{"id":89063,"date":"2019-05-19T15:46:32","date_gmt":"2019-05-19T22:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=89063"},"modified":"2019-05-19T15:46:32","modified_gmt":"2019-05-19T22:46:32","slug":"islamic-states-wilayath-as-seylani-is-a-major-threat-to-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/05\/19\/islamic-states-wilayath-as-seylani-is-a-major-threat-to-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"Islamic State\u2019s \u2018Wilayath as Seylani\u2019 is a major threat to Lanka"},"content":{"rendered":"

By P.K.Balachandran <\/strong>Courtesy Ceylon Today<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Sri Lankan Government has announced the proscription of three Islamic State (IS) affiliates, namely, the National Towheed Jama\u2019ath (NTJ),the Jamaathei MillathuIbrahimee Seylani (JIMS) and the Wilayath as Seylani (WAS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The first two were publically identified soon after the 21 April Easter Sunday suicide attacks which resulted in 253 deaths. But the Wilayath as Seylani (WAS) was named only recently, perhaps because it was discovered during the investigations into the multiple suicide bombings. The Government is yet to give details of the Wilayat as Seylani and its operations in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


However, according to Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, a co-author of \u2018The Three Pillars of Radicalisation\u2019 (Oxford University Press 2019), the Islamic State\u2019s Caliphate has not formally declared the formation of WAS, though its formation is being discussed at the highest level in the organisation and its establishment is very much on the cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The Islamic State\u2019s plan may be to declare WAS\u2019s formation if anti-Muslim violence continues in Sri Lanka and an excuse can be given for the formation of a separate \u2018Wilayath\u2019 for Sri Lanka,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The term Wilayath refers to a \u2018province\u2019. Since 2014, the IS has set up \u2018Wilayaths\u2019 or provinces in various parts of the world. These \u2018Wilayaths\u2019 are not conventional provinces but fields of IS operation. Among the IS\u2019s \u2018Wilayaths\u2019 in South Asia are \u2018Wilayath Khorasan\u2019 (covering Afghnaistan and Pakistan) and \u2018Wilayath al Hind\u2019 (covering India with the nerve center being located in Kashmir). To this has been added \u2018Wilayath as Seylani\u2019 ( Seylan is the Arabic name for Sri Lanka).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n


According to Dr. Gunaratna, Mohammad Zahran, the leader of the NTJ, who carried out the suicide bombing of Shangri- La Hotel in Colombo, had been wanting to set up an IS \u2018Willayath\u2019 in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The Lankan Government was probably aware of the discussions going on at the highest levels in the IS Caliphate about forming \u2018WAS\u2019 and had banned it in anticipation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Communal clashes, with the majority community staging mob attacks against Muslims, would have paved the way for the realisation of terrorist Zahran\u2019s dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


It is therefore very important for the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure that there are no communal clashes and that Buddhists, Christians and Muslims live harmoniously and side by side in safety and security. If need be, the Government should issue shoot at sight orders to quell mobs on the rampage,\u201d Dr. Gunaratna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


In his paper entitled \u2018Islamic State\u2019s Financing: Sources, Methods and Utilization\u2019 in the booklet \u2018Counter terrorism- trends and analyses\u2019, brought out in 2017 by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore, Patrick Blannin says that the Islamic State is a multi-million dollar organisation, which can throw money in many parts of the world to recruit, train, retain cadres and carry out its operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


If Sri Lanka becomes a hub or a \u2018Wilayath\u2019 of the IS, it would be exposed to the dangers of other parts of the world with \u2018Wilayaths\u2019 face now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


According to Blannin, the IS is a self-sufficient organisation not depending upon any State or individual for its funds. He quotes Patrick Johnson to say that in 2008, before Abu Bakr al Baghdadi became leader of the IS, the organisation was financing itself by running smuggling rackets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Looking at the financial muscle of the IS, it comes as no surprise that Zahran\u2019s small group in Sri Lanka had as much as Rs 7 billion worth of assets and Rs 140 million in cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Baghdadi\u2019s predecessor and IS founder, Abu Mu\u2019sab al Zarkawi,had earned US$ 70 million to US$ 200 million annually through oil smuggling. Kidnapping for ransom got the IS another US$ 36 million. Keith Crane from RAND Corporation told a US Senate Committee that the IS made about US$ 1.2 billion in 2015 alone by various, mostly illegal, activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Oil smuggling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


According to a 2015 study, the IS earned money from the oil business by attacking, holding, and operating oil infrastructure facilities in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Egypt. Sale of oil and petroleum products fetched it US$ 40 million per month in 2015. IS also operated refineries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Anyone could buy oil from the IS. It sold at a competitive rate, and therefore sales were good. According to one estimate it charged US$ 20 per barrel in 2015. One report said that it made US$ 1.5 million a day on oil sales. However, US strikes against IS oil facilities in 2016 brought down revenues from oil rackets by 33%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Interestingly, the many anti-IS groups in the Middle East were using the same methods to earn money to carry out their anti-IS operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Human Smuggling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Human smuggling is another racket which the IS had been running. It ran such rackets in Nigeria, Sahel, Libya, Egypt, Iraq and Syria. Prior to Libya\u2019s action in 2016, the IS had a free run of 260 km of the Mediterranean Coast. It is said to have taxed agents involved in the smuggling 250,000 people to Europe across the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


It is alleged that the IS would attack refugee camps,forcing the refugees to flee and then made them pay to get across to Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Though the Salafi Islam it propagates is against idols, the IS has had no compunction about stealing and trading in idols illegally. And the business was booming when it had many parts of Iraq under its control. As many as 4,500 archeological sites including some in the UNESCO World Heritage List, were under its control enabling it to vandalize the sites and sell priceless artifacts. This raised concerns in the UN and the Security Council passed a resolution in 2015 criminalizing this activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Taxation cum Extortion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Taxation is another method of making money. The IS reportedly collected not less than US$300 million annually by taxing business and levying religious taxes. The religious tax on business was as high as 20%. Agriculture too was a source of income because at one time the IS controlled 40% of the agricultural land in Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Cyber Crime<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


IS\u2019s \u2018cyberjihadis\u2019 openly advise their online supporters how to use Dark Wallet, an anonymous bitcoin transfer application, as well as how to set up an anonymous donations system to send money, using bitcoin, to the Mujahedeen, says Patrick Blannin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Whilst providing a communication channel with mass reach, IS online forums serve as virtual marketplaces forcybercrime tools such as malware and ransom-ware, as well as for skilled hackers, who can be hired for criminal services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The Internet has globalized fraudulent schemes, giving fraudsters access to millions of potential victims. British IS supporters committed a large-scale fraud by pretending to be police officers and targeting the UK pensioners for their bank details, earning more than US$1.8 million.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Magnus Ranstorp has found that IS operatives have used fake identities and pay slips to apply for funds through online applications. They have used these identities to secure soft bank loans, quick loans (SMS loans), government and private welfare schemes as well as lease motor vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By P.K.Balachandran Courtesy Ceylon Today The Sri Lankan Government has announced the proscription of three Islamic State (IS) affiliates, namely, the National Towheed Jama\u2019ath (NTJ),the Jamaathei MillathuIbrahimee Seylani (JIMS) and the Wilayath as Seylani (WAS). The first two were publically identified soon after the 21 April Easter Sunday suicide attacks which resulted in 253 deaths. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-terrorism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89063\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}