Anti-Korean Group Confirmed as Korean Branch of Islamic Party

The anti-Korean group, “Dawatul Islam of Korea” made up of illegal visitors from Bangladesh that was exposed in May of this year was confirmed as a Korean branch of an overseas Islamic fundamentalist party.

Lawmaker Kim Jae-kyeong (Grand National Party) of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee said on October 24, “It was revealed in an National Assembly inspection that Dawatul Islam of Korea was a Korean branch of the Islamic fundamentalist party called the ‘Jamaiti Islam Party’ which has an anti-American tendency in Bangladesh.”

According to Rep. Kim, Mr. N, who had been deported from the country when he was exposed to be a head of the Dawatul Islam of Korea by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in May this year, was organizing an independent Islamic force. He was a member of central committee of the Jamaiti Islam party.

The NIS banished five key members of this organization including Mr. N.

Mr. N is said to have organized eleven branches of the group in areas including Incheon, Suwon, Ansan, Paju, Pocheon in Gyeonggi and to have remitted around sixty million won after raising that amount for the Jamaiti Islam Party, after becoming the “Imam” (a leader of Islam order) of the Mosque located in Anyang, Gyeonggi in August, 2002.

Myoung-Gun Lee gun43@donga.com