 |
|
|
A
mosque in Denmark has openly declared its support for the Islamic State
militant group. It comes just days after a Dane who fought with the terrorist
organization in Syria stated that Denmark was “high upon [IS's] list of
targets.”
The
place of worship, located in the city of Aarhus, has long been accused of
promoting an extreme interpretation of Islam. Mosque spokesman Fadi Abdallah told
the online news source Den Korte Avis that “an
Islamic state will always be what Muslims long for. Therefore we cannot help
but to support the Islamic State. Even if it makes mistakes, we will just have
to wait and see.”
“The
conditions aren’t the same down there [in Syria and Iraq] as they are here. I
can fully understand why people are getting killed,”
he continued.
In
July, a video emerged of the Grimhojmoskeen mosque’s imam, Abu Bilal Ismail,
calling on God to “destroy the
Zionist Jews,” the Local reported. The Grimhojmoskeen site has
become a haven for Danish jihadists, with East Jutland Police stating that 22
of the hundred or so militants who have left Denmark to fight for IS previously
worshipped there.
A
recent report from The Economist calculated that when measured by total
population, Denmark has sent the second-highest number of foreign fighters to
Syria. Only Belgium has a higher number of foreign fighters per million
residents.
The
news comes less than a week after a Danish-Turkish
jihadist, who was born and raised in Denmark and only referred to himself
as OA, told Danish broadsheet newspaper Politiken that the Islamic State
(previously known as ISIS) “has become
very international and Denmark is high up on the list, believe me.”
“Denmark
is not my country. The Muslims’ country is the caliphate and inshallah there
will soon be an attack here. Denmark should prepare itself,”
said the militant, who is also believed to come from the Aarhus area, The Local
reported.
“It
is an open war now. ISIS has said that all infidels should be battled. They
should be eliminated and soon it will be Denmark’s turn,”
OA continued.
OA
is not the only Danish-born militant to have defected to fight for IS. In
March, it was reported by the Copenhagen Post that a young Dane, who allegedly
came from the Aarhus area of the country and went by the name of Abu Sa'ad al
Denmarki, had killed himself in a suicide attack.
The
Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) has stated that 15 Danes – out
of the 100 or so who have gone to the Middle East – have been killed in Syria
fighting for IS in the country's civil war.
“We
have never before seen so many leave Denmark for a conflict zone over such a
short period as we see now with Syria,” the head of the Center
for Terror Analysis (CTA), Soren Jensen, told Ritzau news agency.
Denmark
said it will contribute to the international campaign against IS in northern
Iraq and deliver weapons and ammunition to Kurdish and Iraqi government forces.
Denmark’s foreign minister,
Martin Liedegaard, defended his country’s actions, saying, “I’m pleased with the broad political support
for Denmark’s contribution against ISIS in Iraq. ISIS is one of the biggest –
if not the biggest – threats currently faced by the international community.
Our contribution to the ongoing operation will obviously not eliminate ISIS but
will be used to help the Iraqis to defend ISIS’s advances themselves,”
The Local reported, citing Politiken newspaper.
No comments:
Post a Comment