You live by the Burqa, you die by the Burqa. [Background: juan cole, and Nicholas Schmidle's dispatch in TNR.]
My favorite bit about our Maulana Abdul Aziz, from this BBC report: "The maulana came out of the mosque with a group of girls wearing a burqa and carrying a handbag. The girls protested when he was stopped. But officers were suspicious and after a search, Maulana Abdul Aziz was identified and arrested," he told the BBC.
Another security official told AFP that the cleric had been picked out because of his "unusual demeanour".
"The rest of the girls looked like girls, but he was taller and had a pot belly," the official said.
Lest I make this man appear a fool, he is responsible for the death of, at least, 14 people, among them, a journalist.
COMMENTS
Andrew R. | July 04, 2007
I just want to express my condolences that your home country has to deal with both these assclowns *and* a military dictator.
MadSufidotcom | July 04, 2007
This is quite sad. These extremist "Maulanas" should be rounded up and put in jail. What was this man and his students hoping to achieve by creating such miscief? Anyway, do note that prominent Islamic scholars have condemned the recent endeavours of Lal Masjid. Mufti Rafi Usmani, the "grand mufti" of Pakistan, said about these students actions that for actions to be acceptable, they have to be in accordance to the limits of the Shariah — and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) lived within the limits of the law and urged the believers to live within the limits of the law at all times. Situations such as this, the Mufti said, are very dangerous, because Islam is a religion of law, and it commands its followers to abide by the law and to remain within its limits. When there are problems with the government, its laws, or the enforcement of those laws, then it is a believer's duty to take all legal means possible to seek to rectify matters. But one cannot take the law into one's own hand, as this is contrary to the Shariah and a recipe for lawlessness, crime, and vigilantism—and it creates very dangerous precedents.
Secular | July 05, 2007
The answer is secularization. Let us stop ignoring Pakistan's problem: religion!
maujkar | July 05, 2007
Last we saw him in person, he didnt have a 'pot belly'...but ..yes he is accountable for all the crap Red Mosque is into !! I hope its adminstration goes back to someone sane and students can benefit properly - or Mess-arraff is going to shut it down - completely !
Noumaan | July 05, 2007
Musharraf can not shutdown any Madrisah, madrissas are good for dictator, to divert attention from real issues to staged ones. and the Madrassah students are brain washed actors filled with passion and they are never afraid of cameras.
kinkminos | July 08, 2007
shameful or shameless? after mailana abdul aziz's shameful (or should it be shameless? i can't quite decide which) attempt at a getaway, is there any true-green muslin (cleric or otherwise-inclined) in our land of the puritanical whose head is not bowed in shame at his (her) cowardice (except perhaps for good ol' mailana furball)
Ali Shahan | July 09, 2007
This act or so-called maulana has created many problems for the muslim girls who always wear veil in public. Now whenever a groups of "burqa-poosh khawatein" is spotted in public place, it will create a doubt in the mind of people about the possibility of a suicide bomber or a militant in the disguise of a veiled girl. So the security forces specially our policemen who never leave such chance might interrupt those women, and ask them for their identity. This could create a lots of problem for poor girls. Not only in Pakistan, but in othe countries where girls are still allowed to use scarf or naqaab, might ban veil, due to the same reason.
kinkminos | July 15, 2007
@ali shahan: pity the poor rangroot tulla, who legally only ever gets to feel up his wife. how liberating for our law enforcement agencies. perhaps they might be distracted and titillated enough at the prospect of feeling up mysterious gunnysacked women to consider a reduction in their daily bhatta collection activities.