Haroon Siddiqui, Altaf Hussain,

Marwa Sheribini was buried in her native Egypt where angry protesters condemned German Islamophobia, as did the Arab League. Elsewhere, Muslims berated the Western media's silence. Among them: Wahida Valiante, the hijab-wearing president of the Canadian Islamic Congress. Its executive director, Zijad Delic, added that if Sheribini's attacker had been a Muslim, "the media would've reported it widely. Then for days afterwards, they would deliberate the case and conclude that Muslims are `brutal and uncivilized.' But when a racist European murders an innocent woman, the silence is deafening."
The above examples point to geopolitical inconsistencies or instances of individual racism and state complicity/complacency. But they most glaringly highlight the West's appalling, and dangerous, ignorance of matters Muslim. Our appalling ignorance of matters Muslim



TNS: How do you view the role of right-wing parties, such as Jamaat Islami and Imran Khan’s Tehreek Insaaf, in Pakistan?

AH: Every enlightened person and one who has even a little knowledge of history knows the fact that the Jamat-e-Islami was against the Pakistan Movement. Jamaat-e-Islami went too far in the opposition of the Pakistan Movement and even termed it as the movement of “Kafiristan”. It crossed all limits by even terming the Founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam as “Kafir-e-Azam”. It is known to all those who go to colleges, universities or other institutions that Jamaat-e-Islami, through its students organisation Islami Jamiat-e-Tuleba introduced Kalashnikov, sten guns and other lethal weapons in all the educational institutions to suppress other students organisations and made the educational institutions into the “No Go” Areas for other students organisations. Very recently according to the reports of print and electronic media, State secret agencies and law enforcement agencies including the police stated that all Al-Qaeda people have either been arrested or discovered in the houses of Jamaat-e-Islami’s well known office bearers. Very recently the culprit of the armed gang who attacked the players of Sri Lanka Cricket Team in Lahore was arrested by the police who confessed that he stayed in Mansoora in Lahore, the main headquarters of Jamaat-e- Islami, for two days before launching the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team. He also confessed that the weapons he and his accomplices used were provided in Mansoora. What further can I say about the role of the Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan. Readers are the best judges. As far as the role of other religious political parties is concerned, almost all the parties who were against the Pakistan Movement are supporting Taliban or Al-Qaeda directly or indirectly.As far as Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e- Insaaf is concerned, I have never made any comment on him or his political party, so please forgive me again for not making any comment. My body is in exile but my soul is in Pakistan – Altaf Hussain By Murtaza Ali Shah