BOSNIA & HYDERABAD
by B.Raman
The Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), the militant wing of the
Pakistan-based Markaz Dawa wal Irshad (MDI), has been behind most of the
recent incidents of terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). It
describes its objective as three-fold: firstly, to "liberate"
J&K and have it merged with Pakistan; secondly, to similarly
"liberate" Hyderabad and Junagardh, which it considers as
rightfully belonging to Pakistan, and have them brought under Pakistan's
sovereignty; and, thirdly, to "liberate" the Muslims living in
other parts of India and create two more "homelands" for the
Muslims of the sub-continent, one in North India and the other in the
South.
The LET, along with the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM), both
of them of the Afghan war vintage, was also in the forefront in organising
assistance for the Muslim separatists of Southern Philippines, Bosnia,
Kosovo, Chechnya and Dagestan. Since the early 1990s, both the
organisations had been collecting funds for the Muslim separatists in
these areas, smuggling to them arms and ammunition and had even sent their
own cadres to fight for the separatists.
An assessment disseminated in October,1994, by a news
organisation called Compass had stated as follows: "Arab
"Afghans" have been moving further afield as well. Some
are in Bosnia, helping fellow Muslims fight the Christian Serbs.
Between 200 and 300 of these veterans of the Afghan war, including
non-Arab Muslims, are based in Zenica in Bosnia, where they are widely
feared. Hundreds of "Afghans" have made their way to
Bosnia. The number of non-Bosnian Muslims in the military is
estimated at between 500 and 1,000 from a dozen countries in the Middle
East. From all accounts, they have fought with some
distinction. Some 300 "Afghans," organized into a unit
known as "the Guerrillas," operate with the Bosnian 3rd Corps in
Zenica. Algerian leader Kamar Kharban, a veteran of the Afghanistan
war, has visited Bosnia several times over the last two years.
"The 'Afghans' and other Muslim volunteers have
also been a source of friction with the Bosnians, who are largely secular
Muslims. The outsiders' religious zeal and arrogant commitment to
their holy war has angered their hosts. But many of the volunteers
represent wealthy organizations or countries whose support the beleaguered
Bosnians count on. The "Afghans" are believed to have been
behind the murder of British aid worker Paul Goodall on Jan. 27, 1994,
near Zenica. Three Muslim volunteers, all Arabs carrying fake
Pakistani passports, were shot dead by Bosnian military police at a
roadblock near Sarajevo. Three others were arrested by police for
questioning in the murder. The Al-Kifah, or Struggle, Refugee Center
in New York, which used to recruit and raise funds for Mujahedeen headed
for Afghanistan, last year announced it was switching its operations to
Bosnia. It was established in the mid-1980s by Egyptian Mustafa
Rahman as a joint venture with Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, spiritual leader
of Gamaat al-Islamiya. "
In 1996, in a book titled "Offensive In the
Balkans", Mr. Yossef Bodansky, Director of the Republican TASK FORCE
ON TERRORISM AND UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE of the US House of
Representatives, wrote as follows on the "Bosnian Jehad":
"...The build-up of new Islamist units was
completed in Bosnia- Herzegovina in the Spring of 1995. These forces
are closely associated with the Armed Islamist Movement (AIM) and Islamist
international terrorism, and include the first organized deployment of
MARTYRDOM FORCES (THAT IS, SUICIDE TERRORISTS), both veteran Arabs and
newly trained Bosnians.
"These new activities were conducted under the
guidance of the new Islamist headquarters in Teheran and Karachi, decided
upon during the Popular Arab Islamic Conference (PAIC) convened in
Khartoum in the first days of April 1995. The Conference decided to
establish "new Islamist representative offices" for the
international Islamist movement. The new regional center in Tehran
will be responsible for Islamist activities (training, equipping,
operational support, etc.) in Bosnia-Herzegovina (as well as other
politically-sensitive hot spots), while the comparably new center in
Karachi would be responsible for Islamist activities in Albania (and
Kosovo). Furthermore, this overall Islamist effort and build-up is
not just to cope with the situation in the Balkans, but also to be used as
A SOUND BASE FOR THE ISLAMISTS' ABILITY TO EXPAND OPERATIONS INTO WESTERN
EUROPE - mainly France, the UK and Germany...
"Meanwhile, the leadership of the Armed Islamic
Movement (AIM) was formally notified in mid-May 1995 that the "Mujahedin
Battalion is an officially-recognized army battalion of the Bosnian
army. It is comprised of non-Bosnian volunteers, called ANSAR, along
with Bosnian Mujahedin. The formal name of the unit is "Armija
Republike BiH, 3 Korpus, Odred el-Mujahedin". The commander, an
Egyptian "Afghan", was identified as "Ameer Kateebat al-Mujahedin
Abu al-Ma'ali" - a religious-military title and a nom the
guerre. The Islamist force is based in Travnik and Zenica areas in
central Bosnia...
"...The Khartoum, Sudan-based National Islamic
Front (NIF) - the political umbrella organization to which AIM answers -
did not take long to look for the appropriate solutions for the challenges
in Bosnia- Herzegovina...
"...Being a theologically driven movement, the NIF
supreme leadership sought legal precedents to serve as a guideline for the
nature of jihad which they believe should be waged in Bosnia, Palestine,
and Kashmir. In mid-August 1995, Khartoum informed the AIM senior
officials in the front line - in such places as Sarajevo, Muzzaffarabad
(Pakistan), and Damascus - of the precedent found.
"The NIF leadership pointed to the text of "fatwa"
originally issued by the Islamic Religious Conference held in El-Obaeid,
State of Kordofan (Sudan), on April 27, 1993. It is presently used in
Khartoum, at the highest levels of NIF, as the precedent-setting text for
legislating relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in areas where the
infadels are not willing to be simply subdued by the Muslim forces.
The following places - Palestine, Bosnia, and Kashmir - are stated
explicitly as areas to where the principles outlined by this fatwa are
most applicable.
"...Meanwhile, Sarajevo's apocalyptic view of the
future fits closely with the Islamists' growing anticipation of
"gloom and doom" in their relations with the West...
"...The AIM senior officials in Sarajevo reported
in mid-May 1995 the completion of "a new camp called Martyrs'
Detachment", in order to absorb many newly-arriving Mujahedin.
These SUICIDE TERRORISTS, including at least a dozen Bosnian Muslims,
graduated from an intensive course in training camps in Afghanistan and
Pakistan in the early Spring of 1995. These Bosnians along with Arab
"Afghans" were deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina for both
operations in the Balkans as well as, should the need arise, operations in
Western Europe (specially France, the UK, Italy, and Belgium).
("Afghan" is the term used to describe those fighters trained
and tested in the Afghanistan civil war. Most are of Arab, North
African or Pakistani origin).
"High-level Arab sources in the Middle East
stressed that these Bosnia-based Mujahedin, especially the suicide
terrorists, are being organized as a new force, forming a center for
operations throughout Europe. Moreover, by the Summer of 1995, the
Islamist infrastructure in Bosnia-Herzegovina had already constituted the
core of a new training center for European Muslims."
The first report to emerge on the
"Arab-Afghan" Mujahideen presence in Bosnia, was an interview
accorded to the "Time" Magazine by one Commander Abu Abdel Aziz
in 1992. It included a picture of the commander in his henna-dyed
beard and Afghan style fatigue. After the "Time",
"al-Sharq al-Awsat", a Saudi-owned, London-based daily, ran a
front-page story on Abu Abdel Aziz and his activities in Bosnia.
In August 1994, "Al-Sirat Al-Mustaqeem (The
Straight Path)", an Islamic journal published in Pakistan (Issue No.
33), carried an interview with Abu Abdel Aziz. The journal, without
identifying his nationality, reported that Abu Abdel Aziz spoke
perfect Urdu and that he had spent extended periods in Kashmir. Abu
Abdel Aziz's forces were, unlike other Islamic freelancers, part of the
seventh battalion of the Bosnian Army (SEDMI KORPUS, ARMIJA REPUBLIKE BH,
it was said.
In the interview, he made the following points:
* "I was one of those who heard about Jihad in
Afghanistan when it started. I used to hear about it, but was
hesitant about (the purity and intention of) this Jihad. One of those
who came to our land (presumably Saudi Arabia) was sheikh Dr. Abdallah
Azzam. I heard him rallying the youth to come forth and (join him)
to go to Afghanistan. This was in 1984 -- I think. I decided
to go and check the matter for myself. This was the beginning (of
my journey with) Jihad. Then the conquest of Kabul came.
* "A new Jihad started in Bosnia, (we moved
there), and we are with it. As to Arab Mujahideen (in Bosnia),
they do not have a separate battalion. There is a battalion for
non-Bosnian fighters. Arabs are a minority compared to those of
the Mujahideen (gathered from around the World). This battalion is under
a unified command and is called Kateebat al-Mujahideen (Mujahideen
Battalion), Odred "El-Mudzahidin" as they call them in
Bosnian. Militarily, it has a link to the Bosnian government under
the general command of the Bosnian Armed Forces. It is in fact
part of the seventh battalion (SEDMI KORPUS, ARMIJA REPUBLIKE BH) of the
Bosnian Army. I am a field commander under the "General
Unified Armed Command". We have full jurisdiction in the
region we are responsible for (Editor's note: Mostly central
Bosnia). The general command of the Muslim forces wants to see
results, it does not dictate strategy or action.
* "I met several prominent Ulema. Among
them Sheikh Nasir ad-Din al-Albani, Sheikh Abdel Aziz Bin Baz and Sheikh
Muhammad Bin Otheimin and others in the Gulf area. Sheikh Nasir
ad-Din al-Albani is one of the great Ulema of this time and one seeks
guidance in the light of his knowledge and view. (I say) in my
last meeting with him, he was supportive of Jihad in Bosnia-Herzeg (as a
religious duty). However, he told us not to attack - that is we,
the Arab Mujahideen - since we were the smaller host The Sheikh was
afraid we might get killed in large numbers if we engaged people in the
fight. However, he requested that we dig in and be at the most
advanced defense-lines (Khat ad-Difa` al-Awwal) to defend those
persecuted.
* "The rest of the Ulema support Jihad by any
means (defensive or offensive). You must understand that -
militarily speaking - the number of those killed in defense is (far)
higher than those killed in attack. This is due to the fact that
in attack, clashes and skirmishes take place between Mujahideen and
Kuffar (non-believers). The Kafir (unbeliever) does not throw
himself arbitrarily in the cross-fire for fear of killing his
companions. This fact lowers the number of the dead and this is the most
important fact of the matter.
* "Jihad in Kashmir is still going on. It
is healthy. Our Kashmiri brothers have achieved a lot. Some
of our Mujahideen brethren, whether Arab or (Ajam non-Arab), such as the
Pakistanis and our brethren from South-East Asia, have also
helped. Their actions have been very successful, especially in the
lands under Indian government control. Mujahideen execute
hit-and-run operations. However there is a lack of support by
Islamic governments and a lack of media coverage by Islamic outlets, on
the level of atrocity and destruction by the non-believers in those
lands. "
Subsequently, this Abu Abdel Aziz appeared at a
conference of the LET at its headquarters in Muridke, near Lahore, in
November,1994. He was introduced to the audience as an Indian Muslim
living in Saudi Arabia, who was playing a heroic role in helping the
Muslims of Bosnia in their fight against the Christian Serbs and in
helping the Kashmiris fighting against the Government of India.
Other reports indicated that in May 1995, like-minded
fundamentalist groups formed a "Rapid Deployment Force" called
"Katiba al –Mujahideen (Batallion of the Mujahideen) at a meeting
held in the Philippines. The meeting was attended among others by
al-Sheikh Abu Abdul Aziz, described as the Chief Commander of the 7th
Brigade of Muslim forces in Bosnia, Salamat Hashan, the Chairman of the
Moro Islamic Front (Philippines), Abdul Karim, Chairman of the Islamic
Front (Eritrea) and Prof. Hafiz Mohd Saeed, Amir MDI (Pakistan). The
meeting chalked out the following objectives- (a) nationalities and
frontiers on the basis of races was an un-Islamic perception; (b) to work
in support of Muslims in all those parts of the world where action was
being taken against them; (c) the Mujahideen of the newly formed Katiba
Al-Mujahideen would carry out militant operations and fight in Kashmir to
eliminate un-Islamic perceptions of nationalities and frontiers.
Abu Abdul Aziz had disappeared from public view since
1998. There were rumours in Islamic circles in Pakistan that he had
been arrested by the Saudi authorities, apparently because of his
suspected links with Osama bin Laden, who is against the Saudi monarchy.
The Indian media has reported on August 30 about the
arrest by the Hyderabad Police of one Abdul Aziz alias Ashrafi, who had
fought in Bosnia and Chechnya. It needs to be verified whether the
arrested person could be identical with the individual described in this
article.
(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet
Secretariat, Govt. of India, and, presently, Director, Institute For
Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: corde@vsnl.com
)