Al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri, bashing all rumors about his death, reappeared in a video that was released on Wednesday. In the 9 minute long video, the successor of Bin Laden had expressed his support to Bibi Muskan Zainab Khan, who had shouted 'Allahu Akbar' slogans in Karnataka's Udupi during Hijab row.
In the video titled “The Noble Woman of India”, showing burqa-clad Muskan Khan, Zawahiri recited a poem praising the girl. "May Allah reward her for exposing the reality of Hindu India and the deception of its pagan democracy," the Al-Qaeda chief said. He was presumed dead due to natural causes earlier.
He said, "we must stop being deceived by the mirage of the pagan Hindu democracy". The video was released by the teorror outfit and verified by the American SITE Intelligence Group.
Zawahiri, one of the world's most wanted terrorists, attacked India further and said, " they must realise that in the real world there is no such thing as 'human rights' or 'respect of the Constitution' or 'law'."
"…It is exactly the same scheme of deception which the West has employed against us, the true nature of which was exposed by France, Holland, and Switzerland when they banned the hijab while allowing public nudity," he said.
"The enemies of Islam are one and the same…who vilify the hijab and assail the Islamic Shariah... It is a war on Islam, its core doctrines, its laws, ethics, and etiquettes."
Calling for the unity of Muslims from China to the Islamic Maghreb, and from the Caucasus to Somalia, Zawahiri said, "We must rely on Allah alone and actively cooperate with one another."
"We must realize that the governments imposed on us, specifically in Pakistan and Bangladesh, do not defend us; rather, they defend the very enemies that they have empowered them to fight against us," he said.
On the terrorist's remarks, Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra reacted and said, "We have been saying this from the beginning, and the High Court too during the hijab verdict had suggested the possibility of some unseen hands behind the hijab row...now it is proved, because Al-Qaeda people are now releasing videos."
The hijab row began in January from a government PU College in Udupi where six students who attended classes wearing headscarves in violation of the stipulated dress code were sent out. It later spread to a few other colleges in nearby Kundapur and Byndoor.
The Karnataka High Court later dismissed all writ petitions filed by Muslim girl students seeking permission to wear a hijab in colleges, saying Hijab is not a part of essential religious practices of Islam.
(pti inputs)
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