Islamic extremism

Better than Superman: Super Bassiji

Team Observers — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:14:05 +0100

Our Observer Omid Habibinia sent us this South Park-style cartoon, which parodies the "superpowers" of Iran's Bassiji paramilitary forces, and the "help" they bring to the population.

According to him, it has spread like wildfire on Iranian blogs and Facebook over the past week, after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei officially merged the Bassiji with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, giving them an even greater role in the monitoring and repression of the population's "un-Islamic" behaviour.

Can you laugh about suicide bombers?

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:20:40 +0200

An online comedy about a group of Bradford-based Muslim extremists planning a suicide bombing has been released on YouTube. Hilarious or disrespectful? One of our British Muslim Observers gives his reaction.

"Living with the Infidels" is the creation of London-based film-maker Aasaf Ainapore, who says he was born into a Muslim family but is not a believer himself. The blurb goes as follow:

"The series centres around a bumbling, Bradford-based terror cell. Initially set on a path to martyrdom, Yorkshire's jihadi warriors discover the West isn't as bad as it seems. Tempted by the likes of Man U, cable TV and ample Abi upstairs, what's a man to do? Will they find Paradise in the arms of seventy-two virgins, or is Shangri-La [utopia] closer to home, propped up at the bar in The Dog and Duck?"

The series, which launched on 5 August, has come under fire from relatives of suicide bombing victims (particularly 7/7), who consider the subject too sensitive to be laughed over. It has also faced criticism from a Muslim association in Bradford, which claims that it's misrepresentative of Muslim youth. However, not everybody is disappointed. The series has already got a following on Facebook.

Islamic sect leader filmed in custody before his killing

Ségolène Team Observers — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:59:06 +0200

This video shows Nigerian Islamist militant Mohammed Yusuf just before he was handed over to the police. Hours later, he died. The footage of the sect leader being interrogated by the army strongly implies that the he was not killed in battle, as initially reported by the authorities.

The details of 39-year-old cleric Mohammed Yusuf's death remain unclear. Blamed for the anti-state violence which saw five days of bloodshed in Nigeria's northern Borno state, Yusuf was killed by authorities on the afternoon of Thursday 2, his bullet-riddled body put on display outside the police station.

It was initially reported that he died during an exchange of fire. But inconsistencies between the police and the army revealed that he had actually been arrested and detained. It emerged that he had been found hiding in his wife's parents' goat pen in the town of Maidiguri, and arrested by the army, who then interrogated him - seen in the video - before handing him over to the police. It was after this that he died. The police deny responsibility for his death, however, saying only that he died trying to escape the authorities. On Wednesday President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua ordered an investigation into his death.

The Taliban advance in Pakistan and America's 'double game'

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:24:57 +0200

"Taliban Bush". Source: www.anvari.org

The Taliban have positioned themselves less than 100km from the Pakistani capital. One of our Observers in the country tells us that she doesn't see the militant group taking power. She explains however that the US, which has today expressed alarm over the advancing Taliban, is partly responsible for the mounting success of Islamic extremism in the country.

Earlier this month Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari agreed to allow the Taliban-controlled region of Swat Valley to implement Sharia law, provided that the aforementioned put down their weapons. The Taliban law did indeed change, but the Taliban chose to ignore their part of the pact. This was demonstrated by their continued military offensive, which soon brought them to the district of Buner, just 100km from Islamabad. Last Wednesday US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the advances a serious threat, saying that the Pakistani government was "abdicating to the Taliban and the extremists".

Journalist launches fierce attack against Baha'i 'traitors'

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:55:46 +0200

The following video shows a journalist hurling death threats at Baha'i followers on an Egyptian talk show. Three days after the programme was aired, the homes of several Baha'i families in a rural village were burned down.

The Baha'i faith, conceived in the 19^th century, rests its morals on the unity of god, religion and humanity. There's a large following in Iran and almost 2,000 Baha'is in Egypt, according to the US government's International Religious Freedom report of 2007. Although the religion was recognized in Egypt in 1930, the Baha'is were stripped of the right to practice their beliefs in 1960 when president Gamal Abdel Nasser declared the recognition of only Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

In 2006 the Supreme Court went a step further by insisting that they chose one of these three as their religion; if not, they were not officially recognized by the state. Last month however, on 16 March 2009, the court changed tack by ruling that citizens would be allowed to enter two dashes in place of religion - not the change that the Baha'i community hoped for, but an improvement nonetheless.

The Taliban spread terror on video

Ségolène Team Observers — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:31:15 +0200

One of our Observers in Pakistan has sent us some Taliban-made video footage that, until recently, was available on market stalls in the restive Swat Valley, in north-west Pakistan.

The Taliban are rapidly gaining control of the Swat Valley in the North-Western Frontier province in Pakistan, once a prime tourist destination. Over the past two years, the Islamist militants have carried out multiple attacks against security forces in the area. Soldiers deployed in the region to combat the Taliban are simply no match.

Mohammed Aziz, a resident of Mingora sub-district in the Swat, came across CDs with images of Taliban militants beheading Pakistani soldiers. Aziz sent the images, filmed by the Taliban, to our local Pakistani Observer Ajmal Shahdin, who then passed them on to us. We have omitted the more shocking elements from the videos, including the actual beheading.

Girl whipped in Swat valley

Julien — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:29:50 +0200

Footage of a teenage girl being flogged by three men in Pakistan’s Swat valley has sparked outrage throughout the world and raised fears that the Taliban are tightening their grip on the restive region. The images, filmed by mobile phone and posted on the Guardian's website, come one month after Pakistani authorities allowed Islamist radicals to apply sharia law in the valley, bowing to a campaign of fear that has seen Taliban militants destroy over 100 girls’ schools in what used to be one of Pakistan’s prime tourist destinations.

Video originally posted on The Guardian website.

Is it extremist to call British soldiers 'butchers of Basra'?

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:08:10 +0100

Anti-war protestors dressed in Islamic clothing caused outrage on Tuesday when they marred an army homecoming ceremony by calling British troops "cowards, murderers, terrorists, butchers of Basra" and held up photos of Iraq war victims. The event provoked angry attacks from both bystanders and the tabloid press, raising concerns over the safety of the country's two million strong Muslim community.

Around 12 protestors turned up to object to 200 soldiers of The Royal Anglian Regiment marching through Luton (50 km north of London). While at first they were held back by police forces, the tide soon turned when angry union flag-waving bystanders turned upon the group shouting "scum" and "no surrender to the Taliban". Two people were arrested. The response to the protest was largely outrage with tabloid newspapers labelling the group "sick", "extremist" and a "mob". The Muslim Council of Britain said it was "appalled" by the media reaction and that the group was simply providing "fodder for Islamophobes keen to drive a wedge between Britons".

Attack on Sri Lankan cricketers: the Indian lead

Julien — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:19:12 +0100

One of our Observers in Pakistan, Awab Alvi, has published a note by the security services warning local authorities about the probability of an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team. The note, dating back to January 22, pointed to an Indian lead.

Who ordered Tuesday’s attack on the Sri Lankan national team in Lahore is anyone’s guess. The Taliban? Tamil Tigers? A document leaked to the press on Tuesday evening has opened up another lead. The memo produced by the security services of Pakistan’s Punjab province warned local authorities about the possibility of an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team masterminded by the Indian secret services (RAW). The note even mentioned the transfer from the hotel to the stadium as a possible timing for the attack: which is precisely what happened. But who might have had an interest in leaking a document that directly accuses India and underlines the negligence of the government in place?

Being a woman in Iran, 30 years after the Islamic revolution

Ségolène Team Observers — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:08:26 +0100

Photo: A demonstration by Iranian feminists in June 2006. Published on the excellent photoblog Kosoof.

On February 11, Iran marked the 30^th anniversary of the Islamic revolution that brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power. We posed four questions to our Iranian Observers, based both inside and outside the country.

Read responses from our other Iranian Observers