Nov 22, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Associated Press religion writer Brian Murphy warns of an “ultra-radical Islamic ideology,” which is drawing more scrutiny from authorities but which has not been exposed largely in the press.
There are increasing indications that al-Takfir wa al-Hijra, which mixes “zealot-like devotion and holy war creed,” is growing on the fringes of Islamic extremism, says Murphy in his Nov. 20 report.
While authorities estimate that the group has several thousand followers, they “now worry about followers becoming more aggressive with recruitment and retaliation against perceived foes of Islam,” with the use of the Internet and other global communications, he said.
Murphy claims that the group, founded in Egypt in the 1960s, has wide influence in Islamic fundamentalist circles and even inspired al-Qaida and other militant groups. The ideology “strives for a purified form of Islam and condemns anything or anyone deemed an enemy of the faith,” says Murphy. Takfir denounces even moderate Muslims as "infidels."