A large rally was held in Karachi, Pakistan to protest the new madrassa headed up by radical Islamic cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz who has threatened the Pakistani government with suicide bombers if it tries to close the religious school.  Of course Aziz claimed the school was peaceful, yet there are weapons within the walls and suicide bombers aren’t exactly frontrunners for the asinine proposal for a Department of Peace in the United States.

“The people of Islamabad are insecure and under threat due to the activities of these religious terrorists,” said Altaf Hussain, head of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, addressing the rally by telephone from London.

Hussain, who lives in self-exile in Britain although his party is part of the ruling coalition, said the religious radicals in Islamabad’s Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, and adjoining Jamia Hafsa madrasa were hurting the image of Islam.

“Islam is a religion of peace and it does not need Kalashnikovs and sticks,” he told the rally, while a helicopter whirled overhead to provide aerial surveillance and hundreds of police surrounded the venue — the city’s main commercial area . . .

Lal Masjid’s compound has taken on the appearance of a rebel camp in recent weeks, with young men armed with sticks guarding the entrances.

Women, also carrying staves, roam the school’s grounds, and two or three men have been seen with guns which the clerics say are properly licensed.

The Islamist opposition movement to Pakistan President Musharraf has seemingly increased in recent weeks.  Aziz’s declaration is seen as proof of that increase, however the rally held yesterday was attended by a reported “tens of thousands” of Pakistanis who reject Islamism.

HT Gateway Pundit