The shadow of jihad is lengthening over Nepal. Once known as a tranquil Himalayan kingdom with no history of sectarian strife, Nepal is increasingly becoming a target of Islamist infiltration. From Pakistan’s notorious spy agency, the ISI, to globally designated terrorist outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Al Qaeda, a dangerous convergence of Islamist networks is at work.

Under the guise of charity, education, and religious outreach, these forces are laying the groundwork for what they call an “Islamic Conquest” – a strategy designed to alter demographics, radicalize vulnerable communities, and eventually destabilize Nepal from within. The alarming pattern follows the same blueprint used in parts of Africa, the Balkans, and Southeast Asia, where mosques and Islamic NGOs have acted as logistical hubs for jihadist expansion.

For most of its history, Nepal remained insulated from the sectarian tensions that gripped its neighbors. As a Hindu kingdom for centuries, later transitioning into a multi-party democracy after the monarchy’s fall in 2008, Nepal was defined by its pluralism and tolerance. Its Muslim population, estimated at about 5 percent, lived peacefully among Hindus and Buddhists without major communal strife.

But this very absence of conflict has made Nepal vulnerable. Unlike India, which has a vast counterterrorism architecture, or Bangladesh, which has decades of experience confronting Islamist militancy, Nepal lacks the institutional capacity to monitor radical infiltration. Its porous borders with India, underdeveloped law enforcement, and culture of religious tolerance provide fertile ground for extremists to embed themselves unnoticed.

According to reports circulating on social media, Nepalese authorities recently uncovered foreign citizens teaching the Quran to teenagers without work permits. Immigration officials and police raided hostels in Lalitpur linked to the Himalaya Education and Welfare Society. Children from poor families and orphans from Kapilvastu, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Banke, and Dang were being housed and taught only Islamic studies – with no exposure to Nepal’s national curriculum.

Investigations revealed that the institution received around NPR 25 million annually from Turkey-based groups such as Saha International and other foreign organizations. Some teachers from Indonesia had entered Nepal on tourist visas, a clear violation of immigration law.

Experts warn that since President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan consolidated power in 2014, Turkey has aggressively expanded its religious influence abroad. Similar “educational” programs in Africa, the Balkans, and Southeast Asia have been linked to radicalization and extremist networks. Nepal, recognizing the risks, is now considering stricter laws to regulate foreign funding and NGO activities.

Meanwhile, in the Thamel area of Kathmandu – once known for budget-friendly hostels popular with Western tourists – there has been a visible influx of Bangladeshi Muslims.

Adding to concerns, a vernacular daily reported that the Alhaj Shamsul Haque Foundation (Ash Foundation) recently laid the foundation stone for its first mosque in Nepal. Located in the Inarawa area of Sunsari district near Biratnagar, the mosque, named Razzak Mosque, is being described as a religious hub for the local Muslim population, which makes up only about 5 percent of Nepal’s total population.

During the groundbreaking ceremony on July 18, 2025, the Ash Foundation’s chairman, Engineer Muhammad Nasir Uddin, openly declared that the mosque would not only serve Muslims but also function as a center for Islamic dawah (proselytization) among Nepal’s Hindu majority. In other words, this is not merely a house of worship, but a launching pad for religious conversion and demographic engineering.

The foundation, registered in Bangladesh in 2022, openly solicits donations on social media to fund mosque construction and expand similar projects across Nepal and neighboring countries. Intelligence sources, however, suggest that such initiatives are quietly backed by Pakistan’s ISI in coordination with Islamist networks from Turkey and select Gulf states.

With my experience as a counterterrorism researcher, it is clear that such mosques often serve dual purposes – not only as religious centers but also as logistical and recruitment hubs for jihadist outfits such as Al Qaeda, ISIS, Hamas, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). This pattern mirrors developments in Africa and Southeast Asia, where Islamic charities and cultural centers have acted as cover for espionage, indoctrination, and militant operations.

For Nepal – a country with no legacy of sectarian conflict – such infiltration represents a dangerous turning point. Extremists are exploiting the nation’s open borders and traditionally tolerant society, embedding themselves into its social fabric to sow future discord and unrest.

Worryingly, Engineer Nasir Uddin has recently been seen meeting Lashkar-e-Taiba operative and Hefazat-e-Islam leader Mufti Harun Izhar, notorious for calling to build a mosque around the Chandranath Temple in Bangladesh. Nasir also publicly celebrated the bail order for Shafiur Rahman Farabi, an Al Qaeda operative convicted of the brutal murder of American writer Avijit Roy in Dhaka.

Meanwhile, questions loom over whether the Ash Foundation obtained clearance from Bangladesh’s authorities for transferring funds abroad, as required under the country’s Money Laundering Act.

Signs of tension are already emerging. According to OpIndia, on June 10, 2025, communal clashes broke out in Janakpur after members of the Muslim community attempted to illegally occupy government land. Despite police presence, violent mobs resorted to stone-pelting, injuring several Hindus, including schoolchildren. Local Hindu organizations described this as “land jihad” and accused Nepal’s leftist parties of tacitly backing Muslim groups.

Similarly, the construction of a Yoga Camp was halted after pressure from Muslim organizations, indicating a worrying trend of religious confrontation.

The Nordic Monitor reported as early as 2021 that the Turkish charity IHH, flagged by the UN for arms smuggling, was working with Nepal-based Islami Sangh Nepal (ISN) to establish logistical bases for jihadist operations. Despite red flags raised by Bharatiya intelligence, these networks continue to operate under the guise of humanitarian assistance.

In fact, back in 2009, Nepali Muslim Sangh even made an outrageous demand for incorporating Sharia-based personal law in Nepal, a Hindu-majority nation.

The implications for Bharat are profound. With a 1,750 km open border with Nepal, Bharat  has little ability to filter potential infiltrators. This border – traditionally a symbol of cultural kinship – is now becoming a potential conduit for jihadist movements. Radicalized individuals in Nepal can easily cross into Bharat’s states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, where Islamist networks are already active.

Bharat  has long been the prime target of groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Both are Pakistan-based outfits with a bloody record of attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai massacre. By establishing a logistical and ideological base in Nepal, these groups could bypass Bharat’s border security and carry out attacks with plausible deniability.

New Delhi is already taking notice. Security agencies are reported to have increased surveillance of NGOs and madrassas in Nepal with suspected foreign links. Bharatiya policy makers worry that Nepal, much like Bangladesh in the 1980s and 1990s, could become a “rear base” for Pakistan’s ISI to coordinate operations against Bharat.

At a recent seminar in Kathmandu titled “Terrorism in South Asia: Challenges to Regional Peace and Security”, Sunil Bahadur Thapa – Advisor to Nepal’s President and former Minister of Industry – warned that Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, both UN-designated terror groups, have deep historical ties with Al Qaeda and could use Nepal as a strategic transit hub against Bharat.

The alarming chronology of activities by Islamist outfits, foreign-funded NGOs, and terror-linked charities makes it evident that Nepal is now on the radar of jihadist strategists. Their endgame is not only to Islamize Nepal but also to use its geography as a springboard to destabilize India and Bangladesh.

Reports of secret training camps for Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives in Nepal only compound these fears.

Unlike Bharat, which has strong institutions, or Bangladesh, which has recent experience confronting Islamist militancy, Nepal is institutionally ill-prepared. Its political class remains deeply fragmented along ideological lines, with some leftist factions reportedly sympathetic to Islamist causes under the guise of “minority rights”. The lack of robust counterterrorism laws and intelligence-sharing mechanisms makes the country particularly vulnerable.

For South Asia, the stakes are high. If Nepal falls victim to Islamist infiltration, it will create a new corridor for jihadist activity – stretching from Pakistan through Afghanistan and Bangladesh into the heart of the Himalayas, directly threatening Bharat’s national security.What is unfolding in Nepal is not an isolated phenomenon – it is the replay of a well-tested Islamist strategy: enter under the cover of charity, build mosques and madrassas, radicalize youth, infiltrate politics, and ultimately destabilize nations from within.

If Nepal fails to act decisively now, the “roof of the world” could soon be transformed into another Taliban playground, with catastrophic consequences not only for its own fragile democracy but also for the security of Bharat and the entire South Asian region. The threat is real, the timeline is short, and complacency is no longer an option.