The #Qatari Hand in Fueling Islamist Terrorism in #India
#India has faced an increasing threat of terrorism for a long time, with the northern state of Jammu & Kashmir being the flashpoint of Islamist terrorism and radicalization for over three decades.
#India has faced an increasing threat of terrorism for a long time, with the northern state of Jammu & Kashmir being the flashpoint of Islamist terrorism and radicalization for over three decades.
Irrespective of the gradual pan-India spread of terrorism and radicalization trends over the years, not much thought has been given to exploring the underlying dynamics and root cause of its emergence.
The security agencies have considerably worked on terrorist organizations, but we have not focused much on the role of Islamist organizations in the proliferation of extremist and radicalization environment in India.
Over the last several decades, many Islamist organizations developed, flourished and survived in India and escaped the radar of our agencies and the strategic community, either because of lack of sufficient knowledge or lack of adequate political will to tackle them.
The most prominent feature of such organizations is the legal umbrella under which they operate. They often work under the garb of charity groups, NGOs and religious institutions.
However, internally they work to radicalize the selected demography, primarily minorities, leading to the germination of strong fundamentalist terrorist ideologies.
Consequently, a sophisticated network of organizations has managed to thrive under the heavy machinery of the Indian state.
The Curious Case of Eid Charity
The role of external support to such organizations is the most potent driving factor in the spread of radical ideologies in India. For instance, the import of Saudi endorsed hardline Wahabi ideology in the 1980s
The role of external support to such organizations is the most potent driving factor in the spread of radical ideologies in India. For instance, the import of Saudi endorsed hardline Wahabi ideology in the 1980s
sprouted the seed of extremism in the Kashmir Valley. In the most recent example, the Middle East Forum, a Philadelphia-based organization, came across a massive cache of documents associated with Qatar-based
Sheikh Eid Bin Mohammad Al Thani Charitable Association, also referred to as Eid Charity. In an investigation by Usanas Foundation, a geopolitical and security think tank in India, the data in these documents
revealed that Eid Charity funnelled millions of dollars since 2008-09 in India, funding Islamist organizations associated with the Salafi school of thought in Islam.
Eid Charity came under global scrutiny in 2013 when one of its founders, Abd Al-Rahman al-Nu'aymi, was named as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) by the U.S. Department of Treasury. He was sanctioned for providing financial and material support
to al-Qaida and its affiliates in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Somalia. The association also allegedly works with other reported terror-financing charity groups in Qatar, such as Qatar Charity and Foundation Sheikh Thani Ibn Abdullah for Humanitarian Services (RAF).
The primary investigation of these documents revealed over 1200 transactions made to India either directly under the name of Eid Charity or through individualistic contributions. A total of QR 28.492855 million (USD
7.82 million approx.) were transferred to eight Salafi-based Islamist organizations in India. The money was distributed for projects ranging from direct financial support within the Muslim community to other religious
and community action programs such as building/supporting mosques and building handpumps.The Kerala-based Salafi Philanthropic Society, registered as Salafi Charitable Trust Narikkuni, received the largest cache of funds, involving around USD 4.9 million between 2008-17.
This charity group is run by another controversial Qatar-based charity group mentioned above, RAF. The RAF is run by a royal family member of Qatar and was black-listed for terror financing by Arab nations in 2017.
The Foundation has serious charges levied against it, including funding al-Qaida affiliated groups AL-Nusra in Syria and arming Muslim-Brotherhood-backed fighters in Sudan.
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Another prominent feature is the connection between Eid Charity and other Qatar-based controversial charity groups like RAF. These organizations are already accused of working in cahoots to fund global terrorism.
Therefore, the funding of Islamist organizations operating in India could also be strategic, and hence their mutually enforcing operation in India is highly troubling. There seems to be an agenda and extensive patronage from the Qatari state to export fundamentalist Salafi faith.
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