(Abul Kasem’s note: A reader from Afghanistan sent me this account)
 

Overview

As a school kid, I vividly remembered the nights and days of Talibans in Afghanistan. The words most befitting to describe them are: barbaric, cruel, and inhuman. Today, I am a grown up adult. But even now, remembering those frightening days of real Islam fills my mind with terror, agony, frustration, and trepidation. I endured those Islamic terror filled days, and somehow, completed my high school under the Islamic movement of Taliban. I have a lot to say, a lot to remember, and a lot to be sad for, believe me. What the world has known about the brutalities and barbarism of the Taliban regime (read real Islam) is nothing in comparison to what we, the common people of Afghanistan have endured with extreme pain. What you will read here is the actual, first hand account of those dreadful nights and days of Talibans.

To be honest, Talibans were the embodiment of real Islam. They were inured to mete out in full all the inhuman and barbaric Islamic principles on which the entire edifice of Islam is founded. Following the true Islamic laws, they used to behead and execute men and women in public. Public whipping was a very ordinary practice—almost a daily affair, to say it mildly. If a “Mahram”, a legal male had not accompanied a woman, she would definitely face beatings and whippings in full view of others. I guess this was certainly the manner in which Islamic retribution was meted out to women during the golden days of Muhammad’s Islam.

For a thief, the Islamic punishment was that his /her hand would be cut off in public. Punishment for adultery committed by single male and female was whipping one hundred times, which eventually caused them to die. For the married male and female, the punishment was stoning to death, an unacceptable, inhuman, undemocratic and barbaric punishment system. Talibans banned watching Television, going to school, and learning modern sciences. Even learning of history, geography, and mathematics were totally banned. In the religious schools (Madrasa) the only activities were the recitation and the memorisation of the Qu’ran.. Women had to cover themselves in Burga (a kind of clothing which covers all parts of a woman’s body). All men had to wear turbans, in the fashion of Islamic days of the seventh century. One could never dare to talk about humanity, democracy, respect for other faiths and religions. This is largely true in today’s Afghanistan even when the Talibans are no longer in power. I guess this suppression of basic human rights is endemic in all Islamic communities. They call non Muslims infidels, or pagans. The Talibans strongly believed that the non Muslims must face murder—the infidels should be killed! During Taliban days prayers were obligatory. Talibans used to shave the heads of young males. They believed that having hair on head would cause sexual temptation and more seduction in the community.

As a 23 year old man, living in Afghanistan, I have witnessed with my own eyes and experienced with my own person all these mind boggling events. I always remember those Taliban days. Memories of those days always make me sad, emotional, and dejected. I vividly remember how I had been beaten, humiliated, and nearly killed when I spoke in favour of tolerance, democracy, and religious freedom. More to my experience with the Talibans, I witnessed innocent people killed, women beaten up in public. During those frightful Islamic days, I soul searched about Islam—is what Taliban doing real Islam? I had questions in my mind, very penetrating questions—I wanted to analyse and find the compatibility between Islam and Taliban. Is what Islam said, was exercised by Taliban? Can we call Taliban truly Islamic? Are men really superior to women in Islam? Does Islam justify public beating of women by the Talibans? Are executions, beheadings, and stoning to death Islamic? Do these barbaric punishments conform to the standard of modern civilised world?

To find answers to the above questions I searched and searched. What I discovered was really very disturbing. I found that the long history of Islam is truly the history of intolerance, barbarism, cruelty, war and total apartheid treatment of women. I do not believe it was only Talibans in Afghanistan, who practiced those uncivilised conducts. We can find the same story in Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and in most of Islamic countries.

Here is my assessment of Taliban practices and their conformity with standard Islamic traditions. Later, I shall narrate many such events, as I recollect them from those nights and days of the Talibans.
 

Islam and Taliban

In this part, I shall compare Islam and Taliban. Islam has ordered retaliation should anyone kill any other. This retaliation includes execution, beheading, and hanging. Islam has clearly stated superiority of men over women. Suppressing women’s right is common in Islam. In many verses of the Qur’an and Hadith, you can find it out that Islam has said that men are superior to women. A woman in an Islamic community is nothing but a mere sex slave, a servant of man. If a woman does not obey her husband, she will face severe punishment, which might include beating and deprivation of food and living allowances. In regard to inheritance, men are entitled to receive twice than women. Islam has institutionalised blatant discrimination against women. To uphold this Islamic principle of sexual apartheid, Talibans had fully enforced these punitive measures. Can we not call Taliban truly Islamic in this regard? I would say we definitely can.

With regard to education, Islam has stated that religious education must be a priority. Taliban used to exercise this principle as well. They banned all other schools, which were teaching modern science and secular subjects. Replacing these subjects they expanded religious education. Learning religion, which causes religious extremism, was very common under Taliban. This is true even now. Therefore, Talibans, truly, has put this Islamic principle into practice.

Regarding music, Islam has stated that music is “Haram,” illegal. Talibans did the same by successfully banning all forms of music. Anyone carrying CDs faced severe punishments, which included imprisonment. Talibans not only banned listening to music, but also banned television, the radios, and all kinds of electronic media.

I have briefly explained the abovementioned facts, which are Islamic, and were put into practice by the barbaric Talibans. If one studies the conditions and situations in the primitive community where people used to live like animals, they cannot find such inhuman actions as those perpetrated by the Talibans.

To conclude the abovementioned facts, I would say that Islam is totally compatible with what Talibans used to exercise in Afghanistan, and even now, they are exercising real Islam in some parts of the country. The simple truth is: Islam and democracy are not compatible; Islam is totally against any democratic principle.

Memories from the Taliban Era

I survived!

Generally, when one is at school, among his/her class fellows, he/she would debate about any topic, including social, cultural, political, and religious issues. I was not an exception. I used to debate these topics with my class fellows without any fear. On hindsight I may assume that, I was a bit sensitive too, or that I wanted to change this barbaric community by my own effort. I used to defend tolerance and showing respect to other faiths and religions. I used to say that we should respect Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jewish, and all other faiths and religions. In terms of my political viewpoints, I preferred United States in particular and the west in general. I would loudly say that the Christian countries are much beneficent than the Islamic ones. Of course I had some reasons for saying so. I was saying that in Islamic countries, there is just murder, intolerance, barbarism, inhumanity, and so on, while you can find the opposite of these in the west. Once, I remember, that I faced the school’s principal, who was a Talib (follower of Taliban group). He talked with me about these and carefully listened to me. I asked him why Talibans had banned girl schools. I asked him why they discriminated against women. I asked him why Talibans executed people in public and cut off their hands and legs in public. I asked him many other whys. Without caring much about the consequences, I remember saying to him what I thought was right to say. I told him all my viewpoints. The next day, when I went to school, my headmaster, a nice person, informed me of the grave situation, which had arisen in consequence of my free expression of my mind. He told me that the principal said that I had become a Christian. The principal had also informed the provincial chief of police, who was very notorious for being cruel and murderous. The headmaster told me that the religious police would detain me, and, to save myself, I must run away, and not return to school until the situation cooled down. So, I ran away, went on hiding, never returning to the school. It was close to 11 September 2001 when this happened.. I was so fearful. I knew, without any doubt, what would have happened had Talibans arrested me. I would have been killed. I really do not know if they are still chasing me. But, I survived. It was good to remain alive, thanks to America.

City with dead bodies all around

It was early morning, when I used to go to a private English language School. Learning English was a huge crime, had the Talibans known the location of the school. Our school was in a very confidential place. I loved learning English, and I went for it without fearing the Talibans. The school was thirty minutes journey from my home. There were around five intersections in between. When I reached the first intersection, I noticed around four persons hanged, their livers, kidneys and other parts taken out, and suspended to their corpses. There was a note saying: anyone opposing Islamic movement of Talibans would face the same fate. I thought, it is the end, and they were the only four. I then reached another intersection, and saw the same horrific scene; four to five persons hanged there as well. Eventually, I crossed all intersections, and witnessed the same. When an hour of my school ended, I decided to change my direction and go from other side of the city. Believe it or not, I witnessed the same situation in other parts of the city as well. Again, people were killed and hanged, their bellies cut, and their internal organs exhibited in full view. The city was soaked with human blood. The residents were speechless, silent, in terror and in utter frustration.

A woman shot dead on head in public

Can you believe a woman being killed in this manner? Even today, whenever I recollect this grotesque scene, I shudder in pain, my senses dulled, and I lose my thinking ability. I attended this ceremony only once. It was the beginning of the Talibans in the city in which I lived. My friends came and told me that the Talibans had announced that they were going to kill a woman in the stadium, and asked people to attend this killing ceremony. The Talibs claimed that the woman had killed another woman. The punishment was in retaliation, which was shooting on the head. Eventually, the woman was brought in the stadium, having waited for a couple of hours. The judge announced why that woman would be killed, and read the verdict of the Islamic movement of Talibans. The verdict was shooting on the head. I guess, the condemned woman did not have any power to stand on her feet– she had already fainted. Nevertheless, she was taken in the middle of the pitch. A man emerged from the van, took out his gun, and shot on her head. She fell down on the ground. Then the Talibans handed her dead body to her family for funeral. That was the last time I attended such a ceremony. I could not sleep the entire night. Even today, I do always remember the way she was shot dead. It was one of the most horrible memories of my life.

>>> continued in part 2