Ayman al-Zawahiri, the chief of the terror group Al Qaeda, released a video late on Tuesday, 5 April slamming the hijab row in Karnataka and praising Muskan Khan, the defiant student from the state's Mandya who raised slogans and stood up to a mob of saffron-clad youths who heckled her over her burqa.
Meanwhile, Muskan's father Mohammad Hussain Khan denounced Ayman Al Zawahiri's support and termed it 'wrong', saying that it was divisive.
"This is unnecessarily causing trouble. We are living peacefully in our country, we don't want him to talk about us...it is wrong, it is an attempt to create division among us."Muskan's father, as per NDTV.
Denying any links with the Al-Qaeda chief, he reportedly added that the police can initiate any inquiry to find out the truth.
"We don't know anything about it (video), we don't know who he is. I saw him today for the first time. He has said something in Arabic. We are all living here with love and trust like brothers," he added.
Earlier in the day, Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said that Ayman al-Zawahiri's statement proved involvement of "unseen hands" behind the uproar, while the state Education Minister BC Nagesh said that terrorists were attempting to "disturb the peace and create differences."
What the Terror Chief Said
In the eight-minute-long video, titled "The Noble Woman of India," al-Zawahiri said that the hijab controversy had exposed "the reality of Hindu India and the deception of its pagan democracy".
He also asked Indians to "avoid being deceived by the pagan Hindu democracy of India which, to begin with, was never more than a tool to oppress Muslims."
He said that it was the same kind of deception that was practised by France, Holland, and Switzerland when they banned the wearing of hijabs, "while allowing nudity."
'Muskan Bravely Challenged Hindu Mob': Al-Zawahiri
The Al Qaeda chief also praised Muskan Khan as the "noble woman of India" and "a sister". He said that Khan had bravely "challenged a mob of Hindu polytheists with defiant slogans of Takbeer." adding that he had written a poem in praise of the defiant student.
In a video, Khan could be seen raising slogans of "Allahu Akbar" in response to "Jai Sri Ram" slogans by saffron-clad Hindu anti-hijab protestors.
"May Allah reward her for showing a moral lesson to sisters plagued by an inferiority complex via-a-vis the decadent Western world," he said.
Al-Zawahiri also criticised other South Asian countries, saying that the governments of Pakistan and Bangladesh had been "imposed on us," and that they did not defend Al Qaeda, and preferred to defend "the very enemies they have empowered to fight against us".
Al Qaeda Video Proves 'Unseen Hands Behind Hijab Row': Karnataka Minister
Araga Jnanendra stated, "We have been saying this from the beginning, and the high court too during the hijab verdict had suggested the possibility of some unseen hands behind the hijab row...now it is proved, because Al-Qaeda people are now releasing videos."
"How things are happening, what is the link. All these things are being looked into by the police...they will find out," he added.
Meanwhile, Karnataka's minister of primary and secondary education BC Nagesh said that terrorists were attempting to "disturb the peace and create differences" among people in India, adding that they would never succeed in doing so.
"These people will never be able to succeed. The home department will observe such things, and if required they will act," Nagesh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Assam CM Himanta B Sarma also spoke on the video on Wednesday, saying, "Karnataka High Court gave a clear verdict that it's not expected of a student to wear hijab... the term 'uniform' came so that there's no difference between Hindu and Muslim. Al-Qaeda will never understand but Indian Muslims will."
About al-Zawahiri
There were reports in 2020 that al-Zawahiri had died of natural causes – which were belied after he released a video on 11 September 2021 to mark two decades since the 9/11 terror strike took place in New York.
Al-Zawahiri was Osama bin Laden's deputy when the 9/11 attack was carried out by Al Qaeda and succeeded him as the chief of the dreaded group following his death in 2011.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)