The Ghastly Return of the Taliban
by Bushra Zartasht
While most of the world is still battling the seemingly never-ending war against the coronavirus pandemic, another foe from the past, thought to have been vanquished years ago, has suddenly reared its ugly head once again and has taken over the news cycle overnight. We are confronted with the terror of a militant group reclaiming their land while triumphantly claiming victory over its own people. As a Muslim woman who proudly practices her Islamic faith in the United States, the Taliban stand for everything that Islam is not. Their hollow claims of trying to establish an Islamic state and implementing their barbaric code is not only an insult to a faith I hold so dear, but it is indeed the very antithesis of Islam.
In fact, it was with the advent of Islam in the 7th century that women all over the world were finally given their right to be considered an equal to their male counterparts. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was in true sense the first feminist, who not only ensured that women were regarded as valuable individuals with equal rights and freedom, but through the teachings of the Holy Quran, he also ensured that women were finally given the right to own property, gain knowledge, choose their own husbands- and divorce them too if they wished. When Islam was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia in the seventh century, newborn girls were so despised, they were buried alive. Prophet Muhammad put an end to this abhorrent practice and instead decreed that anyone who treated their daughters with kindness and adorned them with knowledge would be granted a place in Paradise. The Holy Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) wife, Khadija was a successful businesswoman herself and, under Islam, women had the right to work, to sell and buy properties. All these rights didn’t come to western women until centuries later.
Unfortunately, Taliban has yet again taken over the world scene while hijacking Islam and is again using it as a shield to promote their own politically inclined agenda. The fact that their major funding comes from drug trafficking, clearly indicates their cherry picking of a blatantly false version of the teachings of Islam as drug use is clearly declared as not permissible.
Under the slogan of being Islamic, they implement these rigid laws in order to gain control both financially as well as politically. It is a strategy that has been employed by many usurpers in the past and is certainly not unique to the Taliban. In fact, most wars and conflicts are rooted in the simple aim to conquer resources and gain power. Just like the crusaders of the 11th century hijacked Christianity and used it to spread bloodshed across vast regions of land, similarly today we witness these militant groups, though smaller in number, spreading their terror while camouflaging their ill intentions under the banner of faith.
The late Mirza Tahir Ahmad, fourth Caliph of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, says it well in his book Murder in the Name of Allah:
“Terrorism is a global problem and needs to be studied in its larger perspective. Unless we understand the forces behind the violence, we shall not be able to understand why some Muslim groups and states are turning to terrorism to achieve certain objectives. I am fully convinced that almost every form of communal violence witnessed in the world today, wherever that is and whatever cloak it wears, is essentially political in nature. Religion is not the exploiter; it is itself exploited by internal or external political interests.”
We don’t need to go far back in history and foreign land to find these terrorist organizations, as we have several in our own home country. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are 838 hate groups currently operating in the United States. Kingdom Identity Ministries and America’s Promise Ministries are probably the most well-known. They rely strongly on the literal interpretation of the Bible, and promote the superiority of the white male as interpreted from the Bible. Several members of this congregation have committed violent acts of terrorism and murder, including bombing abortion clinics, bank robberies, and shootings.
Thus, while we are rallying in solidarity for the Afghan people and especially concerned for women and children — yet again under the clutches of a brutal dictatorship, partially empowered by foreign powers — it is important to not allow the Taliban to represent Islam. The political context and history remain important in order for us to separate fact from fiction. As an educated, visible Ahmadi Muslim woman who proudly wears her hijab and is actively involved in my community, I will not allow such a beautiful and peaceful teaching to be muddled in the dirty water of dishonesty, greed and tyranny.
