National Thowheeth Jama'ath
National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ; various spellings due to transliteration issues) is a radical Sri Lankan Muslim group implicated in the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings.[1][2] Sri Lankan Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne confirmed at an April 22, 2019 press conference that all seven of the suicide bombers in the near-simultaneous attacks were Sri Lankan citizens associated with NTJ, but foreign links are suspected.[3]
According to the New York Times, it "promotes Islamic terrorist ideology."[1] NTJ's leadership had been condemned by several Sri Lankan Muslim organizations in 2016 for advocating extreme fundamentalist indoctrination of children and for clashes with Buddhist monks,[4] and was linked in 2018 to vandalism of Buddhist statues.[5]
References
- ^ a b Garcia, Sandra E. (22 April 2019). "What Is National Thowheeth Jama'ath? Suspicion Falls on Sri Lanka Islamic Group". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ "Sri Lanka explosions: Suspicion falls on radical group National Thowheeth Jama'ath". The Straits Times. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ "The Latest: Sri Lanka: local militants carried out attacks - SFChronicle.com". www.sfchronicle.com. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ "Muslim Council deplores Wijedasa's statement on ISIS". Daily Mirror. Sri Lanka. 19 November 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ "Nearly 190 dead, 500 injured as two more blasts strike Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday". Sindh Post. 21 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
