Cricket: Pakistani fans stumped by religious extremists

For jihadis in Pakistan, cricket is against the tenets of Islam - it distracts pious Muslims from worshipping Allah and is a devious tool to destroy the faith.

Cricket in Pakistan is akin to religion and unifies enemies.

Jihadis were reportedly responsible for ambushing the bus carrying Sri Lanka's cricket team in the Lahore, and radical Islamist groups believe the devious British snatched the sword of righteousness from Muslims, replacing it with the cricket bat.

According to Zarb-e-Taiba (Blow of the Pure), the magazine of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-i-Taiba (Army of the Pure) militant group, whose cadres many analysts hint were behind the Lahore attack, the British said to Muslims: "You take this bat and play cricket. Give us your sword. With its [the bat's] help we will kill you and rape your women."

To watch a cricket match, it continues, fans would take a day off from work. But for jihad, they had no time. In contrast, the enemy Israel does not play cricket and consequently had progressed.

"We should throw the bat and seize the sword and instead of hitting six or four, cut the throats of the Hindus and the Jews," it said.

But Zarb-e-Taiba's negative sentiments are in contrast to a large number of other Islamists, who have embraced cricket and the nationalist zeal it engenders. Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the head of the Jamait-e-Islami, one of Pakistan's larger Islamic political parties that opposes secular democracy, is an ardent cricket supporter. After the Pakistani cricket team defeated India in a one-day match in New Delhi some years ago, he declared that it was a day of pride for his country.

Even Afghanistan's Taleban regime officially accepted cricket during its years in power, but forbade crowds from cheering and competitors from sporting short-sleeved shirts.