NEW DELHI: Global terrorist outfit Al Qaeda's Middle East wing has released a statement exhorting Indian Muslim "scholars" to come together and wage jihad against India to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, indicating a fresh effort to radicalise Indian minorities and play on sectarian lines.
AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) is mostly active in Saudi Arabia and Yemen and it’s a rare occasion when it has turned its focus towards India, a move which the Indian intelligence agencies are still trying to interpret. Some see it in the context of some Islamic groups in India and abroad campaigning that Muslims are being targeted for the Covid- 19 outbreak after the Tablighi Jamaat incident and feel AQAP could have taken up the "cause" that it sees in religious terms though the message is about CAA.
"The Muslim's dignity is in jihad, so fight. Either you live with dignity or die for it. We are asking Indian Muslim scholars to start fighting for their Ummah which is looking forward for their support," the AQAP message said, accusing India and the law of being anti-Muslim.
TOI has accessed the three-page statement issued in Arabic which claims that the law was just to take away the citizenship of Muslims. "The entire world is watching and doing nothing about it. When Muslims fight back, the law and the Indian government brutally attack them by using their criminal police and mobs."
"The US is supporting India. Donald Trump visited India and got a huge welcome as India aimed to get a green signal from him to attack Muslims," the statement reads. "We, the Qaeda in Arab, condemn the Indian government and announce our support to Muslim brothers. It's an international war against Muslims. So don’t wait for help from Kafir. They won't help or support you. Ask your Muslim scholars and fight back. Protect your religion and families along with Mujahideen," it says.
The United States forces had killed its leader Qassim al-Rimi in a counter terrorist operation in February this year. The outfit is now headed by Rimi's deputy, Khalid bin Umar Batarfi.
AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) is mostly active in Saudi Arabia and Yemen and it’s a rare occasion when it has turned its focus towards India, a move which the Indian intelligence agencies are still trying to interpret. Some see it in the context of some Islamic groups in India and abroad campaigning that Muslims are being targeted for the Covid- 19 outbreak after the Tablighi Jamaat incident and feel AQAP could have taken up the "cause" that it sees in religious terms though the message is about CAA.
"The Muslim's dignity is in jihad, so fight. Either you live with dignity or die for it. We are asking Indian Muslim scholars to start fighting for their Ummah which is looking forward for their support," the AQAP message said, accusing India and the law of being anti-Muslim.
TOI has accessed the three-page statement issued in Arabic which claims that the law was just to take away the citizenship of Muslims. "The entire world is watching and doing nothing about it. When Muslims fight back, the law and the Indian government brutally attack them by using their criminal police and mobs."
"The US is supporting India. Donald Trump visited India and got a huge welcome as India aimed to get a green signal from him to attack Muslims," the statement reads. "We, the Qaeda in Arab, condemn the Indian government and announce our support to Muslim brothers. It's an international war against Muslims. So don’t wait for help from Kafir. They won't help or support you. Ask your Muslim scholars and fight back. Protect your religion and families along with Mujahideen," it says.
The United States forces had killed its leader Qassim al-Rimi in a counter terrorist operation in February this year. The outfit is now headed by Rimi's deputy, Khalid bin Umar Batarfi.
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