[Watch] Qaeda Chief Zawahiri Praises Karnataka Student Muskan Who Defied Hijab Ban

Bhubaneswar: Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has lauded “noblewoman of India” Muskan Khan for protesting against Hijab ban in Karnataka pre-university classrooms.

In a nine-minute video, released by Qaida’s official Shabab media and verified by the SITE intelligence group, Zawahiri praised the college student for challenging a ‘mob of Hindu polytheists’, who objected to her being in a burqa, and countered their “Jai Shri Ram” slogans by shouting “Allahu Akbar”.

According to translations provided by counter-terror experts on Twitter, including the SITE Intelligence Group that monitors jihadist websites, the Egyptian-born doctor accused ‘the pagan Hindu democracy of India’ of seeking to ‘oppress Muslims’.

He said he came to know about Mushkan from videos and social media and was so moved by the act of “a sister” and by her raising “cries of Takbeer” that he decided to write a poem in praise of her.

After reciting the poem, Zawahiri also attacked countries that have banned hijab, and accused Pakistan and Bangladesh, of being “allies of the West” and defending “the very enemies they have empowered to fight against us”.

Notably,  Zawahiri had taken over Qaeda’s leadership from Osama bin Laden. This is the first video of his since November 2021 and has quashed the rumours about his death.