Iran distributing hardline Islamic material in Zimbabwe (Irangate scandal)

HARARE – In a move likely to cause panic in the region and ratchet up tensions between President Robert Mugabe and Western governments, Iran has started distributing hard-line Islamic materials in Zimbabwe with the blessing of Zanu-PF criminal cabal, an Iranian news agency said. Iranian cultural office in Zimbabwe is distributing hard-line Islamic material masked in cultural exchanges material distributed to unsuspecting members of the public and religious centres, a report coming from Iran has revealed. Zimbabwe is a secular State, mainly Christian and the Muslim population is only one percent of the population. In Harare there is large Islamic school in Waterfalls. In recent years, President Mugabe has been deploying thugs to attack Zimbabwe’s mainstream chuches and places of worship have become war zones for Christians.

So far, thousands of copies of books featuring hard-line material in “Iranology and Islamology” are being distributed in mosques and libraries around the country.

Iran says it is countering cultural and ideological onslaughts against Islam and Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) by Salafis, said an Iranian report.

"It is worth mentioning that a number of Imam Khomeini’s (RA) works have also been gifted to the mosques and libraries around the country," the news agency Ahlul Bayt News Agency said. The arrival of Islam in Zimbabwe dates to the fourth Hijri century when Muslims established emirates on the coast of East Africa. During that period Muslim slave merchants extended their business to the interior regions reaching Zimbabwe. Over a period of hundreds of years more than four million slaves were stolen from Zimbabwe and surrounding countries and exported from Swahili ports by Arab traders to India and Arabia.

Many Muslims entered Zimbabwe during the colonial period, primarily came from the Indian subcontinent Estimates on the number Muslims in Zimbabwe vary from as low as 120,000 to as many as 1.2 million. According the United States State Department: A great number of Muslims have also arrived since the discovery of diamond in the manicaland area from north and western African regions. The Islamic migrants are largely coming and the clandestine Iranian influence to turn the country as a Zimbabwe’s ties with Iran, and reports that ZANU PF is seeking assistance from that country, have been questioned in recent weeks as South Africa launches a probe into alleged Iranian ‘sanctions busting’ deals there. The ZANU PF cabal has been accused of seeking support from rogue states like Iran, ahead of elections that the party insists will be held this year. ZANU PF’s Defence Minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa, earlier this month travelled to Iran for a four day visit in which he signed a cooperation agreement with his Iranian counterpart. Details of the exact nature of the ‘bilateral’ deal have not been disclosed but Iran’s Defence Minister gave a hint when he said: “We are ready to reinvigorate Zimbabwe’s defence power.”

Zimbabwe has also since been implicated in a ‘sanctions busting’ scandal in South Africa, with Zimbabwe believed to be the possible conduit for illegal transfers of military equipment to Iran.

Dubbed the ‘Irangate’ scandal, the story centres around an investigation by South Africa’s Sunday Times newspaper, which this month reported that South African front companies had been used to ship US helicopters and spare parts to Iran. Because some of these parts could be used for military purposes, they violated international sanctions.

Last month, South Africa’s National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) told Parliament that it had started investigations against the companies and individuals mentioned in the Sunday Times report. Included in the list of individuals is the partner of South Africa’s deputy President Kgalema Mothlanthe, Gugu Mthsali.

The Sunday Times has alleged that associates of Mtshali’s and former De Beers executive Raisaka Masebelanga met delegates from a group called Aviation 360 to discuss “buying” government support for the Iran deal. The newspaper reported that Aviation 360 had set up a network of front companies to supply Iran with, among other things, a Bell 212 helicopter, which was exported to Iran in 2009 through Gemini Moon 477, a South African front company. A Canadian company, Eagle Copters, would allegedly buy helicopters from a company in the US. Eagle Copters would then sell them to Gemini Moon 477. Once the helicopters were in South Africa, they would be deregistered and then reregistered with Iran as the end-user. They would then be shipped abroad on a Russian cargo aircraft, possibly through Zimbabwe. The Sunday Times has also reported that Aviation 360 was involved in setting up deals involving three Airbus A300 aircraft, which were exported to Iran in 2009 through Tigris International, another South African front company. A deal worth R2 million involving Bell 212 helicopter parts was also allegedly set up, but this was reportedly aborted in the wake of the Sunday Times report.

South Africa’s Shadow Minister for Defence and Military Veterans, David Maynier from the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), told The Zimbabwe Mail last month that the allegations are very serious. He explained this it is not the first time South Africa has been implicated in similar Iranian ‘sanctions busting’ reports, including claims in 2009 that South Africa had attempted to export a ‘fast boat’ to Iran.

Zimbabwe’s involvement meanwhile remains unconfirmed. But political analyst Professor John Makumbe has said the country’s links with Iran should be probed. He said Zimbabwe “could easily be involved in such a deal,” saying Iran sees Zimbabwe as an ally.

Makumbe also said that if South African government officials are found to have known about the ‘sanctions busting’, and are aware of Zimbabwe’s role as a possible conduit, “South Africa’s role as facilitator in the Zimbabwe crisis becomes highly questionable.” Makumbe agreed that this could be why South Africa is slow to criticise the unfolding crisis in Zimbabwe, despite reports that ZANU PF is preparing for elections with the possible support of states like Iran.

“There is a love-hate relationship between Zimbabwe and South Africa,” Makumbe said, adding: “As it is, South Africa is not entirely unhappy about the situation in Zimbabwe and its continued pariah status, because it economically suits them.” http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/zimbabwe/11188-iran-distributing-hard-line-islamic-material-in-zimbabwe.html

THE BUTCHER ANTI WHITE RACIST: ROBERT MUGABE AND HIS ISLAMISTS BUDDIES

Robert Mugabe wants to sell uranium to Iran and has attacked international sanction
By Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg
3:03PM GMT 06 Mar 2011

Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Zimbabwe’s foreign minister, said the sanctions – which prohibit member states from providing Iran with raw materials that it could use to make a nuclear weapon – were unfair and hypocritical.
He said that Zimbabwe, which is also the subject of sanctions over human rights abuses perpetrated by President Robert Mugabe’s supporters, would benefit economically from the agreement.
A leaked intelligence report suggests Iran will be awarded with exclusive access to Zimbabwe’s uranium in return for providing the country with fuel.
The report – compiled by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog – said Iran’s Foreign and Co-operative Ministers had visited Zimbabwe to strike a deal, and sent engineers to assess uranium deposits.
Experts say the move contradicts Iran’s claim that it now has enough domestic uranium supplies to sustain its nuclear energy ambitions. They say Zimbabwe’s defiance of sanctions and its support for the pariah state will scare those considering investing in its economy, which is only just starting to recover after years of hyperinflation.
Uranium ore, or yellow cake, can be converted to a uranium gas which is then processed into nuclear fuel or enriched to make nuclear weapons. The UN imposed fresh sanctions on Iran last year after it refused to halt uranium enrichment.
Zimbabwe’s uranium stocks consist of an estimated 455,000 tons at Kanyemba, north of Harare. One metallurgist with knowledge of the deposit said it would take two to three years of development before it produced uranium and it would be exhausted in about five years. Mr Mumbengegwi said: “Zimbabwe has rich uranium reserves, but is faced with shortage of funds and does not possess the technical knowledge and equipment needed for extracting [them] ... Any country has the right to use peaceful nuclear energy based on international rules.”
Mr Mugabe has previously dismissed as “illegal” the US and EU sanctions that target him and members of his regime.
“Western states follow the approach of sanctions towards countries which do not yield to their domination and act against their interests,” Mr Mumbengegwi, a member of Mr Mugabe’s Zanu PF party, said.
People close to the UN confirmed that Zimbabwe would be in direct contravention of sanctions if it sold uranium to Iran, but admitted the international body could do little to punish it.
Ben Rhode, a Research Associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said there would be concern about the deal internationally. “Iran already has a guaranteed fuel supply from Russia for the lifetime of its Bushehr power reactor,” he said. “It is therefore difficult to understand the peaceful, commercial nature of such a procurement.”
Judy Smith-Hohn, of South Africa’s Institute for Security Studies, said Mr Mugabe’s Movement for Democratic Change partners in Zimbabwe’s fragile coalition, could veto the deal. “Because the world is looking the other way, towards events in North Africa, the Zimbabwean authorities are testing the boundaries and this is most likely part of it,” she said.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/8364666/Zimbabwe-to-sell-uranium-to-Iran.html

Who is Destroying America? - Page 236
Allan C. Stover - Xlibris Corporation, 30/11/2007 - 244 Pages
LET’S GIVE REFUGEE STATUS TO ZIMBABWE’S WHITE FARMERS Our immigration policy is a disaster, and because of our ...President Robert Mugabe authorized the seizure of thousands of white farms and even condoned the murder of white farmers in a move to terrorize them into abandoning their property. He ordered thousands of white farmers to abandon the farms that have been in their families for generations. Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan backed Mugabe’s land seizure program during a visit to that chaotic country.
http://books.google.coM/books?id=Um34PSp_zVkC&pg=PA236

Thabo Mbeki and the Battle for the Soul of the ANC - Page 124
William Mervin Gumede - Zebra, 30/10/200 - 476 pages
One of Mugabe’s most powerful weapons was his close association with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, whose ‘oil diplomacy’ had ranged a number of key African leaders behind his ambition to become the continent’s leading head of state.
http://books.google.com/books?id=MXVX3jW0XkIC&pg=RA1-PA124

African Counterterrorism Cooperation: Assessing Regional and ... - Page 199
Andre Le Sage - Potomac Books, Inc., 2007 - 229 pages - Preview
See, for example, RW Johnson, “Tracking Terror Through Africa: Mugabe, Qaddafi, and Al Qaeda,” The National Interest, no. 75 (Spring 2004), discussing alleged connections between President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and al Qaeda through Libyan President Muammar Qaddafi, and the existence of Muslim networks on the east coast of Africa, possibly involving Malawi, South Africa, and Zimbabwe and relationships with Ayman al-Zawahiri.
http://books.google.com/books?id=fSaxoaEXuvIC&pg=PA199

Zimbabwe Police Raid Christian Offices
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
CFP
By Michelle A. Vu, Christian Post Reporter

Police raided Zimbabwe Christian Alliance offices on Monday and arrested five staff members for interrogation, the group reported.

Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition party in Zimbabwe is questioned by police, during his ‘meet the people’ campaign in Nkayi near Bulawayo, Saturday, June, 7, 2008. Tsvangirai faces President Robert Mugabe in a crucial presidential run off set for June 27.

The raid was performed by Zimbabwe’s riot police, which are well-known loyalist to President Robert Mugabe. ZCA claims that at least one of its staffs was assaulted before its workers were taken to the Harare Central Police station for questioning.

“This is pure harassment of church organizations,” Useni Sibanda, national coordinator for ZCA, declared in a statement. “We are just doing our usual work and we don’t understand why we should be attacked by riot police like this.”

During the raid police confiscated papers including the March edition of the ZCA newsletter.

There is no charge against the ZCA staff members as of Monday afternoon, but a lawyer from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights is in Harare ready to represent those detained.

In March, the Zimbabwe church group had mobilized Christians to turn out to vote in the March 29 presidential election.

Although ZCA had said it did not promote a specific candidate, it is understood that the group was challenging Mugabe’s intimidation tactics that was aimed at keeping the supporters of his opponents at home.

“We have been seeing more and more intimidation, much of it aggressive, against our church partner organizations,” says Karyn Beattie, Tearfund’s Zimbabwe disaster management advisor. “However, church leaders and volunteers will continue to help the poorest in society.”

ZCA is a partner organization of the U.K. relief agency Tearfund.

On Monday, the Human Rights Watch called for the African Union to press Mugabe to end political violence, according to The Associated Press. The human rights group said its report documented 36 deaths and more than 2,000 injuries caused by Mugabe party militants who are backed by the police and army. It noted that the figure could be higher.

In addition to physical injuries, Mugabe’s party is also said to be responsible for telling hospitals not to treat victims that are supporters of his opponent, arresting dozens of opposition activists, and looting homes and businesses of opposition supporters.

The European Union and the United States plan to call on the United Nations to send a team to Zimbabwe to monitor human rights ahead of the run-off election later this month, according to Agence France-Presse.

President Mugabe, who has held onto power for nearly three decades, was declared to have lost the general election in March. But his opponent Morgan Tsvangirai, although having won more votes, reportedly did not have the majority of votes to be declared the president without a run-off election.

Faced with the very real prospect of losing power, the 84-year-old Mugabe and his party the Zanu-PF party has resorted to violence, including an alleged plan to assassinate Tsvangirai and other key leaders of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Party.

Under Mugabe, Zimbabwe which was once dubbed the breadbasket of southern Africa, has spiraled into an economic meltdown that includes an unemployment rate of about 80 percent and inflation at more than 100,000 percent.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/zimbabwe-police-raid-christian-offices-32758/
(Mugabe’s Muslim Thugs Raid Christian Offices
http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/2008/06/11/mugabes-muslim-thugs-raid-christian-offices/)

Praising Robert Mugabe, Islamic-Fundi calls for the extermination of Israel
By David Kurima
Published: June 8, 2010
Islamabad (ZimEye) – Praising Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe, an Islamic fundamentalist based in Pakistan has called for the extermination of the nation of Israel.

Speaking in harmony with Iran’s spiritualist leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s praising of Robert Mugabe after recent meetings in Iran, the fundamentalist added to the praises:

‘the time has come Israel will be vanished from the world. America will face serious consequences.

The fundamentalist who calls himself Ghulam Muhammad Katishovi’s statements, seen by ZimEye and written in broken English read in part:

‘Now all Muslim countries have understand the great vision of Ayatullah. And the time has come Israel will be vanished from the world. America will face serious consiquences. Long live Khamenie.’

During the meeting with President Mugabe, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised Mugabe for resisting alleged political interference by the Western powers, pledging Tehran’s continued support for Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile ZimEye was able to trace Ghulam Muhammad down to the town of Karachi in Pakistan. Terror leader Osama Bin Laden(pictured) is also believed to be roaming in places between the Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan has become the training ground for many terrorist convicts with many youths being raised and trained there.

Osama Bin Laden
It was not immediately clear Mugabe’s connection with the plot to exterminate Israel and the Zimbabwean government has also denied recent revelations of a secret nuclear deal between Zimbabwe and Iran.

President Mugabe has held a number of private meetings with the Iranian leader, Ahmadinejad who has been given a historic full military honour with a 21 gun salute and also inspected the guard of honour amid ululations at the Harare International airport.

(ZimEye, Zimbabwe, Pakistan)
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=18149

The Middle East: Abstracts and index: Volume 27,Part 4 - Page 180
Library Information and Research Service - 2003
Robert Mugabe is a strong ally of Qadhafi, since Libya has provided the financing for the racial cleansing of the White farmers. (ln a recent trade deal, Libya will meet 70% of the oil needs of Zimbabwe in retum for agricultural products and equity in state enterprises.)
Typical of the growing African support for Qadhafi is the African backing, in the face of intense opposition from the US and human rights groups, to have Libya chair the UNHRC. [TXT]
http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=

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