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He has been called a conspiracy theorist and a traitor against Islam – but nothing will stop Professor Hussein Solomon from speaking out.
The political science professor of the University of the Free State claims South Africa has been a breeding ground for militant groups such as Al Qaeda and Hezbollah for years.
And now that Osama bin Laden is dead there’s more reason to be on high alert.
He’s working on a book detailing the threat of Islamist terror he sees in our backyard. Despite the backlash against him in the past for publishing papers on the topic, nothing will stop him releasing Global Jihad: The South African Front later this year.
He says it will reveal involvement by government members in supporting terror groups – and that the content will shake the comfort of South Africans.
“Over the years my writings have seen me receive legal summons for defamation from the Muslim community who accuse me of thumb-sucking my claims,” he says. “They believe a devout Muslim shouldn’t be speaking about such topics. But I remain a Muslim and an academic and I’m committed to speaking the truth.”
He says his book was inspired by attacks over the past decade by militant Islamic groups in SA and abroad.
“The development came about in 1998 after learning the person responsible for the East African bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam was found in South Africa.
“The Planet Hollywood bombing in Cape Town in 1998 by Pagad [People Against Gangsterism and Drugs] was the start of my research.”
After 11 years of research he believes he finally knows why SA has come to play an important role in global terror networks.
“Terrorists have been spending time here because it’s a safe haven for organising and facilitating terror attacks. The corruption at Home Affairs makes securing fake passports and IDs easy. There is general criminality here and in recent years we’ve seen a growing nexus between Islamists and organised crime syndicates.”
Last year a Saudi Arabian army officer was arrested in Iraq for an alleged Al Qaeda plot targeting World Cup events. He was arrested after US intelligence intercepted a call made to an accomplice in South Africa.
“I think our government is so caught up with other issues it would prefer to leave this one in the parking lot of matters to be dealt with later.”
Read the complete interview in YOU, 19 May 2011. CLICK HERE to follow us on Twitter.
