Darsgah-Jihad-O-Shahadat (literally The Centre for Jihad and Martyrdom)
is an Islamist group based in the southern
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n city of
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
, with branches in the state of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
. The group claims to have trained about 50,000 people in self-defence techniques at its training camps in Hazrat Ujale Shah Idgah grounds at
Saidabad and Purani Haveli.
The training camps were closed in 2013 after the death of Shaik Mahboob Ali and restarted in 2017.
Some of the former members of this group are accused of joining
al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
and its affiliates and of involvement in multiple terror attacks across India.
History
Founded on 4 December 1983 by Shaikh Mahboob Ali (d. 2011), the incumbent president of the group is Mohammed Abdul Majid.
DJS is known to organise a rally on the anniversary of the
Babri Masjid demolition
The demolition of the Babri Masjid was illegally carried out on 6 December 1992 by a large group of activists of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and allied organisations. The 16th-century Babri Masjid in the city of Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh, had ...
on 6 December and the weekly ''
Ijtema
Ijtema ( ar, اجتماع) is an Islamic congregation organised by Islamic organisations in association with millions of Muslims. It is an essential part of the Tablighi Jamaat around the world as it plays a significant role on the lives of Musli ...
'' (religious preaching sessions) every Saturday at its headquarter in
Moghalpura.
The group is described as an Islamist vigilante group and claims on its website of "protecting the life and properties of
heMuslim community," "preserving the honour and chastity of women," and "Islamic supremacy is our goal."
In 10 November 2012, police arrested eleven DJS activists including Majid for violence in
Old City area of Hyderabad in connection with incidents of stone pelting and assault of policemen.
On 14 May 2017 Mohammed Abdul Majid was booked by the police for making provocative speeches during a martial arts training camp for Muslim youths.
Former members
* Syed Maqbool - former member of DJS is accused of being part of the
Indian Mujahideen
Indian Mujahideen (IM) is an Islamic terrorist group which has been particularly active in India. The jihadist group was founded as an offshoot of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) by several radicalized members including Iqbal Bh ...
's Hyderabad module involved in the
Dilsukhnagar bomb blasts of 21 February 2013 in which 17 people died. Indian Mujahideen is a front of the banned
SIMI.
* Syed Zakir Raheem - former member of DJS and accused of being member of
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed ( ur, , literally "The Army of Muhammad", abbreviated as JeM) is a Pakistan-based: "The JEM is a Pakistan-based, militant Islamic group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000."
Deobandi: "Deobandis like Masood Azha ...
group and involvement in the failed assassination of
BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
politicians
Indrasena Reddy
Nallu Indrasena Reddy is an Indian politician from Telangana. He is a national secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was earlier president of the state unit of the party. Indrasena Reddy was elected as MLA 3 times first in 1983 at the age o ...
and
Baddam Bal Reddy
Baddam Bal Reddy was a Bharatiya Janata Party activist from Telangana and three time MLA from Karwan (Assembly constituency) of Telangana Legislative Assembly. He won the seat in 1985, 1989 and 1994 assembly elections. In 2004 he was the targ ...
in 2004.
* Mohammed Abdul Shahed also known as Shahed Bilal and Mohammed Abdul Shahid Bilal (d. 30 August 2007)
-
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...
's south India chief and former chief of
Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami ( ar, حركة الجهاد الإسلامي, ''Ḥarkat al-Jihād al-Islāmiyah'', meaning "Islamic Jihad Movement", HuJI) is a Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist Jihadist organisation affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Talib ...
’s Indian operations, both
al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
affiliates. Bilal and his associates were accused in the
Mecca Masjid bomb blast of 2007,
Lumbini Amusement Park and Gokul Chat Bhandar bombings of 2007 and the
2005 Begumpet suicide bombing at the STF headquarters. He was one of the accused in the smuggling of RDX into Hyderabad to create communal disturbances. Reportedly killed by masked assassins of
Rasool Khan Parti in the port city of
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
in Pakistan but some suspect this to be a ruse to evade capture.
* Mohammad Abdul Razzak - accused of being member of
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen- al-Islami ( ur, ; HUM) is a Pakistan-based Islamic jihad group operating primarily in Kashmir.[Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...](_ ...<br></span></div> and then <div class=)
and fighting as a volunteer with Al-Qaeda-linked fighters in Afghanistan. During interrogation Razzak reportedly confessed to have accompanied a supply convoy meant for a
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
unit in Spin Boldak, and training at a Taliban-run camp near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Tasked to recruit Indian nationals in the
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
for
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...
he is said to have recruited Javed Sheikh
and sent him to jihad training camps run by the Lashkar military chief
Muzammil Bhat — architect of the
26/11 Mumbai attack.
Javed Sheikh was one of the person killed in a February 2004 encounter with
Gujarat Police
The ' is the law enforcement agency for the state of Gujarat in India. The Gujarat Police has its headquarters in Gandhinagar, the state capital, and Ahmedabad.
The Gujarat Police Department came into existence after Gujarat's separation fr ...
. Razzak was a staff member of top Lashkar financier
Arif Qasmani Arif or Aref may refer to:
*Arif, a local name for the Rif mountains in northern Morocco
* Arif (given name)
* Arif (surname)
*‘arif, a concept in Sufism, see Ma'rifa
Maʿrifa (Arabic: “interior knowledge”) is the mystical knowledge of God ...
who is accused of bombing the New Delhi-Lahore
Samjhauta Express in 2007 and was subsequently sanctioned by the United States Treasury Department.
*
Mohammed Viquar Ahmed also known as Vikaruddin Ahmed - founder of
Tehreek-Ghalba-e-Islam, had his initial training with DJS.
He was accused of killing two policemen, one in Hyderabad in 2009, and another in Maninagar in Gujarat. He was arrested in 2010 and shot dead in 2015 along with four of his associates in the Alair encounter.
* Ghulam Yazdani - owed his allegiance to DJS
and was a member of
Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami ( ar, حركة الجهاد الإسلامي, ''Ḥarkat al-Jihād al-Islāmiyah'', meaning "Islamic Jihad Movement", HuJI) is a Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist Jihadist organisation affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Talib ...
and was the leader of the Lashkar-e-Taiba's south Indian network. He was one of the main accused in the killing of former home minister of Gujarat
Haren Pandya
Haren Pandya was the Home Minister of Gujarat in India. He was allegedly murdered in 2003 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, when he was sitting in his car (the place of his murder is contentious), after a morning walk in the Law Garden area in Ahmedabad.
...
, was suspected to be involved in the
2005 Begumpet suicide bombing at the STF headquarters and the 21 November 2002 bombing near Saibaba temple in Dilsukhnagar in which ten people were injured when a powerful bomb planted in a scooter exploded. He was accused in the conspiracy to bomb a Ganesh temple near Secunderabad railway station. Yazdani was arrested and imprisoned twice in 2000-01. He escaped while out on bail and was a fugitive. On 8 March 2006 he was shot dead in the Bawana encounter with Delhi police.
* Mohammad Abdul Samad -
Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
based brother of Mohammed Abdul Shahed accused of recruiting people for attacks, reported killed in 30 August 2007 along with his brother,
although his death is disputed by other members of his group.
See also
*
Deendar Anjuman
References
External links
{{Official website, http://djsindia.in/
Islamic terrorism in India
Islamist groups
1983 establishments in Andhra Pradesh
Organisations based in Hyderabad, India
Organizations established in 1983