January 2008 bombing plot in Barcelona, Spain, "some media reports" stated that a Muslim leader in the city stated that the fourteen suspects arrested by police in a series of raids (where bomb-making materials were seized) were members of the Tablighi Jamaat. At the same time, many outside observers have described the group as "apolitical" at least in part because it avoids media and government notice, operates largely in secrecy, and has missionaries that lead austere lifestyles. Explanation for any connection Fred Burton, Scott Stewart, Mumtaz Ahmad, and Shireen Khan Burki explain the connection between TJ and jihadism by the fact that TJ shares much with groups that have been accused of breeding jihadis -- Salafis, Wahhabis and other 'revivalist' Islamist movements. They share the same conservative Islamic values and lifestyle, strict Islamic belief system and rejection of secularism; they "share the same core ideology and ultimate objectives (the expansion of Dar al Islam and the establishment of a global Caliphate)". According to US officials (the U.S. Government has closely monitored Tablighi Jamaat since September 2001), though the Tablighis do not have a direct link with terrorism, the teachings and beliefs of Tablighi Jamat have been a cornerstone for joining in radical Muslim groups. By asking Muslims to "shun politics and public affairs", TJ leaves "a gap" in members' worldview/belief system; since "some people find they cannot ignore what is happening in the world around them, especially when that world includes wars". When jihadist groups "offer religiously sanctioned prescriptions as to how 'good Muslims' should deal with life's injustices", some TJ members listen. In addition, Mumtaz Ahmad notes, its "apolitical stance" has helped reassure Muslim and non-Muslim states, governments and others who put severe restrictions on politically activist Islamic groups; it allows TJ to penetrate and operate in these societies. Thus TJ provides "a cover, a conduit and a fertile recruiting ground for jihadi organizations such as Al Qaeda and Lashkar-i-Taiba". TJ has been said to enable Al-Qaida "by supporting recruitment in radical madrassas and fundraising at mosques all over Pakistan." Law enforcement officials says that Tablighi Jamaat's presence all around the world and its apolitical stance have been exploited by militant groups. A former homeland security employee described Tablighi Jamaat as a "trans-national Islamist network". According to Alex Alexiev, "perhaps 80% percent of the Islamist extremists have come from Tablighi ranks, prompting French intelligence officers to call Tablighi Jamaat