Nepal, a largely Hindu country in the Himalayas, is a new hub of Turkey’s pan-Islamist projects as Ankara seeks to alter Nepal’s demography. Reportedly, the Himalayan Education and Welfare Society, a local nongovernmental organization, and Turkey’s primary proxy to expand its ideological footprint, annually receives close to $200,000 from foreign Islamist charities, including Turkey-based entities like the İHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation.
Nepalese authorities have now initiated a detailed investigation into the Islamist ideological and educational activities.
In a recent investigation, Nepal’s security agencies found that many foreigners were teaching Quranic studies without valid work permits. In Lalitpur, raids at hostels associated with the Himalayan Education and Welfare Society exposed foreign religious scholars luring impoverished children, mostly orphans, from Kapilvastu, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Banke, and Dang districts to indoctrinate and convert. That the Himalayan Education and Welfare Society does not have a large online footprint does not surprise, as many of the local organizations continually change their names.
Reportedly, Nepalese authorities have now initiated a detailed investigation into the Islamist ideological and educational activities and are now exploring options for tightening restrictions on foreign funding of nongovernmental organizations, particularly those involved in humanitarian aid, and religious education.
Increasing Turkish religious activities in the India-Nepal border region also concern Indian security and intelligence agencies. A recent Indian intelligence report that detailed the expansion of Pakistan- and Turkey-supported Islamist groups, centers, and networks on the India-Nepal border, as well as the associated issues of radicalization, conversions, demographic shifts, and terrorism, raised alarm bells within the Indian security community.
The report found the local Islamist organization, Islami Sangh Nepal, had affiliated with İHH to sponsor the construction of mosques, Islamic seminaries, orphanages, and Islamic centers that serve as outposts for logistics, communication, shelter, and infiltration of jihadis and criminal elements into India through a porous India-Nepal border. Reportedly, Turkish nongovernmental organizations sponsoring Islamist groups in Nepal enjoy the patronage of Turkish intelligence and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA). This allows Ankara to further its Islamist agenda under the garb of humanitarian, religious, and educational projects. Further, the Indian intelligence report alleges the Turkish paramilitary organization SADAT maintains links with the Islami Sangh Nepal.
Protests rocking Nepal this week, where demonstrators stormed government offices and set fire to buildings, may be a dry run if Turkey has its way.
In line with Erdoğan’s dream of a caliphate, Turkey has expanded its tentacles to champion Islamist causes globally.
Turkey’s penetration in South Asia now expands beyond ties with Pakistan. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s focus on South Asia conforms to his ideology. Pakistan considers itself a successor to the Mughal Empire, whose founders had both Turkish and Mongol ancestry. Erdoğan’s dreams of a caliphate have brought exaggerated accounts of Ottoman glory back to the forefront of public consciousness. In line with Erdoğan’s dream of a caliphate, Turkey has expanded its tentacles to champion Islamist causes globally.
Security experts should see Turkey’s increasing presence in Nepal within the broader context of Turkey’s effort to penetrate more deeply into South Asia and to capture the hearts and minds of India’s 200 million Muslims. Historically, Pakistan has used Nepal for anti-India terrorist and criminal activities. Since Nepalese nationals do not need a visa to enter India, Pakistan-sponsored terrorists have used the Nepal route to infiltrate into Indian territory. In 1999, Pakistan-backed Harkat-ul-Mujahideen terrorists hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 in Nepal, forcing it to Taliban-controlled Kandahar in a week-long hostage drama that embarrassed India.
The entry of India’s other adversary, Turkey—with its superior drone technology, intelligence footprint, and nominally private paramilitaries like SADAT that have a history of enhancing the capabilities of local terror groups—should be a serious concern for India and the West more broadly.
