Taliban: A Perfect Islamic Society
Keerthi Reddy
Taliban: A Perfect Islamic Society
On July 16, 1998, the maggot ridden naked corpse of a woman caked
with old blood was found in a ravaged back alley of Khairkhana,
Kabul in Afghanistan. After hours of investigation, the post
mortem revealed that the corpse belonged to a young woman named
Shukria, the daughter of Ali Mardan. When she was alive, Shukriya
used to take care of her family's tiny Tailor shop in addition to
raising her four young children. Fifty five days earlier, on her
way back from a religious ceremony Shukriya was startled to hear
the screeching of brakes as a car spun to a halt in front of her.
A gang of about seven Muslim holy warriors of the Taliban, who
carried beards the length of which were in exact religious
conformance with the Islamic scriptures, grabbed her and dragged
her into their car.
The Taliban is comprised of Pakistanis and Afghanis who are
considered the true "Mujahideen" or "holy warriors
of Allah" because they have established a purely Islamic
state which rigidly conforms to the "pious Muslim ideals"
which were outlined and set down by Prophet Mohammed.
The piercing screams of Shukriya as she was gang raped by the
holy warriors must have been muffled by the sound of the engine,
for not a single passer by dared to protest the crime taking
place in front of their eyes. Minutes later as her cries
subsided, a thick and dark trail of blood slowly started dripping
out of the drivers side door. Suddenly the car veered dangerously
an drove off in the distance to an unknown location. No doubt
mangled and violated body of a woman who just minutes ago was the
mother of four young children and now a lifeless corpse, must
have been unceremoniously dumped by the Mujahideen like
yesterday's garbage, only to be found in its festering condition,
fifty five days later.
But that's not what's shocking about this incident.
What's truly shocking about it is the fact that Shukriya's story
is just one among thousands if not millions such similar stories.
Amnesty International, the leading global Human Rights monitor,
in its report on Afghan women declared that:
"Armed groups have massacred defenseless women in their
homes, or have brutally beaten and raped them. Scores of young
women have been abducted and then raped, taken as wives by
commanders or sold into prostitution. Some have committed suicide
to avoid such a fate. Scores of women have reportedly disappeared
and several have been stoned to death. Many women are traumatized
by the horrific abuses, they have suffered or witnessed."
So desperate is their situation that the majority of women prefer
to die by consuming caustic soda or other household poisons.
Western Aid workers in Afghanistan have reported a dramatic
increase in the number of women committing suicide because they
can no longer bear the country's stifling Islamic code. The mass
phenomenon of Afghani women consuming caustic soda to put
themselves out of their misery is shockingly common. The agony of
their situation can be gleaned from the fact that consuming
caustic soda results in a torturously painful and lingering death.
First it burns away the throat, and then slowly the internal
organs are burnt. It takes an average of three to four days to
suffer out the symptoms which are horribly traumatic.
Many doctors are also reporting the fact that thousands of Afghan
women now flock clinics by feigning heart condition. The reason
for this drama is to somehow acquire lethal digoxin tablets for
the purpose of committing suicide. The increase in female suicide
was barely highlighted in last year's United Nations report on
Afghanistan. A huge spurt in incidences of women being admitted
to mental hospitals with severe depression has become rampant
with the Talibanization of Afghanistan. The suicides and mental
illnesses are never spoken about in the rigidly fundamentalist
Islamic society. International aid agencies have been threatened
with dire consequences for daring to say anything about the true
situation of women in Afghanistan.
The reason for the utter helplessness of the raped, depressed and
abused women of Afghanistan is the Quran. Rape is if not very
difficult , almost impossible to prove because of Islamic law.
Prophet Mohammed's divine injunctions of Allah clearly outline
through the Quran that a woman's word on rape is not taken into
account. Proving her innocence is a dauntingly unreachable task.
Almost all the rape victims are in fact charged with an
adulterous and loose moral character. This is because the Quran
clearly says that the testimony of one man is considered as equal
to that of two women. This blatant discrimination is amply
explained in Quranic Sura 24:1-4. Regarding this issue, the
famous Islamic scholar Anwar Shaikh comments:
"As a result of this law, a raped woman has to produce four
eye-witnesses to the act, which is more or less an impossibility.
Its devastating effect can be clearly seen in Pakistan where
several thousand good, honest Muslim women are imprisoned for
suffering rape. When they report their cases to the police, they
are required to produce four eye-witnesses. As they cannot do so,
they are held as false accusers, and put behind bars."
Many Quranic Surahs exhort torturous punishment for "fornication
prone" women. It is primarily due to this inherent
disadvantage which weighs down Muslim women, that they fear for
their very lives when they are the victim of rape. Instead of
having the opportunity to bring the culprit to justice, these
women spend the rest of their lives in fear that the deed will be
discovered and that the victim herself will have to suffer the
punishment for being an adulteress instead of the other way
around.
Some of the Quranic Surahs which provide the basis for these type
of heinous punishments on women are provided below. These verses
have been taken verbatim from the translation of the Quran by the
respected Muslim scholar, Abdullah Yusuf Ali.:
Quran 4:15
If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, Take the evidence of
four (Reliable) witnesses from amongst you against them; and if
they testify, confine them to houses until death do claim them,
or God ordain for them some (other) way.
Here one must note that anybody can point the finger and accuse a
woman of "lewdness" meaning illicit sex and all they
have to do to seal the woman's horrendous treatment is to get
four other witnesses to testify against her. In case of gang
rapes, there have even been situations where one of the rapists
accuses the woman of "lewdness" and four of the other
rapists support this charge with their testimony, in which case
by Islamic law, the woman has to suffer the punishment for
adultery.
Quran 4:16
If two men among you are guilty of lewdness, punish them both. If
they repent and amend, Leave them alone; for God is Oft-returning,
Most Merciful.
The law for Muslim men who indulge in "lewdness"
however is quite different. As long as the men "repent and
amend" they are to be let off completely. This is a blatant
instance of women being denied the rights that men enjoy in Islam.
Quran 4:34
Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because God has
given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they
support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are
devoutly obedient, and guard in absence what God would have them
guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct,
admonish them , refuse to share their beds, beat them; but if
they return to obedience, seek not against them Means: For God is
Most High, great.
The fate of Muslim women has been sealed by this Quranic Surah as
it provides Muslim men a clear justification for physical
violence against women. The verse is redolent with blatant
chauvinism and declares that women should be obedient as slaves
to men. What is truly shocking about this Quranic verse is that
it clearly implicates that if a man even so much as suspects the
fidelity of his wife, he has a right to admonish and physically
abuse her by divine approval of Allah! In many cases of rape in
Afghanistan, this very verse is used as justification by the
victim's husbands to beat and torture her despite her innocence.
Quran 4:31
If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the
orphans, Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if
ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them),
then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that
will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice.
This verse clearly illustrates that concubinage and treating Non
Muslim women as sexual property is divinely sanctioned by Allah
himself in Islam. A Non-Muslim woman who is taken captive in war
is treated as "Ghanimah" or plunder. The captured Kafir
(Non-Muslim) women snatched from their husbands can be enjoyed
with absolute immunity by the Mujahids(holy warriors of Allah).
Not only is it lawful to commit rape on captured women it is in
fact a "pure and pious" act which earns the Muslim
merit in the eyes of Allah.
Quran 2:228
And women shall have rights similar to the rights against them,
according to what is equitable; but men have a degree (of
advantage) over them. And God is Exalted in Power, Wise.
Again a clear vindication of Men's superiority over women is
being sanctioned by Allah himself in this verse. In effect men
have more rights than women in an ideal Islamic society.
The Taliban in true accordance with Islamic strictures has
forbidden women to work anymore. Considering the skyrocketing
rate of widowhood, the women of Afghanistan are left with no
choice but to sell their bodies as prostitutes for the sake of a
morsel of food. So desperate has the condition of these women
become that they force their five to six year old children to beg
on the streets. Many of the western aid workers secretly admit
that almost half a million of these children are also forced into
prostitution to earn tiny amounts of money for their families'
subsistence.
If by chance a woman's rape comes to light she is accused of
adultery by Islamic law. Most often the punishment for adultery
is severe lashing or stoning to death. Over 65% of the Afghani
female population is now directly or indirectly involved in
prostitution. As prostitution invites the same punishment as
adultery, millions of Muslim women carry on their trade in a
surreptitious manner. They disguise themselves in rags in order
to pass of as beggars. Their clients are usually shopkeepers who
have a store room or an attic where they take the woman without
any problem. Beggar prostitutes charge about 2 lakh Afghanis
which is equal to Rs 250 (Pakistani).
This amount is peanuts considering the cost of living in war
tattered Afghanistan, therefore most prostitutes are desperate to
find at least three to four clients a day. Most of the
prostitutes also become "travelling" types, as they
cannot stay in one place for too long, due to fear of detection.
The exceptions are those special prostitutes who work in the
brothels which have the protection of Taliban. Hordes of
Pakistanis also come from across the border to take advantage of
the freely available sexual services.
Even then the situation of Muslim women is far far better than
that of non Muslim women who are accursed enough to live in
Afghanistan. The Non Muslim women and children are treated worse
than sewer rats. Considering that Muslim women themselves are
being abused so rampantly, one can only imagine how inhumane the
treatment meted out to these victims must be. The plight of Non
Muslims is unimaginably horrific.
All non-Muslims, including Hindus and Sikhs, living in
Afghanistan must abide by the ``Ten Commandments'', issued in
accordance with the rules of Islamic Sharia. A few pockets in
Kabul and Jalalabad, are still inhabited by these unlucky Hindus
and Sikhs. The Islamic "Law Ministry" in Kabul has
issued ten directives to all non-Muslims, including Hindus and
Sikhs, determining their conduct in their daily lives. These
orders include such unimaginably discriminatory tenets like the
rule that non-Muslims are absolutely not allowed to build any
place of worship like temple, church or Gurudwara. Legally, non-Muslims
are not entitled to bring any lawsuits against a Muslim at all,
regardless of the criminality or culpability of the Muslim! One
can only imagine what sort of justice Non Muslim victims of rape
and molestation in Afghanistan must receive!
Non Muslims must follow such incredible rules as displaying a two-meter
long yellow cloth atop their house for identification of their
status as non believers. The order also bans non-Muslims from
living together with Muslims in one house in a direct indication
of the untouchability of the Non- Muslims. The women of non-Muslim
families are prohibited from walking in a street or bazaar
without wearing the Islamic ``chadar'' to cover them. They cannot
wear jewelry made from any metal more precious than iron in a
humiliating reminder of their low status. What is most outrageous
of all however, is the injunction for Non-Muslims to wear dresses
which are clearly "different" from those of Muslims.
Non-Muslims must wear a MARKED YELLOW OUTFIT in order to ensure
identification of their Kafir status from a distance. Non-Muslims
CANNOT wear ANY dresses which signify priesthood or other
religious denomination.
The status of Kafirs under the Taliban is exactly as Prophet
Mohammed had envisioned it. It is in fact in perfect consonance
with the suggested treatment of Non-Muslims in the Quran. A
number of apologists and misled scholars who have been horrified
by the Taliban's policies have tried to explain away their
practices as "misinterpretations of Islam". The truth
however is exactly the opposite. The Taliban of Afghanistan ably
supported by the Islamic purists of Pakistan is pursuing the
establishment of an Islamic society that can be termed as a
perfect realization of the Islamic ideals entrenched in the Quran.
The Taliban IS the perfect Islamic society. The treatment
accorded to women and Non Muslims by the Taliban is exactly as
prescribed by the Quran and Prophet Mohammed. In fact the reign
of Prophet Mohammed was marked by exactly the same type of
society.
As Islamic terrorism and fundamentalism raises its ugly head all
over the world, its time civilized societies took a long hard
look at the Talibanism of Afghanistan, for the situation there
foretells exactly what is in store for other countries around the
world with a sizeable Muslim population.
By refusing to stare the problem in the face, we risk allowing to
become stronger still, if we keep ignoring it won't be long
before the ability to stop Talibanization in its tracks, slips
out of our fingers.
copy and pasted from Sword of Truth
www.swordoftruth.com