In a significant development on Tuesday (April 5) night, terrorist organisation al Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahiri extended his support to the burqa protestors in Karnataka and praised Muskan Zainab Khan, who had become the face of protests in Karnataka.
A short video of Muskan shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ to a group of students had gone viral in February. The daughter of the Popular Front of India (PFI) leader Abdul Sukoor, Muskan became the face of protests in Karnataka.
In the first week of February, some Muslim girls suddenly started demanding that they be allowed in classrooms in a burqa. When the administration denied permission, they moved Karnataka High Court.
A three-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court dismissed the petition of the protesting Muslim girls.
Zawahiri’s video, released by al Qaeda’s media wing As-Sahab, was verified by SITE Intelligence, an American non-governmental organisation that tracks the online activity of jihadist organisations.
Zawahiri calls Muskan Khan her sister and ‘The Noblewoman of India’ in the video. He asks Indian Muslims to react to the burqa controversy in the country.
After America hunted down then al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in May 2011 in Pakistan’s Abbottabad, al Zawahiri is heading al Qaeda.
At the peak of the burqa controversy in February, the Taliban had extended support to the protesting Muslim girls. Multiple media investigations had later revealed that the burqa controversy was orchestrated by the Islamist organisation the PFI.
The protesting girls have now challenged the Karnataka High Court order in the Supreme Court, where the matter is sub judice. The Supreme Court turned down the request for an urgent hearing.
The burqa controversy, which had started in Karnataka, spilled over to other states too. Muslim girl students in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh also started demanding that they be allowed in classrooms in a burqa.
Even after the order by the Karnataka High Court, some Muslim students reached campuses in burqas for appearing in their exams. When the administration explained that even the Karnataka High Court had dismissed the petition, they did not relent.
After she became the face of the protests in Karnataka, Zeeshan Siddique, an MLA from the Maharashtra Congress, visited her residence in Mandya and gifted her an iPhone and a smartwatch.
Islamic outfit Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind had also announced a cash reward of 5 lakh rupees to Muskan Khan. Tahera Shaikh Rasheed, mayor of Malegaon Municipal Corporation, had announced that the ‘Urdu Ghar’ in the city would be named after Muskan Zainab Khan.
