Although Jamaat Ul-Fuqra is based out of Pakistan, it operates primarily in the United States, Canada, and the Carribean. Its operations are scattered throughout the United States in rural communes supposedly meant to provide Muslims with a living environment free from destructive secular influences.
Some of these communes are believed to provide paramilitary or terrorist training to its members.
Jamaat Ul-Fuqra members have planned various small-scale acts of religion-directed violence, mainly against Hindu and Jewish interests. Their most well-known, definitely proven attack was the bombing of the Hotel Rajneesh in Portland, OR in 1983. However, they have also attacked other Muslim organizations, such as the Ahmadiyya, whose leader Mozaffar Ahmad was allegedly killed by Jamaat Ul-Fuqra operatives in 1983.
Most importantly, the organization is suspected to be collaborating with or to be under the influence of Al-Qaeda as a sleeper cell or as a training program for Al-Qaeda sleepers.
Stopping Terrorism
Countries worldwide, and the United States especially, have taken dramatic steps to counter terrorism. Legally, the U.S. Government has expanded the jurisdiction and powers of the nation's counterterrorism agencies. After 9/11, President Bush created the Department of Homeland Security, which consolidated a number of previous federal agencies into a superagency focused on fighting terrorism. Also, the U.S. Congress passed the Patriot Act, which gave the federal government unprecedented powers in accessing private information in order to detect covert terrorists.
Even with the improved powers at the disposal of counter-terrorism agencies, the covert and scattered nature of terrorist activity make it difficult to detect until after the damage has been done. Sleeper cell operations demonstrate that even terrorists don't know what they are going to do until shortly before they do it. Thus, it might be more viable for counterterrorism agencies to close of sources of off terrorist support .
One promising approach is to go after the funding of these terrorist groups. For example,...
Besides cutting off the flow of resources these organizations use for operations, financial investigations can also produce grounds for criminal prosecution themselves. The Federal Government is actually investigating members of Jamaat Ul-Fuqra on charges of money laundering, which is punishable with imprisonment of up to 20 years.
Conclusion
For the United States, the acts of terrorism committed on September 11 make the prevention of terrorism a national security priority. Unfortunately, terrorist organizations only get more creative and more resourceful as our national security and law enforcement agencies pay more attention to them. Thus, terrorists cannot be expected to follow the same organizational models and it is almost certain that the face of terrorism will look vastly different ten years from now.
"Terrorism." Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrorism.
Terrorism - Groups. Terrorism Research. Retrieved from http://www.terrorism-research.com/groups/.
Jessica Stern (July/August 2003). The Protean Enemy. Foreign Affairs, 82/4. Retrieved from http://www.cfr.org/publication/6146/protean_enemy.html.
B. Raman (July 3, 2003). Al-Qaeda clone takes root in the U.S. Asia Times. Retrieved from http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EG03Df07.html.
Jessica Stern (July/August 2003). The Protean Enemy. Foreign Affairs, 82/4. Retrieved from http://www.cfr.org/publication/6146/protean_enemy.html.
Pakistan -- Terrorist Groups. South Asia Terrorism Portal. Retrieved from http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/terroristoutfits/jamaat-ul-fuqra.htm.
Pakistan -- Terrorist Groups. South Asia Terrorism Portal. Retrieved from http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/terroristoutfits/jamaat-ul-fuqra.htm; B. Raman (July 3, 2003). Al-Qaeda clone takes root in the U.S. Asia Times. Retrieved from http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EG03Df07.html.
