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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Timid Terrorists in Trinidad & Tobago |
| 2005-12-28 |
| December 28, 2005: The island republic of Trinidad and Tobago has about a million inhabitants. About six percent of them are Moslems, including a few Islamic radicals. The countryâs principal Moslem organization, the Anjuman Sunnat-ul-Jamaat Association (ASJA), is very much in the tradition of tolerance that prevails among the âTrini.â When asked about âcultural conflict,â given the countryâs rich mix of several brands of Christians, Hindus, Moslems, and others, ASJA leader Yacoob Ali, replied âWe have to coexist. To each his own," and then added that according to the Koran, "Moslems believe there must be no antagonism, no anti-religious sentiment towards another person's faith and belief." Speaking last year, when the Hindu festival of Divali coincided with the Moslem Eid and the Christian Christmas, Noble Khan, himself a Moslem and President of the Inter-Religious Organisation, observed that "The three festivals are closely linked with happiness,â adding "It's a confluence of spiritual forces coming together. If your whole community is totally taken up with positive activities, then it is going to reduce the amount of negative activity." There are some more extreme views. Inshan Ishmael, head of the âIslamic Relief Centre,â has taken a harder line, frequently protesting âharassment of Moslem.â For example, he attributed delays in establishing a Moslem-oriented cable television channel to an âanti-Islamic sentiment,â though several other applicants for channels experienced similar delays, which the cable provider attributed to technical problems. Ishmael has also brought suit in the countryâs supreme court against the fact that itâs highest decoration is the âTrinity Crossâ (He has not, apparently, protested the name of the country itself, âTrinityâ in Spanish, or not yet, anyway). But Ishmael, who now has his cable channel, is a relative moderate when compared with local radical cleric Yasin Abu Bakr of the Jamaat Al Muslimeen. In July of 1990, Bakr led an abortive coup against the government, in an attempt to establish an Islamic regime. The coup resulted in 24 deaths. Freed in a general amnesty, Bakr and his organization are believed to be active in organized crime, drug dealing, kidnapping, and gang-related killings. On November 4th, on the conclusion of the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr, Bakr delivered a sermon in which, along with demands for the overthrow of the United States, he warned ârich Moslemsâ to provide alms the poor, as required by the Koran. In the process, Bakr not only named his own organization as the only legitimate receiver of such alms, but also several prominent Trini Moslems and Moslem-owned businesses from which the tithes would be demanded, threatening âbloodshed and war"â if the money was not forthcoming. Bakrâs sermon prompted a major âsummitâ of the leading Moslem organizations in the country. Of the sermon, Ishmael said, âBakr is totally out of place and should know where to get off. He has crossed the line,â adding that it was an open threat to Muslims, and âa warning that the Muslim community should not take lightly.â Meanwhile, on November 7th, Bakr was arrested on charges relating to several criminal investigations. And on the 22nd he was charged with âterrorismâ and promoting âthe commission of a terrorist act likely to cause the loss of life or serious bodily harm," |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 Missionaries from Saudi Arabia have been arabicizing the muslim communities in the caribbean with their toxic wahabism.. They are very well funded and this opens doors in a minority population. More and more women are adopting the hijab. Abu Bakr and his group are not from the traditional East Indian muslim community. They are all of "African" descent and are converts from Christianity. Several of Bakr's men have attended training camps in Libya and Afghanistan. In recent times, contacts with Pakistan have increased with more locals going there for "islamic studies". The US has an opportunity to crack some islamic heads in its own backyard. Bakr's group has been involved in gunrunning and drug traficking between the US and the Caribbean. Some members have been extradited to the US for trial. Bakr should join them. He may be able to threaten the Trinidad authorities but the US is quite another matter... |
| Posted by: john 2005-12-28 13:27 |