Jihadi literature available once more outside Lal Masjid

LAHORE: The arrival of Maulana Aziz after release on bail coincides with the appearance of militant motivational literature and propaganda videos in front of Lal Masjid, according to DawnNews.

 

As Interior Ministry informed the National Assembly that publication and distribution of hate literature has been banned, militant videos and pamphlets professing jihad were being sold openly just a few kilometers from there out side the Lal Masjid.

 

However, just outside the mosque, Saeed, a video seller told DawnNews ‘Now that Maulana Aziz has been restored, all activities will return.’

 

The motivational militant videos being sold outside the Lal Masjid include scenes from battles of Iraq and Afghanistan showing the attacks on US led coalition forces.

 

The jihadi films being sold in the heart of the capital shows videos of suicide bombers, and incite others to join in the fight.

 

In one of the videos, young boys are shown being launched as suicide bombers covered in glory, aiming at motivating young impressionable minds to follow them.

 

Some of the videos being sold outside the Lal Mosque are brought in from other areas, including the tribal agencies while others are made in local markets.

 

With the release of Maulana Aziz on bail, it was hoped things will be different from the past. But, the very act of selling militant videos resonated with scenes before the military action against Lal Masjid clerics in July 2007 when militant literature was being sold openly in a similar manner.