Posted on 05/10/2004 11:55:24 AM PDT by ambrose
MAY 10, 2004
Al-Qaeda 'converting Christians for militant work'
Recruitment through charities helps affiliates tap their knowledge, access to Christian-dominated areas in Philippines
By Luz Baguioro
MANILA - Al-Qaeda's Philippine affiliates are recruiting Christians through a network of charities, including one founded by the brother-in-law of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, security officials said.
The recruits are then pressured to convert to a militant form of Islam and are tapped for local information, contacts and access, said authorities.
'We have made a pretty disturbing discovery and that is the use of what they call 'Back to Islam' in the Philippines,' President Gloria Arroyo's National Security Adviser, Mr Norberto Gonzales, said recently.
'Christians whom they have converted into Muslims are being used. This means that they are using people who are familiar with Manila, Cebu and other Christian-dominated centres,' he added.
Authorities estimate that there are presently about 200,000 Muslim converts, most of them former migrant workers in the Middle East.
Filipino-Muslims, numbering about eight million, are a minority in this predominantly Catholic country of 82 million. The southern region, where the bulk of them live, has remained a backwater because of an almost 30-year separatist rebellion.
Intelligence authorities have identified the Rajah Sulaiman Movement as among the groups recruiting Christians and turning them into Islamic militants.
Founded in 2002 with the goal of achieving the 'Islamisation of the whole country', the group is financed by money from Saudi Arabia that is channelled through charities in the Philippines.
The Fi Sabilillah Da'wah and Media Foundation has also been identified as the main local advocate of a radical Muslim convert movement in Christian-dominated Manila and Luzon island.
However, the group has denied charges of terrorism.
Muslim converts caught the authorities' attention when at least seven were arrested in March in and around Manila with caches of explosives.
Police said one of them, Redendo Cain Dellosa, confessed under custody that he caused the bomb explosion that triggered a massive fire in a passenger ferry on Feb 27, killing more than 120 people.
Dellosa's lawyer has asked the court to disregard his confession, claiming it was extracted under torture.
Rajah Sulaiman has also been linked by the authorities to the Abu Sayyaf, which is notorious for kidnappings for ransom and banditry.
Philippine authorities believe Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden provided early encouragement and financial support to the Abu Sayyaf, which is in the United States list of foreign terrorist organisations.
An alliance has formed between the Abu Sayyaf, the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country's largest rebel group, and the Jemaah Islamiah (JI), the Asian front of Al-Qaeda.
'They have connections. There is dialogue,' Mr Gonzales said.
Police intelligence chief Roberto Delfin said a militant faction of the MILF allows JI to operate camps in areas controlled by the front.
'As far as we know, they (JI) still have camps in the south to train recruits,' he said recently.
Citing a recent intelligence report, General Delfin said about 33 JI militants 'of different nationalities' went to the southern Philippines in recent months to train under Indonesian instructors.
Wary of upsetting peace talks with the government, MILF leaders have repeatedly denied any links to terror groups.
Authorities estimate there are some 100,000 Indonesians living in the Philippines. Of these, only 25,000 are registered with the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation.
Yes, the Saudis are our friends: financing terrorism though the gas pump at the local corner station
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.