On Friday September 25, an 18-year-old immigrant from Pakistan was arrested after stabbing two people near the former offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The hate filled educational curricula, the anti-blasphemy teaching in schools and mosques, has created such an environment that young Pakistanis, whether inside the country or outside, feel it is their bounden duty to take revenge for any offense against their faith or their Prophet.
According to the New York Times the “suspect in the stabbing of two people outside the former Paris office of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo has confessed and said his attack was directed at the publication because it printed cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad. French authorities have said that the suspect, who was arrested shortly after the attack on Friday, is an 18-year-old Pakistani man who arrived in France three years ago as an unaccompanied minor. Although he was briefly arrested a month ago for carrying a screwdriver, he had not been previously identified as an Islamist radical, France’s interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, told France 2 television on Friday.”
When Associated Press tracked down the parents of Zaheer Hassan Masood, his father Arshad Mehmood expressed “pride” at what his son had done. “In my opinion, what he did was very good,” Arshad told AFP. According to AP, “back in his rural village of Kothli Qazi in Punjab province, his family and neighbours are heralding him as a defender of the Islamic faith. “The person who kills those who disrespect the prophet goes to heaven, and his whole family goes to heaven,” Arshad said. “Because of this, I feel very good that my son did such a good deed.” The assailant’s mother Rukhsana Begum added that her son had told the family about the attacks in advance, and had asked for their prayers. “He told us that on Friday after the Friday prayers he would do it. He also called one of his friends and told him that he saw the holy prophet in his dream and he will go and do this,” said Begum.”
