Islamabad: A library in Pakistan’s capital has been named after Osama Bin Laden, the infamous terrorist leader of Al-Qaeda, responsible for the deaths of hundreds.
The library has been established in Islamabad’s Red Mosque, by Maulana Abdul Aziz, the Mosque’s cleric and head of religious school “Madrassa Jamia Hafsaâ€. Named: “Library of Osama Bin Laden, the Martyrâ€, it is housed in the former militant hideout raided in 2007 by then army Chief Pervez Musharraf.
While Osama Bin Laden remains known as World’s most dreaded terrorist across the globe; Pakistan’s religious parties and clerics think of him as a hero. Â
The discovery of World’s most dreaded and wanted man in Pakistan’s military hub Abbottabad, attracted global criticism on Pakistan for keeping Osama Bin Laden in hiding, half a kilometer away from the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in Abbottabad. Pakistan, however, denied any involvement in housing Osama or in facilitating US Navy Seals to carry out the operation in Abbottabad in 2011.
Though the one room library has been named on Osama Bin Laden, it will carry only books about the teachings of Islam, said Abdul Rehman, the administrator of the religious school.
Madrassa Jamia Hafsa is primarily a girl’s religious seminary run by Maulana Abdul Aziz. Aziz is known to be a supporter of Al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban and supports their ideology of imposition of Shariah law in Pakistan. Aziz recently revealed that at least 500 female suicide bombers of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are ready to carry out attacks across Pakistan.
Aziz was also the first one to back out of the peace negotiations between TTP and the Pakistan government because he believed that these talks are useless until Pakistan imposes Sharia law in the country.
Religious Madrassas are an important part of the religious education in Pakistan. Thousands of young students study religious teachings in these Madrassas and idealize their clerics like Aziz as role models.
Having a library named after the man behind the September 11 attacks and a declared known global terrorist; it is evident that anti-American sentiment continues to prevail amongst the young minds of the students of these Madrassas. The slain Al-Qaeda chief is still regarded as an icon by most students of Islamic school and Madrassas in Pakistan.
Pakistan is currently into the second and most sensitive phase of its peace negotiations with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Seize fire agreements have been done between the two negotiating committees, which has also compelled United States to announce closure of drone strikes in Pakistan as its support to the peace dialogue process.