This is an open letter to the Muslims of Tamilnadu,
particularly the two dozen Muslims groups that opposed the screening of Kamal
Hassan’s movie, “Vishwaroopam” on one of the pretexts that the movie gives an
impression that Tamil nadu Muslims shelter the terrorists.
I wrote a blog at that time (here) supporting this concern
raised by the Muslims. Now terror had struck Bangalore and the trail leads to
Muslim pockets in Tamilnadu.
This is not a movie, but reality and the reality is the same issue that Muslim
outfits opposed in their clamour for ban on Vishwaroopam.
Is it not the time for the two
dozen Muslims outfits who took up the cudgel against Vishwaroopam to speak
against the Bangalore blasts now? Is it not time for them to speak against the
terrorists that they had brought disrepute to the name of Islam, to their
identity and to their locations in Tamilnadu?
These outfits might say that they are not involved in terror
activities. But then in the recent Boston blasts, the American Indians and
Indian Muslims living in the US were one among the first to denounce the Boston
terror attack. One of the untold reasons behind that immediate posturing is
that the initial reports on use of Cooker bombs pointed out to Indian
terrorists’ methods.
In the case of Bangalore blasts, the trail has landed up at
the doors of some Muslims of Tamilnadu. Those who felt outraged by Kamal’s
depiction of a terrorist having taken shelter in Tamilnadu, must feel all the
more outraged now at the way some terrorists have lived among them. Is it not
time for these Muslim outfits to denounce them openly? The concern over Vishwaroopam movie was that such
a depiction would give rise to bad impression about them among the local
people. Don’t they think that current developments would also give rise to such
an impression?
According to TOI report, some sections of Muslims have
expressed concern over this and even pointed out to the probable areas that
breed terrorists. Let the Muslim outfits join them and come out in the open by
taking up a position that they do not subscribe to the breeding or sheltering
of terrorists in their community. Those who opposed
Vishwaroopam must show that their Real Roopam is to keep away terror elements from their
midst.
*******
From
CHENNAI: The arrest of three suspected extremists from
Melapalayam in Tirunelveli in southern Tamil Nadu for their role in the recent Bangalore bomb blast is likely to ring
alarm bells in the intelligence wing of the state police. The arrests would
serve to reinforce the view that radicalization of wayward Muslim youth
continues in the state, though no major terror attack has been reported since the 1998 Coimbatore serial bomb blasts.
What is more worrying is that despite the tabs kept on the activities of Kitchan Buhari, 38, who served 11 years for his involvement in the Coimbatore bomb blasts, he was able to escape attention while allegedly being involved in enlisting and indoctrinating new recruits after his release from jail. It is now believed that he played an active part in the April 17 blast.
"It is too premature to say how far Peer Mohideen and Basheer, who were picked up from a lodge in Chennai on Monday, were part of Kitchan Buhari's terror network," said a senior police officer. While Mohideen was working in Bangalore for the past five years, Basheer was employed in a private company in Tirunelveli. Whether they were peripheral to the plot or whether they had a central role is being investigated, he said.
Kitchan Buhari, who was arrested on Tuesday for his involvement in the Bangalore blast was among the youngest to be involved in the 1998 Coimbatore blasts. Today, he is apparently a father figure to many radical elements. After his release from jail along with several other convicts in 2009, he ran the 'Charitable Trust for Minorities,' a non-governmental organisation based in Coimbatore, for the rehabilitation of those sentenced in the serial blasts case.
"We knew Buhari and associates were not lying idle. They had come under the scanner for several cases, including usury and for holding kangaroo courts for settling disputes. But, we had no information about their plotting a terror attack," admitted the senior official.
What went unnoticed was that though Buhari had shifted his base to Coimbatore, he made frequent trips to his native village Melapalayam, which used to be a recruiting ground for the banned Al Umma in the 90's until the Coimbatore blasts. The terror outfit had been indoctrinating the poor in Melapalayam.
A concern that now arises is whether there are more such sleeper cells waiting for orders from their guardians to strike. "We do not completely rule out that possibility. Places like Melapalayam, Kottaimedu in Coimbatore and Adirampattinam and Muthupet in Thanjavur are constantly under our watch. Of late, the Kerala-based Popular Front of India has been running camps in Theni and Tirunelveli to woo gullible youth as well as encourage conversion of the underprivileged belonging to other religions," said another official.
Sections in the Muslim community are also concerned about the role of some madrasas which, under the influence of the Wahabi or Salafi strain of Islam, preach intolerance. "Even some schools have sprung up across the country that blend radical thought with scientific education. It is time that police watched out for such institutes," said a Muslim leader.
What is more worrying is that despite the tabs kept on the activities of Kitchan Buhari, 38, who served 11 years for his involvement in the Coimbatore bomb blasts, he was able to escape attention while allegedly being involved in enlisting and indoctrinating new recruits after his release from jail. It is now believed that he played an active part in the April 17 blast.
"It is too premature to say how far Peer Mohideen and Basheer, who were picked up from a lodge in Chennai on Monday, were part of Kitchan Buhari's terror network," said a senior police officer. While Mohideen was working in Bangalore for the past five years, Basheer was employed in a private company in Tirunelveli. Whether they were peripheral to the plot or whether they had a central role is being investigated, he said.
Kitchan Buhari, who was arrested on Tuesday for his involvement in the Bangalore blast was among the youngest to be involved in the 1998 Coimbatore blasts. Today, he is apparently a father figure to many radical elements. After his release from jail along with several other convicts in 2009, he ran the 'Charitable Trust for Minorities,' a non-governmental organisation based in Coimbatore, for the rehabilitation of those sentenced in the serial blasts case.
"We knew Buhari and associates were not lying idle. They had come under the scanner for several cases, including usury and for holding kangaroo courts for settling disputes. But, we had no information about their plotting a terror attack," admitted the senior official.
What went unnoticed was that though Buhari had shifted his base to Coimbatore, he made frequent trips to his native village Melapalayam, which used to be a recruiting ground for the banned Al Umma in the 90's until the Coimbatore blasts. The terror outfit had been indoctrinating the poor in Melapalayam.
A concern that now arises is whether there are more such sleeper cells waiting for orders from their guardians to strike. "We do not completely rule out that possibility. Places like Melapalayam, Kottaimedu in Coimbatore and Adirampattinam and Muthupet in Thanjavur are constantly under our watch. Of late, the Kerala-based Popular Front of India has been running camps in Theni and Tirunelveli to woo gullible youth as well as encourage conversion of the underprivileged belonging to other religions," said another official.
Sections in the Muslim community are also concerned about the role of some madrasas which, under the influence of the Wahabi or Salafi strain of Islam, preach intolerance. "Even some schools have sprung up across the country that blend radical thought with scientific education. It is time that police watched out for such institutes," said a Muslim leader.
