Karachi protest

When Abdul Aziz, chief cleric of the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque), announced creation of a Taliban style Islamic court to crack down on "vulgar" activities, tens of thousands turned out in protest.

The protest organisers, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), branded the mosque "religious terrorists".

Fatwa

The MQM is largely supportive of the policies of President Pervez Musharraf.

MQM leader Altaf Hussain told Sunday's rally by telephone from London via loudspeakers: "Islam is a religion of peace and there is no place in it for using force or terrorism.

"The people of Islamabad are insecure and under threat due to the activities of these religious terrorists."

Abdul Aziz is a vocal critic of the Pakistan government's support for the US-led "war on terrorism".

Last week he announced a court based on Islamic Sharia law and began an anti-vice campaign.

The court passed a fatwa on Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar after she was pictured hugging a man following a paragliding flight.

Comments

[endorendil]

Thanks for pointing to this. There are moderate muslims arguing against extremists, but they rarely get much press. Too bad that it had to be foreign press again...