Latest news with #Anwaral-Awlaki
News18
10-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
Telegram, Tinder, Zakat: How Islamist Syndicates Use Digital Jihad To Lure Hindu Girls Across India
Last Updated: According to top intelligence sources, the strategy forms part of a 40-year-old ideological plan devised by Pakistan-based Barelvi and Deobandi networks. News18 In what intelligence officials describe as a long-term, non-violent campaign of demographic manipulation, Islamist syndicates based in India and abroad have been systematically targeting Hindu girls through digital platforms like Telegram, Instagram, Tinder, and Signal, using covert religious indoctrination and foreign funding to orchestrate religious conversions. According to top intelligence sources, the strategy forms part of a 40-year-old ideological plan devised by Pakistan-based Barelvi and Deobandi networks with the objective of reshaping India's demographic balance. According to top intelligence sources, this non-violent jihad — sometimes referred to as 'Soft Jihad" — is justified by the circulation of ideological texts such as Ghazwa-e-Hind, and involves psychological and spiritual manipulation rather than overt terrorism. Telegram metadata, as analysed by agencies, shows time zone patterns linked to UAE and Qatar, indicating the involvement of foreign handlers directing operations from the Gulf. Young Hindu girls, particularly those between the ages of 15 to 24, are the primary targets of this operation. Intelligence sources say these girls, often ambitious and from lower-middle-class backgrounds, are approached with false promises of love, career support, or marriage, largely through social media and dating apps. 'They are soft targets who are vulnerable to emotional manipulation," a senior official revealed. Once contact is established, the process begins with religious grooming via videos — many of which forward lectures of Anwar al-Awlaki and Zakir Naik — promoting the idea of Islam as superior and inevitable. 'Over time, they build emotional dependence, followed by religious guilt, and finally isolation from their families," top intelligence sources said. Within 6 to 12 months, converts are allegedly turned into recruiters or liaisons, helping expand the network further. This cycle, sources state, is replicated across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar. The syndicate's financial backbone is zakat (Islamic charity) routed through fake NGOs, according to enforcement and intelligence agencies. Entities like Seher Welfare Society and Sufiya Foundation, registered in Delhi, Agra, and Lucknow, have come under the scanner. Top intelligence sources confirmed these NGOs are directly linked to the disciples of Chhangur Baba, a key spiritual figure recently investigated for conversion-linked financial fraud. Money is laundered through cooperative bank accounts, UPI IDs, and even cryptocurrency wallets connected to donors in the Gulf. Sources indicate that funds are routed through hawala networks via Nepal, Bangladesh, and Dubai. 'To avoid detection under the FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act), most donations are split into tranches under ₹10 lakh," intelligence insiders said. A forensic audit of Chhangur Baba's Axis Bank account in Faizabad revealed Rs 80 lakh deposited in a single month, immediately after foreign remittances reached these NGOs. In one case in Balrampur, Rs 35 crore was reportedly routed through such NGOs that claimed to work in education and welfare, top sources stated. In another case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) found that Rs 7 crore was transferred via UPI IDs linked to dargah networks in Agra, Mathura, Bareilly, and Firozabad, which was used to fund female recruiters. Seminaries, Shrines & Sufis: The Radical Indoctrination Web Once initial trust is established, sources explain, girls are lured into religious seminaries located in places like Kerala and Hyderabad, where they undergo full conversions. Fake ID proofs — Aadhaar cards and voter IDs with Hindu names like 'Ravi" or 'Mohit" — are often used to complete marriages that appear legitimate on paper but are rooted in deception. These grooms, according to sources, are trained operatives with Gulf travel histories. Intelligence sources say the Bhopal Seminary Nexus, involving institutions such as Darul Ulum Tazkiya, plays a central role in ideological training for boys aged 16 to 22. These boys are specifically taught how to blend into secular university campuses while operating covertly. Between 2018 and 2024, a total of ₹18.5 crore in unaccounted remittances was found to have been transferred to seminaries in Bhopal from Doha and Sharjah. The Agra Dargah Syndicate, meanwhile, used a Sufi shrine near Rawatpara to conduct weekly 'healing" sessions, which subtly encouraged Hindu women toward Islam, said top sources. Clerics were also caught offering jobs and marriage under fake Hindu aliases. These operations often had a 'Bollywood-style" romance narrative, meant to emotionally ensnare the targets. In April 2025, two lawyers and a sub-registrar were arrested in UP for fabricating conversion-related consent affidavits — part of a racket linked to 34 cases in Bareilly and Shahjahanpur. Digital Toolkit and Cross-State Machinery Sources reveal the syndicate operates through a multi-state toolkit with a structured digital and physical network. A secret Telegram group named 'Zaytun Council", with over 2,500 members, was discovered to be coordinating cross-border operations between Kerala and West Bengal. The group discussed recruitment targets, ideological content, and funding logistics. The Kerala Madrasa Web, as intelligence sources describe it, functions as a safehouse and radicalisation hub. Newly converted women are provided new IDs and trained in Dawa-based digital propaganda. They are then sent back into social media spaces as evangelists. Earlier, NIA investigations had revealed that more than 60 Telegram and Signal groups, largely operated by handlers based in Kerala, were involved in attempts to convert women and promote global Islamist propaganda. One of the most worrying findings from top intelligence agencies is that more than 300 girls from SC, ST, and OBC Hindu backgrounds have already been trafficked into such marriages between 2018 and 2024. Many were later moved to southern India under the guise of religious education. Major Cases Between 2018 and 2024, intelligence agencies tracked funding inflows to seminaries in Bhopal and Kerala, meant for ideological training of young men. These seminaries, including Darul Ulum Tazkiya, received Rs 18.5 crore in unaccounted remittances from Doha and Sharjah during this period. According to top intelligence sources, these funds were used to train boys aged 16–22 years to operate covertly in universities and secular campuses. In 2023, in a major crackdown, the NIA uncovered a radical Telegram module in Kerala during a multi-state raid. This module, as per intelligence reports, coordinated online grooming and conversion operations targeting Hindu girls, mostly via encrypted platforms like Telegram and Signal. In 2024, authorities exposed a Zakat-funded scholarship scam in Malappuram, Kerala. These scholarships were allegedly being used to incentivise religious conversion of Hindu women under the guise of education. Intelligence sources said the money trail led to Gulf-linked NGOs whose FCRA status was either dormant or under investigation. In 2025, in the latest raids in Balrampur and Agra, ED and intelligence agencies busted a fake ID racket, where Aadhaar and voter cards were forged in Hindu names for the purpose of facilitating marriages and conversions. Intelligence sources confirmed these operations involved caste-based incentives to exploit socio-economic fault lines among SC, ST, and OBC Hindu communities. A Hidden Front in the Ideological War The scale and sophistication of this non-violent jihad campaign — blending religious indoctrination, emotional manipulation, foreign funding, and technological anonymity — marks it as one of the most organised soft threats to India's internal demographic security, according to top intelligence sources. top videos View all What makes it particularly hard to track is the absence of physical violence and the camouflage of social service fronts. The use of legitimate platforms like Telegram, Tinder, Signal, and even educational institutions gives the operations an appearance of normalcy. Top intelligence agencies continue to monitor these networks and have reportedly shared multiple dossiers with central and state enforcement bodies. As per officials, the threat is no longer abstract — it is entrenched, evolving, and silently altering the social fabric of India. About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18 Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: July 10, 2025, 17:26 IST News india Telegram, Tinder, Zakat: How Islamist Syndicates Use Digital Jihad To Lure Hindu Girls Across India Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
MTV Lebanon
27-06-2025
- MTV Lebanon
Boston Marathon bombs: al-Qaeda's Inspire magazine taught pressure cooker bomb-making techniques
A recipe for how to make pressure cooker bombs, which investigators say were used in the Boston Marathon attack, was most notoriously published in the al-Qaeda magazine Inspire. The recipe – along with a rationale for post-9/11 terror – was printed three years ago in al-Qaeda's English-language promotional online magazine, Inspire. In an article, it instructed readers on how, as its headline writers put it, to 'Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom'. It gave the types of explosive, timers and other ingredients needed – along with, it said, a pressure cooker. That article was from the first edition of the magazine. Written in perfect but slightly hysterical English, some thought it was a hoax or satire along the lines of the film 'Four Lions'. In fact, most analysts remain convinced it was the brainchild of Anwar al-Awlaki, the Yemeni-American propagandist for Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and was edited by Samir Khan, another American citizen who had travelled to Yemen to join the group. It was clear in its market – the disaffected young men in their mid-twenties, whether converts or of Muslim origin, who studies show are by far and away the biggest source of recruits to the jihadist cause. Subsequent editions suggested even more random forms of violence that anyone could carry out, such as driving a car into crowds as a weapon. The aim was to cause maximum response with a minimum of fuss. Its methodology was in some ways a sign of weakness, an acknowledgement that well-planned, large scale attacks on the scale of 9/11, or for that matter the Oklahoma outrage by a white supremacist, were unlikely to be repeated because of increased security and the erosion of al-Qaeda's command structure by drone strikes. Other 'spectaculars' had failed, such as the attempt to down an airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009 by the so-called 'underpants bomber', an Awlaki recruit of Nigerian origin, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. By contrast, smaller scale random attacks had notable success: most strikingly, before Inspire's first edition but clearly an incident its authors had in mind, Nidal Malik Hasan, the US army major who shot 13 people dead at his base at Fort Hood, Texas, had been in direct contact with Awlaki. As new editions appeared, investigators took Inspire ever more seriously. A disaffected US army private, Naser Jason Abdo, jailed for life in August 2012 after being found in possession of a bomb with which he said he was going to blow up a restaurant popular with soldiers from Fort Hood in an act of solidarity with Hasan, had a copy of the Inspire article. In his hotel room were all the ingredients listed, including two pressure cookers. Last October, Quasi Muhammad Nafis, accused of attempting to bomb a Federal Reserve Bank building in New York, was said by prosecutors to have read Inspire and even to have written an article in the hope that the magazine would publish it. He, though, was trapped by an FBI sting operation. His car bomb was a fake given him by an undercover operative. Awalaki and Khan were both killed in an American drone strike in Yemen in September 2011. The magazine has continued to publish, however, and while the pressure cookers do not prove Islamist terrorists were involved in the Boston attack, that is only part of the story. For all its semi-comic tone, the magazine's strategy of balancing relatively small-scale bombing with dramatic symbolism for political effect is an important chapter in the modern terror playbook. And its recipes are available for anyone.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
WATCH: Dem lawmakers answer USAID funding questions after bombshell report
WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers said they do not support cutting funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) when confronted by Fox News Digital about controversial spending, such as money ending up in the hands of terrorist-linked groups. The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, recently started cutting funding from USAID as they slash costs across the federal government. During their sweep, it was revealed that U.S. dollars were ending up in the hands of terror-linked groups, such as funds reportedly providing "full funding" for al Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki to attend college in Colorado, unearthed documents apparently show. Fox News Digital asked Democratic lawmakers their thoughts about the controversial USAID funding, specifically the funding going to some terrorist-linked groups. "USAID funding is authorized spending. Republicans and Democrats have agreed to those levels. We should honor those deals," Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., told Fox. Usaid Inspector General Fired Days After Publishing Report Critical Of Aid Pause Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said that while USAID funds "should never go to terrorist organizations," he added that "Elon Musk has a real credibility gap" and that "almost all the claims as it relates to efficiency have been proven false." Read On The Fox News App According to an analysis by the Middle East Forum, a U.S. conservative think tank, the USAID and State Department have funneled at least $122 million to groups aligned with designated terrorists and their supporters. The think tank reported that among its top findings, USAID was found to have given more than $900,000 to a "Gaza-based terror charity" called Bayader Association for Environment and Development. A White House report also identified millions of taxpayer dollars being spent on contraceptives and condoms that ended up in the hands of the Taliban, a terrorist group. 'Designated Terrorists': Extremist Groups Raked In Millions From Usaid, Multiyear Study Reveals "There's no one in Congress who hates waste more than me," Swalwell added. "And there's nobody in Congress who wants to defeat the terrorists around the world more than me. So I will always be open-minded." "USAID funding right now is being raided by Elon Musk, and I think we have to do a much better job of ensuring that funding isn't cut," said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. "Cutting any funding is horrific, and, of course, nobody wants to fund terrorism." Progressive Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, a member of "the Squad" of progressive lawmakers, said it is "perfectly reasonable" to look at specific USAID funding but that he opposes gutting the entire department. "When people ask about specific programs and parts of USAID or other federal programs, we should look into those. We can have oversight. We can look, we can go and edit the budget and say we don't want to spend on this, because this didn't work and we do want to spend on that." "The problem that we have right now happening in this country isn't just about USAID. It's not just about the Department of Education. It's that you have Elon Musk, a billionaire who makes billions of dollars off of the federal government, going and shutting down programs without a vote, without any transparency," Casar said. Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey did not fully answer the question and walked away. Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this article source: WATCH: Dem lawmakers answer USAID funding questions after bombshell report
Fox News
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
WATCH: Dem lawmakers answer USAID funding questions after bombshell report
WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers said they do not support cutting funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) when confronted by Fox News Digital about controversial spending, such as money ending up in the hands of terrorist-linked groups. The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, recently started cutting funding from USAID as they slash costs across the federal government. During their sweep, it was revealed that U.S. dollars were ending up in the hands of terror-linked groups, such as funds reportedly providing "full funding" for al Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki to attend college in Colorado, unearthed documents apparently show. Fox News Digital asked Democratic lawmakers their thoughts about the controversial USAID funding, specifically the funding going to some terrorist-linked groups. "USAID funding is authorized spending. Republicans and Democrats have agreed to those levels. We should honor those deals," Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., told Fox. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said that while USAID funds "should never go to terrorist organizations," he added that "Elon Musk has a real credibility gap" and that "almost all the claims as it relates to efficiency have been proven false." According to an analysis by the Middle East Forum, a U.S. conservative think tank, the USAID and State Department have funneled at least $122 million to groups aligned with designated terrorists and their supporters. The think tank reported that among its top findings, USAID was found to have given more than $900,000 to a "Gaza-based terror charity" called Bayader Association for Environment and Development. A White House report also identified millions of taxpayer dollars being spent on contraceptives and condoms that ended up in the hands of the Taliban, a terrorist group. "There's no one in Congress who hates waste more than me," Swalwell added. "And there's nobody in Congress who wants to defeat the terrorists around the world more than me. So I will always be open-minded." "USAID funding right now is being raided by Elon Musk, and I think we have to do a much better job of ensuring that funding isn't cut," said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. "Cutting any funding is horrific, and, of course, nobody wants to fund terrorism." Progressive Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, a member of "the Squad" of progressive lawmakers, said it is "perfectly reasonable" to look at specific USAID funding but that he opposes gutting the entire department. "When people ask about specific programs and parts of USAID or other federal programs, we should look into those. We can have oversight. We can look, we can go and edit the budget and say we don't want to spend on this, because this didn't work and we do want to spend on that." "The problem that we have right now happening in this country isn't just about USAID. It's not just about the Department of Education. It's that you have Elon Musk, a billionaire who makes billions of dollars off of the federal government, going and shutting down programs without a vote, without any transparency," Casar said. Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey did not fully answer the question and walked away.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
USAID reportedly bankrolled al Qaeda terrorist's college tuition, unearthed records show
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) reportedly provided "full funding" for al Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki to attend college in Colorado, unearthed documents apparently show. Al-Awlaki was an American-born jihadist who was killed in a drone strike in Yemen in 2011, during the Obama administration. He was a central figure of al Qaeda, including having direct contact with Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan before he opened fire at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, killing 13 people, U.S. officials reported at the time. Amid the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) investigations of federal government agencies in search of overspending, corruption and fraud, political eyes have been locked on USAID funding. USAID is an independent government agency charged with managing foreign aid programs that has been exposed by Republican lawmakers, DOGE and think tanks for bankrolling a series of questionable programs across the years, including helping launch an Iraqi version of "Sesame Street" and promoting transgender activism in nations such as Guatemala. I Am A Usaid Whistleblower. I've Got To Admit, Musk Is Mostly Right About Agency's Waste Social media accounts erupted this week with a copy of a document reportedly showing USAID also funded al-Awlaki's tuition to Colorado State University. The document, which investigative reporters unearthed and posted to X over the weekend, shows that a USAID form dated June 1990 outlined al-Awlaki was reportedly granted funding to attend the college by fraudulently claiming he was a Yemeni national and qualified for an exchange visa. Read On The Fox News App How Usaid Went Woke And Destroyed Itself Al-Awlaki was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, in 1971 to parents from Yemen. He was raised both in the U.S. and Yemen, U.S. media reported in 2011 following his death. The unearthed document previously was reported by George Washington University's research and archival institution, the National Security Archive, Fox Digital found. "This form, dated 1990, confirms that Anwar al-Awlaki was qualified for an exchange visa and that USAID was providing 'full funding' for his studies at Colorado State University," the National Security Archive reported in 2015 accompanied by a copy of the document. "The document lists Anwar's birthplace incorrectly as Sanaa, Yemen's capital, which he later said was a deliberate falsehood offered at the urging of American officials who knew his father so that he could qualify for a scholarship reserved for foreign citizens," Judge Temporarily Blocks 2,200 Usaid Workers From Being Placed On Leave By Midnight The document reports al-Awlaki fraudulently reported he was born in the Yemen capital Sana'a and was studying civil engineering at the Colorado university. When asked to list an address, the document reports that al-Awlaki was in the care of "USAID/Sana'a." Fox News Digital reached out to Colorado State University's media team for comment on the document and al-Awlaki's attendance but did not immediately receive a reply. Al-awlaki Faced Loss Of Us Passport Before Drone Strike Killed Him, Documents Show He earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Colorado State University in 1994, according to previous media reports on his 2011 death. He worked as a Muslim cleric in cities such as Denver, San Diego and Falls Church, Virginia, before moving to Yemen in 2004. Al-Awlaki was preaching at a San Diego mosque in 2000 when he reportedly first met Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi, two of the 9/11 hijackers. He was arrested in 2006 in Yemen on suspicion of holding terrorist ties, with U.S. intelligence viewing him as a terrorist sympathizer until about 2009, NBC News previously reported. He was linked to the shooting at Fort Hood in Texas that year, as well as the attempted bombing of a flight to Detroit on Christmas Day. Youtube Finally Removes And Bans All Anwar Al-awlaki Videos The Obama administration authorized operations to capture or kill al-Awlaki in 2010, with a drone strike on Sept. 30, 2011, killing him in Yemen. "The death of Awlaki marks another significant milestone in the broader effort to defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates," President Barack Obama said of the death in 2011. "Furthermore, the success is a tribute to our intelligence community and to the efforts of Yemen and its security forces, who have worked closely with the United States over the course of several years." The unearthed document reportedly connecting al-Awlaki to USAID funding comes amid the Trump administration's apparent dismantling of the agency. Signage for the agency was removed from its headquarters in early February, while the USAID website was shut down and previously only showed a message stating "direct-hire personnel" would be placed on leave Feb. 7, except those on "mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs." A federal judge on Friday ordered a temporary block to the Trump administration's plan to put roughly 2,200 employees of the agency on leave. The order remains in effect until at least Feb. 14. Democrats and government employees have railed against DOGE and its chair, Elon Musk, including USAID employees calling DOGE's investigation a "mafia-like takeover" of the agency and reporting they are "psychologically frightened" he would share their private data publicly. Click To Get The Fox News App Trump said during an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, which aired Sunday, that DOGE and his administration remain on a mission to cut government waste. "We have to solve the efficiency problem," Trump said. "We have to solve the fraud, waste, abuse, all the things that have gone into the government. You take a look at the USAID, the kind of fraud in there."Original article source: USAID reportedly bankrolled al Qaeda terrorist's college tuition, unearthed records show
