Asim Umar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1974/1976[1] |
| Died | 23 September 2019 |
| Allegiance |  al-Qaeda |
| Branch |  al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent |
| Rank | Emir ofAQIS |
Sana-ul-Haq (1974/1976 – 23 September 2019), better known asAsim Umar, was anIndian Jihadist militant[1][3][4][5] leader of theal-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent.al-Qaeda leaderAyman al-Zawahiri announced 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 Swami calls "several best-sellingdystopicjihadist fantasies that give fascinating glimpses into the inner world of Islamists", centered on aglobal conspiracy involving theDajjal andJews as wellIslamic eschatology.[7]
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 Deoband seminary inUttar Pradesh,India and graduated from there in 1991. In the late 1990s, he visitedPakistan.[2]
Umar studied atJamia Uloom-ul-Islamia inKarachi and theDarul Uloom Haqqania inKhyber 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 fromPashto toUrdu.[10]
Umar is said to have traveled toAfghanistan where he metOsama bin Laden, and later joinedHarkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI), aJihadist group 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 topjihadist with close links to al-Qaeda.[2]
In 2009,Indian intelligence officials visited 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 itssharia committee in Pakistan.[12]
In September 2014,al-Qaeda leaderAyman al-Zawahiri announced 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 Terrorist in 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-Qaeda militants were also killed in the raid.[14][15]
He wrote "a number ofconspiracy theory books", centered aroundIslamic eschatology and theDajjal, that he himself translated fromUrdu intoArabic,Pashto andUzbek languages, including:[16]
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