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February 5, 2007
Spain: Pakistani Islamist Group Has Catalan Base
News from AKI reports that the group Jaish-e-Mohammed (Jaish-i-Mohamed) has established a base in the northeast region of Catalonia in Spain. The capital city of Catalonia (Catalunya) is Barcelona. Apparently, the group recruits Pakistani nationals, and sends them to the tribal regions of Pakistan, where the recruits are introduced to Al-Qaeda's network.
The information was reported today in El Periodico, a Spanish daily newspaper. Recruits for jihad are found in mosques, and Jaish-e-Mohammed also sends passports and documentation which have been stolen in Europe. The newspaper said that intelligence officials from Pakistan and Spain are currently tracking the movement of individuals between the two countries.
El Periodico additionally states in addition that Lashkar-e-Toiba (Lashkar-e-Taiba or Tayyiba) also has a base in Spain. This group, whose name means Army of the Pure, was founded by Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, shortly after the launching of a parent group called Markaz Dawa ul Irshad,in the late 1980s.
Jaish-e-Mohammed was founded by Maulana Masood Azhar. It has the same origins as Harakatul Mujahideen, which is said to have provided terrorist training to two of the 7/7 bombers, Mohamed Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer. Harakatul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammed are both offshoots of Harakat al-Ansar, founded in 1980.
The exact date of the foundation of Jaish-e-Mohammed (army of the prophet) is debated, with some sources claiming 1994 or earlier. According to South Asia Terrorism Portal, it was officially launched in launched on January 31, 2000.
Jaish-e-Mohammed was declared a banned terrorist organization by India on October 25, 2001, and on December 26, 2001, the group was designated as a terrorist entity by the US Treasury.
The group has been linked with the attack upon the Indian Parliament, which was carried out on December 13, 2001. It is also believed to have been involved in the kidnapping and beheading of US journalist Daniel Pearl.
In the US, two individuals associated with the Albany mosque in New York were convicted on October 11 last year. Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain had been arrested in 2004. The pair were found by a jury to have tried to send finances to Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at February 5, 2007 8:48 PM
Comments
It's simple, the loss of Spain was a humiliating defeat, and they not only want to roll the crusade back onto the doorstep of the counrties the crusaders came from, but reclaim every inch once muslim dominated, so they can resurrect the enlightenment that was muslim rule in Spain. They will stop at nothing to regain it. The Madrid bombing influencing the election the way they wanted only encouraged them, hopefully the people there will wake up first.
Posted by: Catawhumpus ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.westernresistance.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 5, 2007 9:06 PM
Good observation, Catawhumpus. Bin Laden was saying six months before the March 2004 Madrid bombings that all Muslims should strive to resurrect al-Andalus. With both Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba (as well as Islamists from Morocco) on Spanish soil, and attempts to commandeer the Cordoba cathedral as a Muslim "prayer area", as well as attempts to build a mega-mosque in Andalucia (funded by Saudis of course), then these dreams of the Islamists may slowly be turning to a reality.
Giraldus
Posted by: Giraldus Cambrensis at February 5, 2007 10:51 PM
I lost a friend in Madrid, that's when I began looking at the "religion of peace" as a fatal plague, no reconciliation.
Posted by: Catawhumpus at February 6, 2007 11:34 PM
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