Here are some key facts about the mosque, where hardline Islamist students have been involved in a standoff with the government since January:
Lal Masjid is regarded as a symbol of radical Islam in Pakistan. It was established in 1965 by Maulana Muhammad Abdullah, a cleric believed to have had close ties to dictator General Zia-ul-Haq.
About 5,000 students study at the two madrasas (seminaries) attached to the mosque.
The mosque is well known for its criticism of the government and anti-U.S. and pro-Taliban sentiments. Maulana Abdul Aziz took over as the chief cleric after the assassination of his father, Maulana Abdullah, in 1998.
He issued a fatwa, or religious decree, in 2005 declaring that Pakistani soldiers killed fighting militants in the northern tribal areas could not be given Muslim funeral rites.
After the July 2005 bombings in London, police attempted to raid the mosque and the adjoining seminary to investigate its link with one of the bombers. Security forces were prevented from entering the compound by baton-wielding women.
The mosque has been at odds with the authorities since January when female students occupied a library next door to protest against the destruction of mosques illegally built on state land. The students have also pressured owners of music and video shops to close.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, July 03, 2007, 00:00