More members of the Tiny Minority of Extremists in moderate, tolerant, pro-American Kosovo?
Of course, their presence in the Balkans is commonly written off as the product of Wahhabi influence. And while Saudi money has been instrumental in exporting jihad ideology and funding the activity that results, this explanation is all too often also used to avoid acknowledging anything inherent in Islamic texts and traditions outside of Wahhabism that could motivate jihadist terrorism.
As for the use of charities, they are often a handy subterfuge for Western consumption due to the fact that in the Western tradition, charities are, by nature, non-combatant. This is not the case in the Islamic tradition; the lack of a distinction stems from Qur’an 9:60, which includes provisions for those who are “in the cause of Allah” (fi sabil Allah).
And it’s not just cheeky infidels pulling that connection out of a hat. It can be seen worldwide in the frequent convergence of jihadist activity and “social services” by groups including Hamas, Hizballah, Jamaat ud-Dawa, and now this group, as well.
“Kosovo: Police arrest five radical Islamists,” from AdnKronos International, May 22:
Pristina, 22 May (AKI) – Kosovo police have arrested five members of the fundamentalist Wahabi Islamic movement who are suspected of “criminal activities, “police spokesman Hazir Berisa said on Saturday. He did not specify if those arrested were suspected of recruiting terrorists or plotting attacks.
Berisa said the five suspects were associated with a humanitarian organisation called Iskrenost (Sincerity).
Nice.
The arrests took place late on Friday in the southwest city of Prizren in an operation in which 120 police officers were deployed. Berisa said police confiscated a large quantity of weapons during the operation, including automatic rifles, pistols, ammunition and uniforms.
The Wahabi movement originated in Saudi Arabia in the 17th century. Wahabi ideology preaches a ‘pure’ form of Islam. It was brought to the Balkans by Arab ‘mujahadeen’ fighters who fought on the side of local Muslims during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war.
Many former ‘mujahadeen’ remained in the region after the war indoctrinating local youths and even operating terrorist training camps, according to foreign intelligence sources.
Tensions between Wahabis and mainstream Muslims have been simmering in the Balkans for some years as the Wahabi ideology preaches religious intolerance towards other religious groups, including moderate Muslims.
Wahabis have sought to gain influence in Bosnia-Heregovina and also in Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo.
Since the Bosnian war, radical Islamists have often operated under the guise of humanitarian organisations from Islamic countries and several such charities have been banned in Bosnia.