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Friday April 26, 2024

The terror genie

The circumstances that led Saad Aziz, an IBA graduate, to transform into a killing machine will surprise no one. The slow poisoning and brainwashing of vulnerable minds – either through teaching distorted history and overemphasising religion in curricula or through physical/virtual interaction with jihadi outfits – will churn our people

By our correspondents
May 26, 2015
The circumstances that led Saad Aziz, an IBA graduate, to transform into a killing machine will surprise no one. The slow poisoning and brainwashing of vulnerable minds – either through teaching distorted history and overemphasising religion in curricula or through physical/virtual interaction with jihadi outfits – will churn our people like Mumtaz Qadri, Faisal Shahzad, Saad Aziz etc.
Do we not know how the absence of a counter-narrative to the jihadi literature has played into the hands of terrorists? Do we not know how the changes made to curricula during Gen Zia’s reign have misled the nation? Do we not know that the vast majority of our religious scholars are involved in inciting hatred against other religious beliefs and sects? Do we not know that most of the jihadi outfits were created by the establishment? Though our decision-makers know how to respond to these threats, the million-dollar question is: who will bell the cat?
Masood Khan
Jubail
Saudi Arabia