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Jihadi media thrives in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A newspaper warns that Jews and Christians are engaged in “genocide” against Muslims. A website says children should love guns instead of cricket. A video shows a child beheading a militant accused of betraying his comrades.

Despite government promises to crack down, hate-filled jihadist propaganda is thriving in Pakistan, especially in print and on the Internet. Critics say it is contributing to the demonisation of the West and the “Talibanisation” of Pakistan.

Some of the most vitriolic material is produced by affiliates of supposedly banned groups.

“I feel it has increased and the tone has become more hostile,” said Mohammad Shahzad, who runs a media monitoring service in Pakistan for clients including think tanks and embassies. “The level of extremism and fanaticism has gone up.”

Shahzad said there are no statistics on the output of extremist groups. However, examples are plentiful.

Tayyabat, a magazine for women published by Jamaatud Dawa says Pakistan’s support of the US war on terror amounts to surrendering to an America bent on eliminating Muslims.

“A white flag will not put out the fire from the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. They are thirsty for the Muslim’s blood,” an article in February said.

A government ban against the al-Rashid trust, an Islamic charity proscribed in February for alleged links with terrorist groups, has failed to stop the associated Daily Islam newspaper from publishing in Karachi. Its content is not overtly militant, but often inflammatory.

“Jews, Christians and their allies are engaged in genocide of Muslims but Islam is spreading and its enemies are losing their nerve,” a recent article said.

Hardline religious propaganda is still far from the mainstream in Pakistan, where the thriving private media have, in particular, revolutionised TV with more liberal programming. But as in other Muslim countries, the call for jihad, or holy war, against the West has also gained resonance here amid widespread anger over the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Abdullah Muntazir, spokesman for Jamaatud Dawa, defended the group as a peaceful organisation exercising its right to freedom of expression. He complained that anyone publishing anti-American material in Pakistan is immediately accused of “promoting jihad”.

But many observers worry that Pakistan’s military-dominated government is doing too little to prevent extremists from publishing incendiary material that potentially drums up recruits and donations for militant attacks in Pakistan and beyond.

“There are laws against hate speech. They haven’t even applied those,” said Samina Ahmed, an analyst for the International Crisis Group.

“The fact that there are no curbs on them (extremists) or that the government backs down the moment there is the slightest resistance on the part of Islamic organisations has encouraged them to circulate their message.”

Tariq Azeem, minister of state for information, defended the government’s record against extremist media. He said any media promoting violence, including suicide bombings and sectarian attacks, were “totally illegal and will not be tolerated.”

Some action has been taken.

Markets in key cities such as Peshawar and Karachi that openly stocked jihadist videos a year ago no longer do so - although some merchants still whisper they can get them on request.

That is despite an increased output of videos promoting the stepped-up Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. In a shocking example last week, a video obtained by the Associated Press showed a boy beheading a Pakistani militant accused of betraying a top Taliban leader.

Azeem said the advent of the Internet and the ease with which pirate radio operators can change frequencies made it impossible to clamp down completely.

The website affiliated with the Al Qaida-linked group Jaish-e Mohammed - which was banned in 2002 - still lavishes praises on those who fight jihad.

One recent post by a writer identified as Abu Khabib Mardanvi urged youngsters to shun the “dirty and useless game” of cricket and opt instead for militancy. “I pray that God may staunch the love of the bat from the hearts of today’s youth and bless them with love for the gun,” he wrote. ap

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