Image Problem Haunts Muslims in Korea
By Oh Young-jin
Staff Reporter
Muslims in Korea have expressed shock and anger after a prominent member of their community was detained by police. The man, who has trained young Muslims here, allegedly has links to the Taliban.
The Pakistani national was arrested last Thursday at his home in Daegu on charges of using a forged passport to enter the country and being linked to the terrorist group. However, he has denied any connection to the Islamic militant group. He is currently being detained for questioning.
The suspect, whose name has been withheld for legal reasons, was an acting Imam of the Daegu Islamic Center, and affiliated with the Korea Muslim Federation. The federation declined to give an opinion at this stage, saying only, "we do not trust the media now. Whenever we get the police investigation revealed, then it will be possible to talk about it."
The Taliban ― whose name comes from the Arabic word for student, "taleb" ― are puritanical Sunni Muslims, mostly from the Pashtun tribes of Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. The group ruled Afghanistan where they sheltered the Al Qaeda terrorist group before being ousted by coalition forces led by the United States following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Islamic community in Korea is worried that the incident could tarnish the image of innocent Muslims.
Muneer Ahmad, the owner of an Islamic Book store in Itaewon's Muslim district, was taken aback by the report.
"It can be in no way good news for Muslims," Ahmad said.
A Bangladeshi Muslim, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, felt that "the government should be more alert. The government should be stronger about fingerprints and identity."
The man, also a business owner in the Islamic area of the Seoul district of Itaewon, said that he knew of people who had been deported before, and then simply returned here with a new passport.
"They come back with a new passport," he said, "They are very dangerous for Korea."
Regarding the fact that the man in question was an Imam of the Daegu Islamic Center, he said, "It is very bad, we cannot support this kind of forged identity."
As a Imam he should be an example for the community.
"If they want to be an Imam, they should be very clean," he said.
The Pakistani Embassy in Seoul was not available for comment.
There are currently 100,000 foreign Muslims in Korea hailing from countries such as Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and upwards of 30,000 are followers of Islam.
This is the first time that a potential terrorist suspect has been arrested in Korea. Previous encounters have only been through drug trafficking groups linked with the Taliban.
The suspect reportedly first came to Korea in 2001 using false documents, but was deported by the Immigration Service in June 2003. He has since returned with his wife and six children having obtained a forged passport, which he also used to make 17 trips in and out of the country.
Investigators say the man is suspected of having trained some 30 students in Jihad (holy war) and Shahada (martyrdom).