EL CONOCIMIENTO PROFESIONAL Y LA FORMACIÓN DEL PROFESORADO
ENFOQUE TRANSFORMADOR Conocimiento
1.9. Tardif: Los profesores como sujetos de Conocimiento Profesional
British soldiers specifically.
53 Daily Mail, September 13, 2014.
54
NDTV report, June 15, 2009.
55 The Guardian October 06, 2010.
4.5.8. The CIA Bombers
British Muslims were also involved in the attack on CIA headquarter in Khost, Afghanistan in 2009 which resulted in the killing of several senior officials. A Taliban video introduced the person as Omar the British Martyr, who was claimed to be responsible for the planning of the attack along with TTP leader Hakimullah Mehsud in 2009. Omar was killed in a drone attack
carried out in Waziristan region of FATA in November 2012.57
4.5.9. Prince Harry’s Attackers
Following the September 14, 2012 attack on camp Bastion in Afghanistan, a Taliban commander Qari Yousaf Ahmadi was quoted as claiming that hundreds of British Muslims are supporting them by joining their fight against the infidels in Afghanistan.
“We have thousands of attackers ready to give up their lives for the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and kill the prince. That is our intention. They come from all over the world, from England, Pakistan…… They will lay down their lives so that the world will know our anger. The British and American invaders are not welcome in this land and must leave.”
The Taliban leader further said that, “We attacked that base because Prince Harry was also on it, and so they can know our anger. Thousands more suicide attackers are ready to give up their
lives.” 58
4.5.10. British Financiers of Taliban
In August 2014, Sky News aired an interview of a Taliban commander who said that the much needed funding for arming Taliban militants comes from British Muslims. He was quoted as saying that, “We get donations from our Muslim brothers in Britain for Jihad. It is the duty of all Muslims to pay towards fighting Jihad. This is how we get our money and buy our weapons and carry on fighting.”
4.5.11. British Holiday Warriors
57
Sunday Times November 11, 2012.
58
Associated Press September 24, 2012.
According to my personal sources there are many British nationals who work in London, make money, and then take off to go and fight against the British soldiers in Afghanistan for two to three months each year. These people also sponsor Taliban from the money that they have earned in Britain. Interviews of such men have also been conducted by some journalists working for TV channels and newspapers. These fighters believe that their country and their people require them to carry out their duty of Jihad and they must take part in the fight for the liberation of their country.
4.5.12. The Medic Militant
Dr. Tariq Ali, a doctor and a former Captain in the Pakistan army recently appeared in a video released by Jamaat-‐ul-‐Ahrar, a splinter groups of TTP. In a sixteen minute video, he exhorted his army colleagues to join the Taliban in their Jihad. Dr. Tariq Ali said that he was a graduate of some of the prestigious UK institutions, including, Cambridge and Imperial College London. He also claimed to have served in the Pakistani army for seven years but later left it and emigrated to UK. He said that he was keen to join the Islamic State in Iraq but was arrested on his way to Iraq and later deported to Pakistan. Now he is fighting for the enforcement of Sharia alongside Taliban. It must be noted that he was acting as the spokesman for UK groups Sharia4UK before
leaving for Jihad in Iraq. He is known as Abu Obaidah al-‐Islamabadi in the Taliban circles.59 Dr.
Tariq Ali is living with Taliban colleagues in the FATA region.
4.6. Rising Religious Tensions in Britain
British support to the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 and later in Iraq in 2003 had resulted in tensions within the Muslim community, majority of whom do not support the involvement of UK forces in the War Against Terror campaign. This resentment is widespread and British Muslims have come out in protests against the policy. Demonstrations are regularly held in UK on occasions of either the return of British troops from the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. Also there have been ugly demonstrations on the return of bodies of slain soldiers from Afghanistan and Iraq. These demonstrations not only reflect the strong resentment and increased radicalization tendencies among British Muslims but have also resulted in increasing tensions in the community.
For instance, a demonstration was held in Luton town of England upon the occasion of returning British soldiers from Iraq on March 10, 2009. A group of British Muslims mainly of Pakistani
origin shouted insults and hurled abuses at the marching soldiers calling them Butchers of
Basra. This was responded to by the other British citizens as well. 60
Although majority of Muslim residents of the town condemned the actions of the radicals, however, the fact remains that the British policies are regarded as anti Islamic by some segments and that is the major reason exploited by the militants in gaining support for their causes.
Several incidents have been reported in the British media relating to protests turning violent on the occasion of the return of the coffins of dead British soldiers from Afghanistan. On such occasion Muslim protestors raised slogans against the dead soldiers and scuffles have broken out with the mourners and the protestors. These incidents have undoubtedly raised religious based tensions and are dangerous for communal harmony.
The British National Party has declared such Muslims as Fifth Columnists and criticized the
government for its immigration policies which allows such Muslims to live in UK.61
5. The Shifting Paradigm of Militancy
Two significant changes have occurred in both the Al-‐Qaeda and the FATA region in the recent past. In so far as Al-‐Qaeda is concerned, it has lost its cohesion over a period of time due to the loss of its leadership at various levels of operations. As a result, a process of de-‐centralization has been witnessed in Al-‐Qaeda. This has resulted in the emergence of a new breed of militants who operate independent of the organizational network of Al-‐Qaeda. In fact, Al-‐Qaeda has slowly become surpassed by a new breed of home grown terrorists who are acting without a leader in various parts of the globe. These young Jihadis who comprises the new breed of terrorists pose a higher threat now as compared to Al-‐Qaeda or their affiliate organizations.
The genesis of this young breed of militants is a direct result of the emerging and rapidly changing situation in the Middle East. The meteoric rise of Islamic State has created an uproar in the ranks of Al-‐Qaeda and Taliban cadres. A large number of militants have begun to shift their affiliations to IS. This change can be witnessed in the appearance of splinter groups among Afghan and Pakistani Taliban. For instance, a group called Jamaat-‐ul-‐Ahrar has recently
60
Daily Sun, March 11, 2009.
61
Website page of British National Party, September 2014.
appeared as a splinter group of Tehreek-‐e-‐Taliban Pakistan. It has renounced its allegiance to Mulla Fazlullah, the Ameer of TTP and has declared support to IS’s leader Al-‐Baghdadi. This is a phenomenon which is of grave concern for the monitors of terrorism in the region. Another noteworthy dimension of this development is that a large number of European militants have shifted their focus from Jihad in Afghanistan to the Jihad in Iraq and Syria.
In addition, the recent military operation launched by the Pakistani military has substantially affected the organizational setup of Tehreek-‐e-‐Taliban and other militant groups in Waziristan region of FATA. Most of the groups have shifted their bases and manpower to Afghanistan and/or other agencies including Bajaur and Mohmand agencies in the Northern part of FATA. In the present scenario, these militant groups are reorganizing their affairs, however, their operational capacity has been adversely affected for the time being.