Despite his liberal facade, Anwar Ibrahim’s connections suggest a hidden agenda
Malaysia, a vital member of ASEAN, has been facing a huge turmoil in the last couple of years with hard-core Islamist fundamentalists hell bent on turning the nation into an Islamist state based on the Shariat . There are many provinces in Malaysia which follow the Shariat like Selangor, Penang and others. It is also an accepted reality that Malaysia turned Islamic way back in the 1960s, when Islam became the state religion with 60 per cent of the country’s population following one or the other form of Islam. However, the constitution of Malaysia guarantees equal freedom of religion to all.
But matters might not stay rosy for too long. Malaysia does have a brutal history of ethnic violence and witnessed severe riots against the Chinese minority in 1960’s and ‘70s and more recently against Indians two years ago. The dangers loom large with Anwar Ibrahim, leader of the main Opposition People’s Alliance, a rainbow collation of many parties including the hard core Islamist Party, openly supporting it. Anwar tries to project a liberal democratic Western educated face for himself but the reality is totally different. The kind of connections he keeps portrays a different picture of Anwar, a potrait different from his public persona.
At first glance, people unfamilar with Anwar’s brand of politics would be seriously impressed with his political thoughts which he preaches openly and candidly in public, a staunch advocate of liberalism on many issues with freedom of expression and religion in Malaysian society as the centrepiece of his pro-West approach.
At the same time, the kind of friendly equation which he maintains with powerful American Liberals like Paul Wolfowitz and other influential democrats as well as former US Vice President Al Gore, would make him the darling of the developed world. With elections looming large in Malaysia and the gap between the ruling party and the Opposition narrowing down with every passing day, the recent activities of Anwar Ibrahim have raised many eyebrows.
His recent travel in early 2012 to Arab countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar and meeting leading Muslim figures there like Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, a leading Islamic theologian, has raised eyebrows. Qaradawi is the unofficial leader of the Islamic world and he supports suicide bombings against Israel as well as female circumcisions. At Qaradawi’s house Anwar Ibrahim also met Khalid Mashaal, as per unofficial reports. Mashaal has claimed responsibility for numerous suicide bombings, killing and wounding innocent civilians, including helpless women and children. The trip, as many have claimed could be a part of damage control on part of Anwar Ibrahim after his open support to Israel’s defense of national security, a comment which did not go down too well in his own Malaysia.
Not just this. Many well placed sources believe that Anwar Ibrahim has close and personal contacts with key leaders of the Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT). He is reported to have personal connections with Youssef Al Nada until at least 2011. Reports claim Nada personally visited Anwar when the latter was on a visit to the USA in 2011.
Nada is an Egyptian banker who has been designated by the US, the UN and Switzerland as having financed terrorism through an extensive financial network and providing support for terrorist-related activities, including those undertaken by Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaida. Nada founded Bank Al Taqwa, a financial institution known to have provided cash transfers and investment advice to Al Qaida in preparation for 9/11.
Other close friends of Anwar include Hisham Al-Talib, former director of one of Al Nada’s companies and now with Ibrahim’s International Institute for Islamic Thought (IIIT) in the US as well as Dr Mohammed Manzoor Alam, co-founder of the Al Taqwa Bank in union with Nada. Anwar has also served on the board of the Al-Baraka Bank which the US claims to be one of the main conduits for funding Al Qaida and other terror outfits. Anwar is also one of the founding members of the IIIT which is currently under investigation by US Federal law enforcement agencies since the late 1990s, for the suspected financing of mega terror outfits like Al Qaida.
Malaysia, a vital member of ASEAN, has been facing a huge turmoil in the last couple of years with hard-core Islamist fundamentalists hell bent on turning the nation into an Islamist state based on the Shariat . There are many provinces in Malaysia which follow the Shariat like Selangor, Penang and others. It is also an accepted reality that Malaysia turned Islamic way back in the 1960s, when Islam became the state religion with 60 per cent of the country’s population following one or the other form of Islam. However, the constitution of Malaysia guarantees equal freedom of religion to all.
But matters might not stay rosy for too long. Malaysia does have a brutal history of ethnic violence and witnessed severe riots against the Chinese minority in 1960’s and ‘70s and more recently against Indians two years ago. The dangers loom large with Anwar Ibrahim, leader of the main Opposition People’s Alliance, a rainbow collation of many parties including the hard core Islamist Party, openly supporting it. Anwar tries to project a liberal democratic Western educated face for himself but the reality is totally different. The kind of connections he keeps portrays a different picture of Anwar, a potrait different from his public persona.
At first glance, people unfamilar with Anwar’s brand of politics would be seriously impressed with his political thoughts which he preaches openly and candidly in public, a staunch advocate of liberalism on many issues with freedom of expression and religion in Malaysian society as the centrepiece of his pro-West approach.
At the same time, the kind of friendly equation which he maintains with powerful American Liberals like Paul Wolfowitz and other influential democrats as well as former US Vice President Al Gore, would make him the darling of the developed world. With elections looming large in Malaysia and the gap between the ruling party and the Opposition narrowing down with every passing day, the recent activities of Anwar Ibrahim have raised many eyebrows.
His recent travel in early 2012 to Arab countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar and meeting leading Muslim figures there like Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, a leading Islamic theologian, has raised eyebrows. Qaradawi is the unofficial leader of the Islamic world and he supports suicide bombings against Israel as well as female circumcisions. At Qaradawi’s house Anwar Ibrahim also met Khalid Mashaal, as per unofficial reports. Mashaal has claimed responsibility for numerous suicide bombings, killing and wounding innocent civilians, including helpless women and children. The trip, as many have claimed could be a part of damage control on part of Anwar Ibrahim after his open support to Israel’s defense of national security, a comment which did not go down too well in his own Malaysia.
Not just this. Many well placed sources believe that Anwar Ibrahim has close and personal contacts with key leaders of the Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT). He is reported to have personal connections with Youssef Al Nada until at least 2011. Reports claim Nada personally visited Anwar when the latter was on a visit to the USA in 2011.
Nada is an Egyptian banker who has been designated by the US, the UN and Switzerland as having financed terrorism through an extensive financial network and providing support for terrorist-related activities, including those undertaken by Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaida. Nada founded Bank Al Taqwa, a financial institution known to have provided cash transfers and investment advice to Al Qaida in preparation for 9/11.
Other close friends of Anwar include Hisham Al-Talib, former director of one of Al Nada’s companies and now with Ibrahim’s International Institute for Islamic Thought (IIIT) in the US as well as Dr Mohammed Manzoor Alam, co-founder of the Al Taqwa Bank in union with Nada. Anwar has also served on the board of the Al-Baraka Bank which the US claims to be one of the main conduits for funding Al Qaida and other terror outfits. Anwar is also one of the founding members of the IIIT which is currently under investigation by US Federal law enforcement agencies since the late 1990s, for the suspected financing of mega terror outfits like Al Qaida.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
