Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has used the recent hijab controversy in Karnataka to target Indian democracy and its people. Terrorist Zawahiri in a video said “we must stop being deceived by the mirage of Hindu democracy”.
In the 8.43-minute video clip of al-Zawahiri, which was verified by the US State Intelligence Group, Zawahiri supports Muskan Khan, a college student, she was protesting for the right to wear hijab inside college premises, in Karnataka, in early February. Muskan Khan is the same girl who has come into the limelight by wearing a ‘burqa’ in protest for hijab. Now she is getting the support of the world’s largest terrorist organization. India’s left lobby stood shoulder to shoulder with Muskan Khan when the hijab row was at its peak, now months later they are joined by Al Zawahiri.
In the Arabic video clip with English subtitles provided by Intelligence Group, a site that tracks online activity of jihadist organisations, Zawahiri also reads a poem, which he describes as “our Mujahid sister” and her “brave achievement”.
With this video surfacing, the al-Qaeda chief ended speculation of his death due to natural causes. The second video of the al-Qaeda chief in the past six months, mostly focused on the hijab controversy.
Addressing the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent, he said that they should realize that there is no such thing as ‘human rights’ or ‘respecting the constitution’ or ‘law’ in the real world.
“This is the same deception scheme the West has employed against us, the true nature of which was exposed by France, Holland and Switzerland when they banned the hijab, which allowed public nudity, ” Zawahiri said.
“The enemies of Islam are those who defame the hijab and attack Islamic Sharia. This is a war on Islam, its fundamentals, its laws, morals and etiquette.”
The hijab controversy began in January at a government college in Udupi, Karnataka, where six students attended classes wearing headscarves or hijabs in violation of the prescribed dress code. Later it spread to some other colleges around Karnataka.
The Karnataka High Court later dismissed all petitions by Muslim girl students seeking permission to wear the hijab in colleges, holding that the hijab was not a part of the essential religious practices of Islam.
