Pakistan razes madrasa in militant mosque complex
by Zeeshan Haider from Reuters
Lal Masjid had long been known as an Islamic radicals' stronghold, but hit international headlines this year when burqa-clad female students of Jamia Hafsa and male colleagues from the mosque complex launched an aggressive campaign to impose Taliban-style religious culture in Islamabad. They kidnapped women they accused of involvement in prostitution, abducted police and attacked music shops ... The government has appointed a soft-spoken cleric as the new imam of the mosque in what is seen as a move to neutralise radicals' influence. The new cleric, Ashfaq Ahmed, said he supported the cause of his predecessors but differed with their strategy. "Their demands for implementation of an Islamic system and reconstruction of demolished mosques were genuine and correct. But we differed with their line of action and that's why such a tragic incident has taken place," said the cleric, a graduate from an Islamic university in Saudi Arabia.