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Asim Umar

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Asim Umar
BornBetween 1974 and 1976[1]
Sambhal,Uttar Pradesh,India[1][2]
Died23 September 2019
Musa Qala District,Helmand Province,Afghanistan
Allegianceal-Qaeda
Service/branchal-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent
RankEmirofAQIS

Sana-ul-Haq(1974/1976 – 23 September 2019), better known asAsim Umar,was anIndianJihadist militant[1][3][4][5]leader of theal-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent.al-QaedaleaderAyman al-Zawahiriannounced the creation of AQIS and introduced Asim Umar as its leader in a video posted online in September 2014.[6]

Outside his militant activities he was also an author of whatPraveen Swamicalls "several best-sellingdystopicjihadistfantasies that give fascinating glimpses into the inner world of Islamists ", centered on aglobal conspiracyinvolving theDajjalandJewsas wellIslamic eschatology.[7]

History

[edit]

He was born Sana-ul-Haq into an influential peasant family (his grandfather was a villagepradhan,his grand uncle a freedom fighter and great-grandfather a district magistrate under the British rule),[8]between 1974-76 inSambhal,Uttar Pradesh,India.[1]He attended theDarul Uloom Deobandseminary inUttar Pradesh,Indiaand graduated from there in 1991. In the late 1990s, he visitedPakistan.[2]

Umar studied atJamia Uloom-ul-IslamiainKarachiand theDarul Uloom HaqqaniainKhyber Pakhtunkhwa.His friend in Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia, Moazzam, said of him that at that time "he was known for his very strong views against democracy and in favor of jihad. He could be described as a version ofAnwar Awlaki,who was good in indoctrination too. "[9]Before joining militancy, he was himself a teacher in a madrassa in Karachi and used to translate jihadist literature fromPashtotoUrdu.[10]

Umar is said to have traveled toAfghanistanwhere he metOsama bin Laden,and later joinedHarkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami(HUJI), aJihadistgroup with branches across theIndian Subcontinent.[6]Umar's affiliation with Al-Qaeda was reportedly solidified after the Pakistani government's 2007 storming of theradical Lal Masjid seminary,resulting in the deaths of many militants. He is said to have made contact withIlyas Kashmiri,a topjihadistwith close links to al-Qaeda.[2]

In 2009,Indian intelligence officialsvisited Asim Umar's house in Deepa Sarai,Uttar Pradesh.Umar was missing for 14 years at that time and was presumed dead. Indian officials informed Umar's family that their son was alive and working for a terrorist organisation.[2]After hearing the news, Umar's father promptly inserted advertisements in newspapers where he disowned his son.[2]

Umar quickly began playing a prominent role as a propagandist in video releases from al-Qaeda and authored at least four books promotingjihad.[6][11]By April 2014, several months before being named leader of AQIS, Al Qaeda was identifying Umar as the head of itsshariacommittee in Pakistan.[12]

In September 2014,al-QaedaleaderAyman al-Zawahiriannounced the creation ofal-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent(AQIS) and introduced Asim Umar as its leader in a video posted online.[6]

In 2016 and 2018, the United States had designated Asim Umar aSpecially Designated Global Terroristin theSpecially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.[5][2][13]

On 23 September 2019, Afghan officials announced that Asim Umar was killed in a joint US-Afghan military raid in the Afghan Province ofHelmand.40 Afghan civilians and six otheral-Qaedamilitants were also killed in the raid.[14][15]

Books

[edit]

He wrote "a number ofconspiracy theorybooks ", centered aroundIslamic eschatologyand theDajjal,that he himself translated fromUrduintoArabic,PashtoandUzbeklanguages, including:[16]

  • Teesri Jang-e-Azeem Aur Dajjal(transl. World War III and Dajjal)[17]
  • Dajjal Ka Lashkar: Black Water(transl. Army of Anti-Christ: theBlack Water)[18]
  • Imam Mehdi ke Doost aur Dushman(transl. Friends and Foes of the Mahdi [Messiah])
  • Bermuda Tikon aur Dajjal(transl. Bermuda Triangleand Dajjal)[17]
  • Adyan ki jang(war of ideology)[19]
  • Ghaltiyan(mistakes)[20]

References

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  1. ^abcd"Counter Terrorism Designations and Removals".United States Department of the Treasury.10 June 2014.Retrieved10 June2014.
  2. ^abcdef"US air strikes kill UP terrorist heading al-Qaida in Indian subcontinent".Times of India.9 October 2019.
  3. ^Chaudhury, Dipanjan Roy; Tripathi, Rahul (13 July 2018)."Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent releases audio speech warning fighters against harming innocent Muslims".Economic Times.
  4. ^"US air strikes kill UP terrorist heading al-Qaida in Indian Subcontinent".Times of India.9 October 2019.
  5. ^ab"Al-Qaeda-Taliban links exposed".Deccan Herald.12 October 2019.
  6. ^abcd"Al Qaeda's shadowy new 'emir' in South Asia handed tough job".Reuters.10 September 2014.Retrieved10 September2014.
  7. ^Praveen Swami (10 October 2019),"Slain Al-Qaeda chief Asim Umar was Uttar Pradesh village boy who became best-selling jihadist pulp-fiction writer",Firstpost.Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  8. ^IANS (10 October 2019),"How Sambhals Shanno became Al-Qaedas Maulana Asim Umar ",Outlook India.Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  9. ^Ali K Chishti (26 September 2014),"Target: Karachi"[permanent dead link],The Friday Times.Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  10. ^Basit, Abdul.“Asim Umar - ‘New Kid on the Block’?”Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, vol. 6, no. 10, 2014, p. 9.
  11. ^"Pakistani Taliban leader discusses 'global jihad,' Syria in al Qaeda video".Long War Journal. 24 July 2013.Retrieved10 September2014.
  12. ^"Social Media Jihad: Open interview with al Qaeda's sharia official in Pakistan".Long War Journal. 9 April 2014.Retrieved10 September2014.
  13. ^"UMAR, Asim".sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov.Retrieved8 September2022.
  14. ^"South Asia region Al Qaeda chief killed in Afghanistan: officials".Dawn News.8 October 2019.
  15. ^"Asim Umar: Al-Qaeda's South Asia chief 'killed in Afghanistan'".BBC News.8 October 2019.Retrieved9 October2019.
  16. ^Dr. Farhan Zahid,"A Profile of Asim Umar: Amir of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinet [sic] "
  17. ^abMaulana Asim Umar.Bermuda Tikon Aur Dajjal.
  18. ^Maulana Asim Umar.Black Water... By: Maulana Asim Umar.
  19. ^IMaulana Asim Umar.Adyan Ki Jang.
  20. ^Maulana Asim Umar.Ghaltian.
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