Al Qaeda chief Ayman Al Zawahiri wades into Karnataka hijab row, asks Indian Muslims to unite

Ayman Al Zawahiri, the chief of global terror group Al Qaeda, on Wednesday spoke on the hijab controversy in Karnataka and asked Muslims in the subcontinent to fight “intellectually, using the media and with weapons on the battlefield”.

In an almost nine-minute video released by Al Qaeda mouthpiece As-Sahab media on Tuesday, Zawahiri showered praise on Karnataka student Muskan Khan who raised Islamic slogans after being heckled by a right-wing Hindu mob shouting slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

The video, in fact, starts with a clip of Khan taking on the mob, followed by Zawahiri’s address which for the entire duration of the video talks about just this issue.

The terror leader said Khan’s video had inspired him to write a poem that he recited at the end of the video.

The hijab row has prominently figured in propaganda literature of some global terror groups. Last month, the propaganda outlets of both the Islamic State and Al Qaeda had the issue on their covers. IS-associated magazine Voice of Hind had carried a cover titled “The Daughters of the Companions” on the issue.

Contrary to suggestions that he had died of natural causes in 2020, the Al Qaeda chief’s reference to a contemporary issue has also confirmed that he is alive.

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