Pakistani young rights activist Malala Yousafzai has condemned the kidnapping of 200 Nigerian schoolgirls, claiming that Boko Haram needed to "go and learn Islam," OnIslam reported.
Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who survived a Taliban assassination attempt and became a global symbol of girl-power, equal rights and triumph over terror, said the dreaded extremist group is "misusing the name of the religion."
"I think they haven't studied Islam yet, they haven't studied Qur'an yet, and they should go and they should learn Islam," the 16-year-old told the CNN on Thursday, May 8.
"I think that they should think of these girls as their own sisters. How can one imprison his own sisters and treat them in such a bad way?" she said, referring to Boko Haram's threats to sell the girls into slavery.
Apart from Yousafzai, Muslim organizations worldwide have been demanding the release of hundreds of kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls since their abduction in April.
The kidnappings three weeks ago by the extremist group Boko Haram have led to worldwide attention and condemnation.
In a video obtained by the Agence France Presse on May 5, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau admitted kidnapping the girls and threatened to sell them in the market.
Using Islamic teachings as justification for threatening to sell the girls into slavery, Shekau threats sparked Muslim anger worldwide, asserting that Islam was innocent for all such crimes, according to OnIslam.
"They are actually misusing the name of Islam because they have forgotten that the word Islam means 'peace,'" Malala said.
"When I heard about the girls in Nigeria being abducted I felt very sad and I thought that my sisters are in prison and I thought that I should speak up for them," the teenage, who survived being shot in the head by the Taliban, added.
Boko Haram, a Hausa term meaning "Western education is sinful", is loosely modeled on Afghanistan's Taliban.
The militant group claims it is fighting enemies who have wronged its members through violence, arrests or economic neglect and corruption.
