Spain Fears Islamists Reclaiming "al-Andalus"

While the international spotlight is on 29 suspects on trial for
the 2004 Madrid train bombings, Spanish police are working behind
the scenes to counter a growing threat of new attacks.

Radicals inspired by al-Qaeda have stepped up propaganda and
recruitment activities in Spain, a country they claim as a part of the
Islamic world because of its Muslim past, according to police experts.

Extremists present in Spain no longer come just from North Africa, but
also from Pakistan.

Spain has become one of the main bases for the recruitment of suicide
bombers, some of whom are trained at new al-Qaeda bases in Africa's
Sahel zone before they are sent to Iraq.

The ongoing Madrid bombings trial has given a face to Islamist
terrorism as Spaniards have watched one suspect after another take the
stand, from bearded fundamentalists to young men with an apparently
Western lifestyle.

After questioning the suspects, the court is currently hearing police
experts and other witnesses.

[...]

Islamist websites have also long called for a reconquest of al-
Andalus, a Moorish name for Spain, parts of which were ruled by
Muslims for nearly eight centuries until 1492.

Recently, some websites have also begun campaigning for the
"liberation" of the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on
the Moroccan coast, causing concern among police experts.

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Full article at "Playfuls" www.playfuls.com/news_10_17786-Spain-Fears-Islamists-Reclaiming-al-Andalus.html

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* Origin: Xaragmata / Adelaide SA telnet://xaragmata.thebbs.org (3:800/432)