EU-DIGEST

Mumbai attacks: Was computer expert aged 36 the mastermind? - by Emily Pykett

Uncertainty is a key weapon in the armoury of Islamic fundamentalist terror. As investigators, experts and analysts grope for the truth, someone somewhere is taking satisfaction from the horrified confusion the Mumbai attacks have caused. Analysts are divided over whether the hand of al-Qaeda can be detected. The only claim of responsibility comes from a group that may not even exist: an e-mail message claiming responsibility and sent to Indian media on Wednesday night said the attackers were from a group called Deccan Mujahideen. Alex Neill, head of the Royal United Services Institute's Asia security program, believes the attacks were probably carried out by local jihadists linked to the radical Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi), a banned Islamic fundamentalist organization which advocates the "liberation of India" by converting it to an Islamic state. One possible mastermind and Simi member is Abdul Subhan Qureshi, a 36-year-old computer engineer suspected of being behind multiple bombings in Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore and Ahmedabad earlier this year.

Labels: India, Mumbai, Terrorism

Sandra Samuel and Moshe Holtzberg escape from Chabad House in Mumbai

An EU-Digest editorial on the dramatic events at the Rohr Chabad House in Mumbai

Sandra Samuel and Moshe Holtzberg - The Mumbai Miracle: God lives in all

Last Thursday, as the world watched the horrors unfolding in Mumbai, many of us saw Moshe Holzberg being carried out of the Rohr Chabad House by Sandra Samuel (44), an Indian nanny who had worked at the Jewish community center for years. She had found Moshe crying beside his parents’ bodies, drenched in blood. The parents, his mother Rivkah Holtzberg, 28, was an Israeli citizen, while his father, Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, 29, had dual American and Israeli citizenship. They had come to Mumbai in August 2003 to operate a home for the Jewish community, where travelers could get a kosher meal, attend Shabbat services, and relax in a library filled with a variety of works, including many books even some by Woody Allen and manuscripts on Jewish philosophy.

Last week their lives on earth abruptly ended, when they were executed in their home by a highly trained, tightly knit, and well-financed, ruthless group of Islamic militants.

When the attack on the Rorh Chabad House began last Wednesday, Sandra Samuel heard explosions and gunshots on an upper floor of the center and locked herself and fellow employee Zaki Hussein in a downstairs utility room. Late Thursday morning, she heard Moshe screaming, ran upstairs, eluded roaming gunmen, even stared some of them down, and found the child beside the bodies of his parents, carried him downstairs, and brought Moshe to safety. Mr. Hussein helped Ms. Samuel conceal Moshe, as the three escaped from Rorh Chabad House.

Sandra Samuel now continues to help care for Moshe Holtzberg in Israel. Her emigration from India was expedited when the Israeli government declared her one of the “Righteous Among the Nations” and issued her an immigration permit. Recipients of this honor, awarded by a special commission headed by a Supreme Court Justice in Israel, include Oskar and Emilie Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg, and Corrie ten Boom. People and groups that receive this title, have risked their lives to save others, many during the Holocaust. Sandra Samuel is the first citizen of India to receive this honor.

As dramatic as this report may sound, it underscores the fact that God does not belong to any religion, but that he lives in all of us. Moshe Holtzberg and Sandra Samuel are a living proof of that, and as difficult as this is to say, also in those militants, who decided not to kill Moshe, after they killed his parents.

Labels: God, India, Israel, Moshe Holtzberg, Mumbai, Religion, Sandra Samuel, Terrorism

For years, terrorists and insurgents around the world have used off-the-shelf hardware and software to stay ahead of bigger, better-funded authorities. In 2007, former U.S. Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid complained that, with their Radio Shack stockpile of communications gear, "this enemy is better networked than we are." The strikes in Mumbai, India that killed at least 174 appears to be another example of how wired today's "global guerrillas" can be.The Mumbai terrorists used an array of commercial technologies -- from Blackberries to GPS navigators to anonymous e-mail accounts -- to pull off their heinous attacks. Once the coordinated attacks began, the terrorists were on their cell phones constantly. They used BlackBerries to monitor international reaction to the atrocities, and to check on the police response via the internet. The terror group then took credit for the bloodshed with a series of e-mails to local media. They used a "remailer" service to mask their identities; earlier attacks were claimed from cyber cafes.

Labels: India, Internet, Mumbai, Technology, Terrorism

EU trade delegation in Mumbai safe, delegate says

A delegation of 13 European Parliament representatives who were caught in the Mumbai terrorist attacks are safe, a member of the delegation told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa on Thursday.Parliamentarian Daniel Caspary, a member of the parliament's trade committee, told dpa by telephone that he, six fellow members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and six support staff had managed to escape to the French consulate in Mumbai. France currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.

Labels: EU, India, Mumbai

Mumbai Attacks: 'If You Go After the Wrong People, You Convert Moderates into Extremists' - by Deepak Chopra

There are 1.8 billion Muslims in the world. That's 25 percent of the population of the world. It's the fastest-growing religion in the world. We cannot, if we do not appease and actually recruit the help of this Muslim world, we're going to have a problem on our hands. And we cannot go after the wrong people, as we did after 9/11, because then the whole collateral damage that occurs actually aggravates the situation.India at this moment has to contain any reactive violence from the fundamentalist Hindus, which is very likely and possible. So India has to condemn that by not blaming local Muslims. They have to identify the exact groups. And the world has to be very careful that they don't go after the wrong people. Because if you go after the wrong people, you convert moderates into extremists. It happens every time, and retribution against innocent people just because they have the same religion actually aggravates and perpetuates the problem." Note EU-Digest: "This morning when Special Forces from the Indian military were interviewed they disclosed the terrorists not only carried a large arsenal of munition and explosives, but also US dollars and CitiBank credit cards."

Labels: Citibank, India, Mumbai, Terrorism

India's peaceful illusion has been shattered- by Dibyesh Anand

The attacks in Mumbai raise the question: is a secular democratic setup sufficient to tackle religious extremism? Yet another terrorist attack in an Indian city punctures any illusions Indians and foreigners may harbour about economic growth leading to more peace and stability. The coordinated violence directed at symbolic targets and real people reflect careful planning of a kind hitherto unseen from indigenous extremist movements. The primary aim was to instill overwhelming terror and get maximum publicity. Why target UK and US passport holders and not all westerners? We need to wait for more confirmation but one can guess that the backers of the perpetrators would be using the invasion of Iraq as a defining moment for themselves. The clearest example of the international character of terrorism is not so much the two luxury hotels frequented by foreigners, but holding hostage a Jewish Rabbi and reportedly many other Israelis. In India's domestic scenario, it makes no sense for terrorists to target Jews or Israelis; Israel is not a factor within Indian politics and India has always had close relations with Arab countries.

The only conclusion one can hazard is that like most other Islamist radicals, the actors sought to scavenge upon real and imaginary grievances of Muslims throughout the world. This international jihadi nature of violence, which cannot be described as anything except terrorism, has never manifested itself so visibly in the world's largest democracy. How can any state respond to extremist movements who see their struggle merely as a local chapter of a global war?

Labels: India, Mumbai, Muslim extremists, Terrorism

India -Mumbai - Citizen journalism' offers intimate view of Mumbai attacks

From Twitter to Youtube, online platforms enabled Internet users to read and watch first-hand reports on the series of deadly Mumbai attacks that rocked the Indian financial capital within a few hours of the first blasts. Internet users were able to read and watch first-hand reports on the series of deadly Mumbai attacks that rocked the Indian financial capital within hours of the first blasts, a sure sign that the World Wide Web is revolutionising the way information reaches readers. Online blog and chat service Twitter gathers fresh news from dozens of commentators every few seconds. Some use the chat to reassure their friends and family: “In Mumbai and safe”, wrote user s4ur4bh at 2h50 am. Others offer their analysis on the nature of the little-known Deccan Mujajideen terrorist group, whose members claimed responsibility for the attack. An entry on the attacks was quickly created on the collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia, with fresh updates that provided more detailed reports than many traditional media sources could offer. “Attacks took place in South Mumbai, at the crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station; two five-star hotels, the Oberoi Trident and Taj Mahal Palace & Tower; the Leopold Cafe, a popular tourist restaurant; a hospital; and the police headquarters where at least three high-level officers, including the anti-terrorism chief, were killed by gunfire,” it stated late on Wednesday.

Labels: India, Mumbai, Muslim extremists, Terrorism

EU condemns "heinous" Mumbai attacks, sends aid

The European Union's top officials on Thursday strongly condemned the "heinous" Mumbai terrorist attacks that have killed 101 people and vowed to send immediate aid to European citizens caught up in the attack. The justice ministers of the bloc's 27 member states interrupted a scheduled meeting in Brussels to hold an emergency discussion on the attacks, officials in the EU capital confirmed, reported dpa. The ministers "condemned the attacks most strongly, conveyed their condolences to the families of the victims ... and expressed their solidarity with the Indian authorities under these tragic circumstances," a statement said.

Previously, the European Commission had issued a statement condemning "in the strongest terms the heinous terrorist attacks."

"Terrorism is never justified and is no means to achieve any goal. We stand by the Indian government in its fight against terrorism. Our thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones and we wish a speedy recovery to those injured," the statement by the EU's executive arm said.

Labels: EU, India, Mumbai