Ganesh Sahathevan
Suicide bombers attacked the Jakarta Marriot and Ritz-Carlton hotels on 17 July 2009, killing nine and wounding at least 50 more at time of writing . (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Blasts-at-Jakarta-Ritz--Marriott-kill-9--wound-50/490636/. The Al-Qaeda linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) had attacked the Jakarta Marriot in 2003 , and there is speculation that these attacks are also the work of the JI (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aOxAF.fdhFK0)
B.Raman , director of the South Asia Analysis Group has provided an analysis of attacks against Western and Jewish targets which can be sighted at the link http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers34/paper3310.html
The above taken together would suggest that the attacks of 17 July 2009 are also the work of a group of Muslims committed to acts of violence against those they perceive to be enemies of Islam.This writer has on many occasions here and elsewhere critized as naive at best, acts and programmes promoted by Western governments and NGOs designed to "moderate" the "small minority" of Muslims who hold "extremist" views. These iniatives, as well as some recent developments, are reviewed here to show how they aid rather than hinder the jihadist cause.
I have previously written how Australia's intelligence agencies have come to
rely on research provided by universities with links to known terrorist
financiers (see http://www.terrorfinance.org/the_terror_finance_blog/2007/10/further-evidenc.html and http://www.terrorfinance.org/the_terror_finance_blog/2007/03/islamist_influe.html)
The following can now be added to what has been previously written. These would suggest that Australia, which is considered an ally against terrorism in this region,may in fact be contributing to the jihadist or at very least Islamist cause:
A) Australian Government protection afforded Islamist and jihadist.
It has been recently reported that the current Australian Attorney-General , Robert McClelland, has over-ridden and contradicted the advice of the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) in providing a reference and promoting an application for Australian residence by an Iranian cleric ASIO suspected of being a threat to Australian national security. ASIO adviced that the cleric,Sheik Mansour Leghaei ,was or is an Iranian spy. (see http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25794011-5013871,00.html
As Attorney General , ASIO reports to him.
This would not be the first occasion in which an Australian politician has overridden security concerns to sponsor an application for permanent residence. The former Prime Minister, Paul Keating, actively interfered and promoted an application for permanent residence by Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali despite advice from intelligence agencies that al-Hilali had been at least trained by a Libyan intelligence agency (see http://www.icjs-online.org/indarch.php?article=1107 . Information on Libyan intelligence training from private sources)
B) Universities and think-tanks further compromised
The Muslim World League (MWL) has made some recent in-roads into one of the oldest universities in the country, the University of Sydney. This adds to the universities mentioned in the articles at http://www.terrorfinance.org/the_terror_finance_blog/2007/10/further-evidenc.html and http://www.terrorfinance.org/the_terror_finance_blog/2007/03/islamist_influe.html
In June 2009 the de-facto leader of the Islamic Council of NSW , Ali Roude arranged for none other than HRH Turki bin Faisal to visit the university.
(see http://www.usyd.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=10&newsstoryid=3497)
This was remarkable given that the University of Sydney, while prominent in Australia, cannot be said to be of equal or near equal standing to the US , UK and European universities that the al-Saud's normally favour. In addition, Sydney is far from their normal circuits outside the Middle East.
In 2007 The Australian reported:
Ali Roude, head of Rissalah College, travelled to Saudi Arabia to meet officials from the Muslim World League during a visit believed to have been carried out in an attempt to attract funds for his proposed school...
A former member of the Prime Minister's Muslim reference group, Mustapha Kara-Ali, yesterday attacked the MWL as the "apex of Wahabism" and expressed his concerns over the body's internet communities.
"(It) provides ideological funds with strings attached to establish satellite communities for Wahabism abroad," Mr Kara-Ali said.
(http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22080423-5001561,00.html)
For references on the MWL see http://www.terrorfinance.org/the_terror_finance_blog/2008/06/sharia-finance.html
For references on the its youth wing, the World Assembly of Muslim Youth ,and its link to terrorism see . for example http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/stories/s798664.htm
Despite the above, the University has seen no difficulty in dealing with Ali Roude and the MWL ( given that the al-Faisals continue to control that organisation that was started by their father , the then Crown Prince al-Faisal ;for further information on the MWL, WAMY and the role of the Al-Faisals see the sworn statement by US ICE Agent David Kane, archived at http://web.archive.org/web/20040828003012/http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae/ArchivePress/SeptemberPDFArchive/03/biheirisupp091203.pdf)
The University has refused to comment on the above. It has also refused to answer queries put to it about communications it is believed to have had with Dr Adrian Ong Chee Beng, who has been linked to Sheik Yassin Al-Qadi the Al-Qaeda financier whose activities included the transmission of funds to terrorist groups for and/or on behalf of Mohamad Al-Faisal, Turki al-Faisal's lesser known brother. (http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/stories/2006/1754286.htm AND http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/09/business/09trust.html?_r=1&th&emc=th)
The University has shown a willingness in the past to receive funds from persons of questionable reputation. In 2004 it proudly announced the first of a series of contributions from one Lee Ming Tee, whose run-ins with the Australian corporate regulator in the 1980’s are well publicised. Lee left Australia as a result and moved his base of operations to Hong Kong , where he was arrested for fraud. ( See http://www.usyd.edu.au/news/84.html?newsstoryid=260 AND http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/messel/messel_donors.htm, http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/27/1098667837253.html?from=storylhs)
Being one of the oldest in the country the advice of its faculty is often sought by Government agencies on a variety of matters. It is likely that the al-Sauds and the MWL can now count on the University to be part of their lobby.
C) Australian aid for Indonesian madrassahs
I have also written that Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs via an agency named AUSAID, runs a programme in Indonesia named LAPIS (www.lapis.or.id) which involves spending AUD 30 million(about USD 24 million) with the objective of improving the management of madrasahs in Indonesia. AUSAID runs a similar project in Mindanao called BEAM (see www.beam.org.ph).
(see http://www.terrorfinance.org/the_terror_finance_blog/2007/03/this_article_is.html )
This programme will expire this year. This writer expects that the programme will be continued, depending on the availability of funding, despite its obvious errors.
To end, readers attention is drawn to a report on the recent bombings published by the Malaysian National News Agency, Bernama , in which the attackers continue to be described as “pengebom berani mati”; in English "
That language is contrasted against a recent initiative launched by Attorney-General McClelland aimed at eradicating such terms as "jihad" and "terror" from the Australian lexicon. It is his considered opinion that if we change our preception of the problem the problem will disappear. (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25743752-31477,00.html).
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