Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday reacting in response to an Al-Qaeda minister’s video about the Hijab Row said that Al-Qaeda will never comprehend, but Indian Muslims will.
In a video published on Tuesday, Al Qaeda chief Ayman Al Zawahiri addressed the hijab debate in India, urging Muslims on the subcontinent to oppose the claimed assault on Islam “intellectually, through the media, and with weapons on the battlefield.”
“The Karnataka High Court gave a clear ruling that it is not expected of a student to wear hijab,” Mr Biswa remarked of Zawahiri’s views. “Term uniform came so that there is no difference b/w Hindu/Muslim.”
According to news agency ANI, Assam’s chief minister said, “The Karnataka High Court ruled that a student is not required to wear a hijab…term uniforms were introduced so that there would be no distinction between Hindus and Muslims. Al-Qaeda would never comprehend, but Muslims in India will.”
Muskan Khan, a Karnataka student who yelled Allah-hu-Akbar shouts after being heckled by a right-wing Hindu crowd yelling “Jai Shri Ram” in February, was praised by Zawahiri in an approximately nine-minute video issued by Al Qaeda organ As-Sahab media on Tuesday. Zawahiri said that her “defiant shout of takbeer” when confronted by “a crowd of Hindu polytheists” “emboldened the spirit of Jihad” and reawakened the Muslim people.
It proves the involvement of “unseen hands,” according to Karnataka Minister Araga Jnanendra.
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Police are keeping an eye on developments and keeping track of what’s going on in this case, he said.
“We’ve been saying this since the beginning, and the High Court, too, during the hijab verdict, hinted at the possibility of unseen hands behind the hijab row…now it’s proven, because Al-Qaeda people are now releasing videos,” Jnanendra said in response to a question about Zawahiri praising Muskaan.