British Islamist group to issue fatwa against Malala
22 Nov 2012 5:18 AM IST
A new Britain-based Islamist group plans to meet in Islamabad to issue a religious decree against a Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Taliban, accusing her of supporting ‘occupying’ U.S. forces.
The move against Malala Yousufzai, 15, is likely to provoke outrage. In the days following her shooting in October, she became an international icon and world leaders pledged to support her campaign for girls' education.
‘There will be a fatwa issued regarding Malala Yousufzai taking into account the full story of her injury including her public statements in support of the occupying U.S. army in the region and mocking of key symbols of Islam such as hijab and jihad,’ said Abu Baraa, a senior member of Shariah4Pakistan.
The group, whose website features a blog below a photograph of Yousufzai in a hospital bed titled ‘Don't Believe The Crocodile Tears for Malala Yousufzai’, is associated with some of Britain's most hardline Islamists.
Anjem Choudary, a prominent radical cleric in Britain, said the fatwa could be issued on 30 November at Lal Masjid, one of Pakistan's most notorious mosques, where a 2007 army raid crushed a Taliban-style movement controlling the compound.
The mosque's deputy head, Maulana Amir Siddique, denied the group would hold such a conference but organisers insisted they did not need permission to gather in a public place of worship. Yousufzai is recovering in a British hospital. Neither Baraa nor Choudary would say what punishment Yousufzai might face if the group found her guilty of violating Islam.
‘Nobody is saying we are going to get out our swords and go and look for Malala... The point is a wider issue: it is about the American and Pakistani involvement in maintaining the British and American interests ...,’ Choudary told Reuters.
‘Malala is one of the issues we are going to be addressing because she is being used as a propaganda tool by the enemies of Muslims to say: 'Look, Muslims don't believe in education' which is absurd.’
Tens of thousands of Britons have called on the government to nominate Yousufzai for a Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting girls' education.
MALALA GETS BRAVERY AWARD
Pakistani girl Malala Yousufzai, who became the face of her country's struggle against the Taliban, has been awarded for her bravery and advocation of education for girls in adverse conditions in Swat.
The award was given out by World Peace and Prosperity Foundation Chairman Prince Ali Khan, at the Cholmondeley Room of the House of Lords last night.
Malala is being treated at a British hospital after she was shot in the head by Taliban militants.
The award was received on her behalf by Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan to the UK, S Zulfiqar Gardezi. ‘It is Malala or her family who should have received the award. In their absence, I will pass it on to her,’ he said.
Malala was flown to the UK on Oct 15 and admitted at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham where she is recovering.
The move against Malala Yousufzai, 15, is likely to provoke outrage. In the days following her shooting in October, she became an international icon and world leaders pledged to support her campaign for girls' education.
‘There will be a fatwa issued regarding Malala Yousufzai taking into account the full story of her injury including her public statements in support of the occupying U.S. army in the region and mocking of key symbols of Islam such as hijab and jihad,’ said Abu Baraa, a senior member of Shariah4Pakistan.
The group, whose website features a blog below a photograph of Yousufzai in a hospital bed titled ‘Don't Believe The Crocodile Tears for Malala Yousufzai’, is associated with some of Britain's most hardline Islamists.
Anjem Choudary, a prominent radical cleric in Britain, said the fatwa could be issued on 30 November at Lal Masjid, one of Pakistan's most notorious mosques, where a 2007 army raid crushed a Taliban-style movement controlling the compound.
The mosque's deputy head, Maulana Amir Siddique, denied the group would hold such a conference but organisers insisted they did not need permission to gather in a public place of worship. Yousufzai is recovering in a British hospital. Neither Baraa nor Choudary would say what punishment Yousufzai might face if the group found her guilty of violating Islam.
‘Nobody is saying we are going to get out our swords and go and look for Malala... The point is a wider issue: it is about the American and Pakistani involvement in maintaining the British and American interests ...,’ Choudary told Reuters.
‘Malala is one of the issues we are going to be addressing because she is being used as a propaganda tool by the enemies of Muslims to say: 'Look, Muslims don't believe in education' which is absurd.’
Tens of thousands of Britons have called on the government to nominate Yousufzai for a Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting girls' education.
MALALA GETS BRAVERY AWARD
Pakistani girl Malala Yousufzai, who became the face of her country's struggle against the Taliban, has been awarded for her bravery and advocation of education for girls in adverse conditions in Swat.
The award was given out by World Peace and Prosperity Foundation Chairman Prince Ali Khan, at the Cholmondeley Room of the House of Lords last night.
Malala is being treated at a British hospital after she was shot in the head by Taliban militants.
The award was received on her behalf by Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan to the UK, S Zulfiqar Gardezi. ‘It is Malala or her family who should have received the award. In their absence, I will pass it on to her,’ he said.
Malala was flown to the UK on Oct 15 and admitted at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham where she is recovering.
Next Story
