Malala Yousafzai's book banned in Pakistani private schools

Pakistani education officials said Sunday that they have banned teenage activist Malala Yousafzai’s book from private schools across the country, claiming it doesn’t show enough respect for Islam and calling her a tool of the West.

                    Malala accused of becoming poster girl of western governments against Islamic world

ISLAMABAD—Pakistani education officials said Sunday that they have banned teenage activist Malala Yousafzai’s book from private schools across the country, claiming it doesn’t show enough respect for Islam and calling her a tool of the West.

Malala attracted global attention last year when the Taliban shot her in the head, conspiracy theories have flourished in Pakistan that her shooting was staged to create a hero for the West to embrace, for criticizing the group’s interpretation of Islam, which limits girls’ access to education. Her profile has risen steadily since then, and she released a memoir in October, “I Am Malala,” that was co-written with British journalist Christina Lamb.

Adeeb Javedani, president of the All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association, said his group banned Malala’s book from the libraries of its 40,000 affiliated schools and called on the government to bar it from school curriculums.

“Everything about Malala is now becoming clear,” Javedani said. “To me, she is representing the West, not us.”

Kashif Mirza, the chairman of the All Pakistan Private Schools Federation, said his group also has banned Malala’s book in its affiliated schools.

He said the book did not show enough respect for Islam because it mentioned Prophet Muhammad’s name without using the abbreviation PUH — “peace be upon him” — as is customary in many parts of the Muslim world. He also said it spoke favourably of author Salman Rushdie, who angered many Muslims with his book “The Satanic Verses,” and Ahmadis, members of a minority sect that have been declared non-Muslims under Pakistani law.