and Hezbollah is the victim. Kill all these SOB's!
It's NOT Bush's fault that Islamists are murderous thugs....antisocial and haven't learned how to share and play with Jews....
Everything we learned in Kindergarten -- was never offered to Islamists --- they learned how to hate, and blame Jews for their sorry condition.
Semper Fi
Could it be that militant Islam is making a religous war with any who oppose it?
I guess we will hear of this clarification tonight from Katie Couric...I'll have to remember to tune in.
bump
So was I at the time of 9/11. I decided to get a good overview by reading something that had been written prior to that event to avoid the clouding or spin that the impact of that event might have on items written immediately in its wake. I got Viorst's In the Shadow of the Prophet: The Struggle for the Soul of Islam and it gave me a good overview.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.