Pakistan is outsourcing its jihad factories to US
December 4, 2015, 9:43 PM
Mrutyuanjai Mishra
Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, a husband and wife, having a six month old baby have shocked Americans by carrying out one of the worst terror attacks since the December 2012 rampage at Sandy Hook. Farook was born in Illinois and raised in Southern California, while his wife grew up in Pakistan and they both met in Saudi Arabia. Farook’s parents were originally from Pakistan.
Why would anyone become a mass shooter with a salary of over 70,000 dollars a year? Syed Farook was living the American dream, having a good job, a nice house and a good family, and still he succumbed to radicalization. The big question everyone is asking here is how did he get radicalized? I have been in the United States for the past two months, and I feel overwhelmed by the enormous hospitality and friendliness of Americans. I am leaving America in a day, with a rich memory of smiles, gentle greetings, well-mannered children and those warm hand shakes. Honestly, I have come to like America very much, especially the open-hearted debates and utter frankness of opinion that is my passion.
Everyone knew in US that the FBI was overworked and at one point in time, the terrorists would have had better luck. But no one was expecting a couple with a six month old baby, to get dressed up in combat gear and open fire on innocent co-workers, enjoying a banquet. This is what happened two days ago in San Bernardino. 14 people are now dead from this senseless violence and America is still in a state of shock.
Unlike the terror attack in Mumbai in 2008, the local law enforcement in California acted swiftly and bravely, killing both of the suspects in a shootout. A search of their home has revealed that it was literally a bomb factory, but the hard drive from their computer had been removed and their cellphones had been smashed to avoid tracing the links of people who might have supplied some of the weapons and helped them get radicalized.
Syed Farook was 28 and his wife Tashween Malik was 27, they had been married for two years. They met each other online, just the way most people do these days in a globalized world. Two years ago, he went to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj and meet her there. Farook was not an unemployed, disenfranchised youth; matching the terror profile of terror suspects in Europe. He was an environmental health specialist working for the San Bernardino County health department. So for all of us Indians who choose to migrate, the big puzzle remains: why would anyone with a stable job, loving family, and by all appearances, a fullfilling life; choose the path of terror? And why was there no indication or signals of his getting radicalized? How is it that no one noticed that his garage had been turned into a pipe bomb factory? Was he a lone wolf? Was he collaborating with other jihadists around the world
While the FBI is trying to find the answers to these and many other questions, there are a few things that America can learn from India’s experience of Jihad. It is important to make a distinction between the recent terror attack in Paris and the one in San Bernardino. In Paris, the jihadists were French citizens with middle-eastern backgrounds and some of them had been to Syria. They clearly made it known why they were attacking, while in San Bernardino, the suspects with Pakistani background, did not say a word, left no letters, destroyed the hardware of the computer and tried to delete all signs of what could have been their motive and who they could have been in contact with. Unlike the terror attack in Paris, they did not shout, “Allah u Akbar”, while carrying out their attacks.
Here is an important lesson Americans can draw from the terror attack in Mumbai, in India. The police were lucky to tape the conversation between the men who were sent to perform the terror attack in Mumbai and their mentor, who was sitting in Pakistan. The mentor, and controller of the terror attack in Mumbai was very keen on getting those young jihadists to die. He kept repeating that they should commit suicide and not let themselves be captured alive. The motive was simple; to delete all traces to Pakistan. What was worse, was that they later blamed the terror attack on Indian muslims. The terror attack in Mumbai was an attempt to create a communal riot between hindus and muslims. The muslim community in India acted brilliantly and no repercussions were experienced.
The point I am making is simple: Pakistan has become a jihad factory and it is inspiring jihadists to do the clandestine kind of jihad.
Commit the jihad, leave no trace evidence or proof of a connection to Pakistan, and blame it on everyone else. The strategy in India was to blame it on the Indian muslims. The strategy in the US is not yet clear because there is an ongoing investigation and the attack is still fresh.
While the whole world is engulfed in the debate of how to fight ISIS, which makes no secret of its intentions, no one seems to to worry about Pakistan, a state in possession of nuclear weapons. Who are more dangerous; the bearded jihadi fighters with assault weapons driving pick up trucks in Syria, or the mullahs, with connections to the military in Pakistan who have nuclear weapons?
Nobody knows yet, how this young couple in San Bernardino got radicalized, but one thing is sure; that Pakistan has become a jihad factory, which has been a magnet for many European and American radicalized muslims. While the West is outsourcing its production factories to China, jihadism is now being outsourced to the West. How else can one explain what happened in California, where 14 people were gunned down this Wednesday?
DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author’s own.
