Saturday, January 21, 2006

Blogging the Jihad in Trinidad and Tobago

 
Longtime Gates of Vienna commenter Uncle Pavian has started his own blog, Eleven North, and will be covering events in Trinidad and Tobago.

His most recent post concerns sheikh Yasin Abu Bakr:
Trinidad and Tobago Islamist leader Yasin Abu Bakr spent the night behind bars after a judge denied him bail and bound him over for trial on charges of terrorism, sedition, inciting larceny and breaching the peace.

Mr. Bakr is the leader of the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen, a group best known for a failed coup attempt on July 27, 1990, in which 24 people were killed.
You didn’t know the jihad was active in Trindad? Well, neither did I, until recently.

Go over to Uncle Pavian’s place to read the rest.

3 comments:

Eleanor © said...

The Jihad in Trinidad and Tobago was related to me by an Trini ex-pat. No one should be surprised that Islamist thugs are targeting this part of the world. Trinidad has natural gas resources and a relationship with Venezuela...

John Sobieski said...

I've had my eye on TnT for a while now. It intriqued me when I noticed that TnT is a member of the OIC, and is the only country in the Western Hemisphere that is a member. Wherever there are natural resources, the Islamists target that country. I am sure they are swarming Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina, working to establish the Muslim population.

Jeff Kouba said...

Abu Bakr is actually on trial now for two separate things. The one mentioned here, relating to his Nov 4 sermon where he essentially threatened extortion. In the other trial, he is charged with conspiracy in the 2003 murder of two expelled members of his mosque, one of whom was his son-in-law.

The strain of Islam in Trinidad and Tobago is really not of an Arab variety, as I understand it. It is primarily Black Islam, made up of African and Trinidadian converts.

There are three groups that are the most well-known. Abu Bakr's groups is the most prominent of these, and they are also involved in criminal activities.

The potential exists, though, that outside radical groups like Al Qaeda may find a toehold in Trinidad though groups like Abu Bakr's mosque.