World

Top Pakistani College Hosts Contest to Praise bin Laden

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Two months after the covert U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden, posters emblazoned with images of the burning World Trade Center towers appeared at the country’s largest university advertising a literary contest to glorify the slain al-Qaida chief.

The poem and essay competition at the prestigious Punjab University shows the footholds of hard-line Islamists on college campuses and growing efforts to raise their profile and influence even in the relatively cosmopolitan atmosphere of Pakistan’s culture capital, Lahore.

The contest’s organizers have kept their identities hidden. But many students and teachers suspect it is being held by a powerful Islamist student group that has increasingly enforced its conservative religious views on the rest of the campus – sometimes violently.

The Islami Jamiat Talaba, which is connected to Pakistan’s largest Islamist party, has denied involvement, saying it doesn’t participate in secret activities. But its leaders have publicly acknowledged that many members support bin Laden and have a profound hatred for the U.S.

The group‘s rising ambitions have intensified fears about the radicalization of Pakistan’s educated middle classes, who make up a large part of the public university’s population. The educated classes have been seen as a bulwark against militant groups such as the Taliban in the nuclear-armed country.

The ability of Islami Jamiat Talaba, or Islamic Student Group, to gain ground on the university – even though many students reject its radical views – also reflects a general unwillingness of Pakistani authorities to challenge the powerful Islamist forces.

“Whoever is America’s friend is a traitor!” roared the head of the student group, Zubair Safdar, in an interview with The Associated Press.

His views were echoed by 19-year-old student Bismah Khan as she read one of the posters promoting the bin Laden contest. One of three topics for the essay section was: “Osama, a thorn piercing the hearts of infidels.”

The group holding the contest identifies itself only as “Sheik Lovers” – a reference to bin Laden, who’s often called the “Sheik” – and provided an email address for contestants to submit their entries by June 30. Attempts by the AP to contact organizers by email went unanswered, and it’s unclear what kind of prizes would go to the winners.

Many students said they opposed the contest, reflecting the low support for bin Laden, al-Qaida and militant groups across the nation. “The killer of humanity cannot be a great person,” said student Ali Akbar.

A survey taken after bin Laden’s death by the Washington-based Pew Research Center showed that 12 percent of Pakistanis have a favorable view of al-Qaida. But only 10 percent approve of the U.S. Navy SEAL operation that killed him May 2 not far from Islamabad. The raid humiliated Pakistan because the government was not told about it beforehand.

The survey of some 1,251 Pakistanis had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

Expressing opinions freely can be dangerous business at Punjab University, which has an enrollment of roughly 30,000, because of the risk that members of Islami Jamiat Talaba will deem them against Islam, said students and teachers.

The group has effectively seized control of running the dormitories and sends groups of men across campus to enforce its strict brand of Islam: music is forbidden and men and women are not allowed to sit together outside class. It also discourages the formation of rival student groups.

bin Laden and (Taliban leader) Mullah Omar,” said Sajid Ali, the head of the university’s philosophy department.

One of these “Vice and Virtue” squads last week beat up a philosophy student who was sitting with a female classmate, said Safdar, head of the student group and university spokesman Khurram Shahzad. Teachers who cross the group also have allegedly been targeted.

“The university is not a date point,” said Safdar. “If boys and girls walk holding hands, sit together back to back or lay on the lawn, this is not Islamic culture,” he said.

Some of the philosophy students, mainly girls, staged a protest after the beating, shouting “Go Jamiat Go!“ and ”Shame Jamiat Shame!” But several members of the group appeared and pushed away the protesters.

Attempts by the administration to rein in the group have been stymied by the influence of its parent organization, the Jamaat-e-Islami party, which many politicians rely on for votes, teachers said.

Earlier this year, members of both groups rallied tens of thousands of people across Pakistan in support of a man who murdered a liberal provincial governor because of his criticism of harsh laws for insulting Islam.

One of the ways the student group increases support on campus is by targeting new students, many of them from rural areas, and giving them extra food in the cafeteria and special concessions for tea, juice and facilities such as laundry, students and teachers said. They also grant them positions within the group around campus, giving them a taste of leadership.

“They are very vulnerable,” said Naumana Amjad, an assistant psychology professor. “They are influenced quickly.”

Concern is rising in Pakistan about the participation of well-educated Pakistanis in militant groups, rather than just poor students streaming out of radical Islamist schools in remote parts of the country.

The Pakistani-American man who tried to detonate a car bomb in New York City’s Times Square last year, Faisal Shahzad, was well-educated and came from an affluent Pakistani family. He said he acted out of anger about U.S. attacks on Muslims overseas. Others have expressed frustration with Pakistan’s alliance with the U.S.

A medical doctor and an engineer were allegedly involved in an attack on the regional office of Pakistan’s most powerful intelligence agency in Lahore in 2009, according to police records. Two other medical doctors allegedly supported militants who attacked the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad in 2008 and two mosques of the minority Ahmadi sect in Lahore in 2010, the records said.

Three former members of Islami Jamiat Talaba allegedly acted as hosts and facilitators for a Pakistani Taliban suicide squad that attacked a mosque near army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi in 2009, killing 35 people, said intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Hafiz Mohammad Iqbal, dean of the education faculty at Punjab University, said students were in danger of being radicalized because of the lackluster quality of education at public universities relative to private schools and the poor job prospects after graduation.

This environment can lead students in “the direction of radicalism and extremism,” he said.

—

Associated Press writer Babar Dogar in Lahore contributed to this report.

Comments (77)

1 2 3
  • restoretheusa
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:51pm

    maybe we ought to drop a few bombs on that college and give them good reason to hate the USA.
    Same reason I hate Bin Laden and now all muslims…for attacking our people on 9/11.

    I wish God would rid the earth of these animals already…Sorry that was an huge insult to animals. Animals are not as barbaric and probably smell better too.

    Report Post »  
  • dktrdktr
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:50pm

    maybe we could get a list of all entrants and their addresses? might make a good addition to the no fly list and also help us set some priorities for predator drones. I wonder if we ‘d run out of missiles before we ran out of targets? Be fun to find out.

    Report Post »  
  • desertkid
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:47pm

    Replying to the headline. How about a swimming contest?

    Report Post »  
  • Robert-CA
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:47pm

    ROSE-ELLEN the muslim troll is here again .

    Report Post » Robert-CA  
  • geonj
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:39pm

    since islam is in a declared holy war against all of us infidels, we should be arming ourselves for the killing that is coming in defense of our religion from the attack of the false prophet mohammed and the false teachings of the koran. i have no faith in the so called “moderate” muslem. the koran commands all of islam to kill us if we do not convert. make no mistake, this is war and blood has already been shed.

    Report Post » geonj  
  • sweetscience
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:33pm

    Good for The Blaze…I’ve read four articles tody (not just the headline), and in every case, there’s some whiny bigmouth complaining about the “reply” system. In truth, the vast majority of those sqawkin‘ is because their stupid little comment isn’t showing up higher on the list. This is awesome, and I hope the Blaze sticks to this policy, thus thinning out the heard of self-important busy-bodies who think that the world hangs on their every meaningless post.

    Report Post »  
  • Baikonur
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:32pm

    OK, they are fools and a**holes to have a speaker like this. How about us allowing people like Glenn, Rush, all of Fox news on the air–they are just as full of hatred and just as much cheerleaders for violence.

    All of them false prophets!

    Report Post » Baikonur  
  • Its Gonna Getcha
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:32pm

    One way to know if your religion is working for you, if it helps you to see into other’s souls.

    Report Post » Its Gonna Getcha  
  • dcwu
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:29pm

    Zero all foreign aid.
    Zero all federal departments except state, treasury, war, and attorney general.
    It worked for George Washington.
    And remember Captain Parker’s words – “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here. ”
    And let the Pakistanis know that the latitude and longitude of Lahore is in our ICBMs.

    Report Post »  
  • bitter clinger
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:28pm

    Ward Churchill should submit his resume.

    Report Post » bitter clinger  
  • Black Manta
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:25pm

    In the last days the GOOD will be known as evil, & EVIL will be known as good…

    Report Post » Black Manta  
  • NHwinter
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:20pm

    And whoever is friends of the terrorist (radical Islamist) and Muslim Brotherhood is a traitor. Keep the radical 60′s hippies and anti-American Americans out of our schools and colleges.

    Report Post » NHwinter  
  • Willie Stoker
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:20pm

    blanket bomb the area and forget about it!

    Report Post » Willie Stoker  
  • Richard Compton
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:14pm

    So just how long will it be before our colleges and universities do the same kind of thing? Not long I would surmise based on the way they view killers in history such as Che.

    Report Post »  
    • rose-ellen
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:52pm

      He believed he was an independence fighter for his people and one day here too he should be recognized as such.yes he was a mass murderer,but so are we.Hopefully the last legacy of colonial ,post colonial and american neo colonial[by proxy support of dictators who murdered their own people who dared to disseny from having proxy american backed dictators-Mubarek?] anf divided the land into western seving political divisons,harming the people..Let those muslims have self determination and we have no business subverting people through dictatoring that benefirts us but harms them.We created him as imperialism inevitably and rightfully so comes back to bite the imperialist dictatorrial powers[US].May he rest in peace-and clear your head of the hubris in your false narrarrtive about your noble policies abroad and you might see how Osama truely was an independence fighter with a just cause..

      Report Post »  
    • Baikonur
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 6:52pm

      @rose-ellen
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:52pm
      ‘He believed he was an independence fighter for his people and one day here too he should be recognized as such.yes he was a mass murderer,but so are we.’
      **************
      No, this is not true. He set out to murder as many innocent people as possible all over the world to make a political point. We also kill innocent people, but not on pupose–as collateral damage that we try to avoid as much as possible. There is a difference.

      Report Post » Baikonur  
    • rose-ellen
      Posted on July 2, 2011 at 12:32am

      When it”s in our interests to kill innocent people we do and have throughout our history.[carpet boming of villages, and cities,etc. ]He wanted to attack our military but since we protect our military from attack,civilians became collateral damage.keep telling yourselves we’re not mass murderers of civilians if you choose,the world knows better and so did osama. american propaganda[a lie repeated enough becomes the trruth].

      Report Post »  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:13pm

    Time to boycott all Pakistani businesses. If the government won’t do it, we can.

    Report Post » Gonzo  
  • capecodsully
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:12pm

    He makes great fish food, how’s that for praise?

    Report Post »  
  • needanotherReagan
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:10pm

    Give them a few billion more, they’ll come around.

    Report Post »  
  • Konservative PUNK
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:09pm

    Admiral Ackbar from Star Wars? He was an ugly S.O.B.

    Report Post » Konservative PUNK  
    • Czar Casm
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:19pm

      Ok here’s my entry for the contest:

      OBL was a man that would strap bombs on children yet never would he do as he said, praise OBL.
      OBL praised the virtues of his religion yet had porno at his house, praise OBL.
      OBL came from wealth yet did not offer opportunities for others, praise OBL.
      Praise OBL, praise OBL.

      Respectfully submitted.

      Report Post »  
  • JUSTANOTHEROPINION
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:06pm

    What to do, what to do; oh I have an idea, answer the following question and do it. What would our brave nations father do if they were here now?

    Report Post »  
  • Konservative PUNK
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:06pm

    ***** is a bad word?

    Report Post » Konservative PUNK  
  • 13th Imam
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:05pm

    This format stinks Blaze .

    Report Post » 13th Imam  
    • JUSTANOTHEROPINION
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:10pm

      I have found TheBlaze to be pretty responsive to their readers sugestions for improvement so if you are going to critisize atleast alaborate a little and maybe throw out a few sugestions. Just sayin!

      Report Post »  
    • Robert-CA
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:44pm

      13TH IMAM
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:05pm
      This format stinks Blaze .
      ___________________
      YEP .

      Report Post » Robert-CA  
    • TRUK62
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 10:50pm

      We need to start with our own liberal indoctrination centers here in the U.S. that disguise them selves as colleges and places of higher learning. When I hear a friend say that they are sending their kids to a state or Ivy League college I can’t help but tell them not to be surprised when they get back a nit wit liberal with a psychic lobotomy. I can’t believe that people still think that colleges are objective places to learn and exchange free ideas….. you know, those ideals that made us the best learned, most technologically advanced nation on the planet. Ever since the hippies took over the colleges they have gone down hill steadily while the private colleges are excelling. All we need to do for the colleges in Pakistan and the rest of the middle east is cut off funding if we are providing any and cut off the countries they exist in. We’ll end up fighting them someday too. The 12th emam has to jump out of the well so lets help him along and get it over with and then let the reforms in the cult of islam begin.

      Report Post » TRUK62  
  • Konservative PUNK
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:03pm

    Good, all the more reason to NOT meet with the ****** Bro’hood!

    Report Post » Konservative PUNK  
    • Anonymous T. Irrelevant
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:06pm

      Sounds like Nazi Germany/The Empire with thought control, violence to anyone who doesn’t tow the line.
      Could anyone have a worse name than Ali Ahkbar?

      Report Post » Anonymous T. Irrelevant  
    • rose-ellen
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 5:44pm

      The good germans are the americans who want to murder anyone who believes differently then they do.People have the right to their opinions about Osama and to honor him .The world doesn’t belong to you .You hypocrites now want to dictate to others even what to believe.Freedom of expression [except if we really hate you} Kudos to the pakistanies[for harboring him]and for honoring him as an expression of their natural freedom to believe and express what ever they wantAmericanism-the religion of hypocrisy.But those muslims do their thing !And they correctly recognize him as a independence fighter.You’re the imperialist who hid behind proxy dictators to control muslims for your greedy interersts[oil,military bases,unjust support of israeli occupation]etcA dishonable country the worlds biggest terrorists.Now like nazi’s wanting to murder people in countries you dominate for expressing their beliefs.Kudos to the defiant pakistanis who defy the dictatorial american nazis attempting to control and silence them.Poems to their great osama oh my another crack in dictatorial world domination! it’s not so easy to take over the world even for the 21st century american nazis – in this century of the people- even people composing poems to their great osama who gave those dictatorial american mass murdering hypocrites a taste of their own medicine..

      Report Post »  
    • muhamadhater
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 10:32pm

      Well thank God muslims are peace loving as the libs will tell us…freakin droolers!!! These people are worse then the nazis…We need to start kickin all there asses now before they got us on the ropes!!!BAN the muslim religeon in America and every other free country, we need 2 stand up now cause there starting to get organized. And once they do organize and infiltrate its gonna be alot harder 2 get rid of them!!!

      Report Post » muhamadhater  
  • welovetheUSA
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:00pm

    Time to close down these liberal radical colleges…….this guy should be held to the standard of treason.

    Report Post » welovetheUSA  
  • nacilbuper
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 3:59pm

    Thank God Obama sent them all that money.

    Report Post » nacilbuper  
  • Ironmaan
    Posted on July 1, 2011 at 3:56pm

    And we call these people allies? Their treachery knows no bounds.
    http://guerillatics.com

    Report Post »  
    • GayDem4Beck
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:10pm

      Couldn’t agree more, we should cut all ties and aid to this country ASAP. We need a POTUS with a backbone and a set of brass, well you get the idea

      Report Post » GayDem4Beck  
    • CatB
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:12pm

      CUT OFF THE MONEY to Pock e ston (Obama speak)

      TEA!

      And other Terrorist supporters!

      Report Post »  
    • rose-ellen
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:34pm

      They’re not treacherous,they’re authentic[a government that approves of americans mass murdering their people is not authentic].it’s not so easy to take over the world!;You can commit your thuggish crimes abroad but you can‘t control people’s minds.Kudos they ‘re doing this.The world does not belong to you and they have their perspective on their great Osama[the man who succeeded in doing what no regime did].He brought to you for the first time in your murderous dictatorial history.to the knowledge that there are consequeences for YOU for your policies toward THEM [proxy support of dictators for cheap oil.military bases, vetoing with a smug stroke of a pen every UN resolution to bring justice to palestinians,use of rendition as we lie that we believe in democracy and human rights for all etc].He was an independence fighter for his people [muslims under the thumb of american unjust and hypocritical meddling in his peoples homelands]Our anger is really because that was not suppose to happen;that we could act in the world for our interests at the expense of other peoples interests in their own homelands was a given. That we had acted in the world with impunity up until their great Osama came along is the true source of our anger[not because he murdered;we spent the whole last century murdering civilians for our own intersts]Hypocrites.The world belongs to people,not goverrnments and the 21st century is the century of all people launched when your chikens came home to roo

      Report Post »  
    • thepatriotdave
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 4:43pm

      They are just copying some of the Liberal Universities here in the USA that called Bush a terrorist and bin laden a man of peace. All part of the “We Hate the USA” crowd.

      Allen West for President
      http://www.AMillionGoWest.com

      Report Post » thepatriotdave  
    • JRook
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 5:38pm

      Clearly this attack and then nation build strategy started under Bush is working well. We are clearly capturing the hearts and mind of the young adults. We need to bring all our troops home and deploy 200 special forces units of 10 men or so to undertake select seek and kill missions. Notify all countries we reserve the right to go in and get known terrorists like OBL and indicate we will let them know of any action 10 mins. before it happens. All economic and military aid should be tied to them not opposing such actions. Any country that takes hostile actions against us should be dealt with swiftly and harshly. These sterile pseudo wars are nonsense and do nothing but pour money into defense contractors and companies who are now taking advantage of the nation building money. Haliburton comes to miind.

      Report Post »  
    • rose-ellen
      Posted on July 1, 2011 at 6:25pm

      spoken like a 21st century brainwashed good german -whose religion is americanism and human rights are only reserved for members of that religion and their proxys.Americanism-the biggest threat to mankind on the planet.long live the peoples of pakistan and their right to believe whatever they want about Osama and anything else.

      Report Post »  
    • Secret Squirrel
      Posted on July 3, 2011 at 9:31pm

      .
      First prize is a 7/11 franchise.
      Second prize is a taxi cab in the city of your choice.
      Consolation prize is a condo in Dearborn.

      Report Post » Secret Squirrel  
1 2 3

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love