washingtonpost.com Radical Islam's Move on Africa By Paul Marshall Thursday, October 16, 2003; Page A25 Many students from Pakistan's madrassas, or radical Islamist schools, are leaving to avoid arrest in a government crackdown on Islamic extremism. Some are going to Saudi Arabia, but hundreds are heading to more surprising shores -- to Africa. Last month Mohammad Jamil, a spokesman for the Federation of Madrassas, said, "About 500 have already moved to South Africa. . . . Others are planning to pack their bags." The United States has taken notice but has so far done little to address this developing threat, either by challenging those exporting radical Islam or by promoting democracy. Islamic extremists in Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania have turned to terrorism, and non-Islamic dictators, such as deposed Liberian strongman Charles Taylor, have developed economic links with al Qaeda. But more alarming is the spread of rigid forms of Islam, which are historically rare south of the Sahara and which are creating division, chaos and violence in both East and West Africa. Islamists in Kenya are pushing to expand Islamic law, or sharia, to include sentences of amputation in certain crimes, as well as stoning in cases of adultery, practices already in place in Nigeria. The chairman of Kenya's Council of Imams and Preachers, Ali Shee, has warned that Muslims in the coastal and northeastern provinces will break away if sharia is not expanded. Tanzania is experiencing a similar push for Islamic law. Saudi Arabia is funding new mosques there, and fundamentalists have bombed bars and beaten women they thought inadequately covered. Mohammed Madi, a fundamentalist activist, told Time magazine last month, "We get our funds from Yemen and Saudi Arabia. . . . Officially the money is used to buy medicine, but in reality the money is given to us to support our work and buy guns." Before President Bush's visit this year to usually quiet Malawi, government security forces, assisted by Americans, arrested five suspected Muslim militants (two Turks, one Saudi, one Kenyan and a Sudanese) and flew them out of the country. In response, Muslim mobs rioted in Mangoci, burned six churches and attacked local priests. In Zambia this summer, police raided an Islamic school and found 280 students confined in cages, where they were forced to study military tactics and Arabic. Similar patterns are evident in West Africa. The civil war in Ivory Coast has complex roots, but like other conflicts spanning religious divides, such as in Serbia or Chechnya, it has taken on a fanatic coloration. Muslim rebels have been sporting T-shirts adorned with Osama bin Laden's face superimposed over a map of the country. Extreme Islamic law continues to spread and provoke violence in Nigeria, a country bin Laden has singled out as "ready for liberation." Meanwhile, Senegal, Gambia, Niger, Mauritania, Chad and even historically democratic Mali are also experiencing Islamist unrest, with riots and, in some cases, coup attempts. This Islamization is being pushed by Sudan and Saudi Arabia, which are trying to replace local variants with their own restrictive systems. But as this newspaper has reported, Libya's Moammar Gaddafi is also a major player. While he has provided financial support to thugs of Christian background, such as Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe and Charles Taylor, his goal, announced before 15,000 people in Benin in 2000, is to "make Islam triumphant in Africa." The Bush administration is sending Special Forces personnel and upgrading anti-terrorism work in Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Mauritania. But it is also thawing relations with Gaddafi, complimenting Sudan for "good cooperation" on terrorism and treating Saudi Arabia as an ally. Instead, the United States should demand that Tripoli, Khartoum and Riyadh cease their export of radicalism to Africa. It should also encourage democratic development through the Millennium Challenge funds. If, as President Bush has said, "America is committed to the success of Africa" and has a "long-term commitment" to developing democracy there, it needs to counter the threat to democracy posed by the spread of extremist forms of Islam. The writer is senior fellow at Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom. © 2003 The Washington Post Company ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~