The Group Behind this Mosque is Unusual, even Amongst Islamists

Submitted by Alex (United States), Mar 6, 2008 at 15:22

I have done a little reading about the group behind this project, and they do not fit into any preexisting category for classifying Islamists. They appear to be a messianic and/or apocalyptic society who focuses most of their efforts on preaching, debate, mysticism, and proselytizing, and they seem to have only one enemy, who is anyone in Pakistan or India who they believe to have a religious interpretation that contradicts the imminent coming of some messianic figure or period.

How such a group could seek to build such a confrontational symbol in the heart of the West is beyond me, unless the group has some inner cadre with access to a lot of money and a much more activist agenda. The group was known to have links with the Pakistani ISI, whose officers committed terrorist attacks against American targets and the Pakistani government by sponsoring Arabs then residing in Pakistan.

The group's meditation practices may be problematic as well, as Islamists, including the 9/11 hijackers, are known to use meditation and Sufi techniques to alter their consciousness in preparation for suicide bombing. The only parallel with this society that I can think of is the Hojjatieh association in Iran. Most of its members are nonviolent, but it may have secret funding and links with prominent clerics and the Revolutionary Guard and Bassij popular militia, and it persecutes mainly Bahais.

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