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The Taliban's Ban on Freedom
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The Taliban's Ban on Freedom |
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Songbird Member Elite
since 1999-12-15
Posts 2184Missouri |
Today my eyes were opened to what the Taliban is really all about. The word Taliban means religious student. Jesus spoke about this kind of religion when he was here on earth. I am not referring to the Islamic faith or any other religion, only what is referred to as the Taliban. Jesus spoke of Pharisees, hypocrites. He said "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also." Why do I say this. Read below the list of rules that the Taliban expects all of their people to follow. You can see by reading these rules why they are trying to protect their people from the American culture. While some of these rules are rules that would be helpful to follow, and we as Americans might live cleaner better lives if we employed them, by the most part they are taking caution to extreme. Their campaign is the result of fear, and a man's need to be of importance. He desires to rid the world of all that he and his followers perceive as evil. They fear that their people may have freedom to choose whether or not to abide by all these laws or have a personal freedom of choice. In essence they have declared in their words a "Holy War" to protect their culture from the influences of the western culture. These people are extremist not unlike so our own so called Christians who bomb abortion clinics or shoot doctors in the name of God. These truly are people who wash the outside of the cup and are blinded to the fact that what really counts is on the inside. Love is a commodity they do not possess if they did, killing would not be on their minds. Today I appreciate more the freedom we have in America. We are a people of many religious backgrounds, free to worship and live the way we so desire. No one stands ready to punish us for not following any of these rules of the Taliban or any other kind of religious rule. Our laws are not based on any particular religious group but are based on the ten commandments given to us by God the father of all mankind. The 10 commandments are the basis for all of our laws and as the bible says they can be summed up by saying, we are to love God and treat our neighbor as we would like to be treated. Today I appreciate more than ever the freedom we have in America to exercise our faith however we so choose. The Taliban belief may prove to be worse than any "Big Brother" or "Communist Party" nightmares we could ever possibly dreamed of. The world has another "Hitler" on its hands, one that seeks to eliminate all that does not meet his profile of one who deserves to live. I call on the true and living God for protection against this evil regime for the God that I serve and call on does not demand that I serve him, but leaves the choice with me.. and that is love. His yolk is easy and his burden is light. Here are the rules of Taliban. There are probally more that I have not heard about. No television, music or movies unless they have a religious theme. No VCR's, no Internet No whistling or clapping or cheering in celebrations. You can only chant Allah-o-Akbar (God is Great) No shorts, only long pants, even for athletes. No photography. No smoking. No pork consumption. No recycling the Koran. No paper bags (because it might be a recycled Koran) No flying kites or playing with pigeons, it distracts children from their religious studies. No Labor Day (May1). It's a Communist holiday. No converting from Islam under penalty of death. And there are special laws, depending on your gender. If you are a man you are not to be clean shaven. Your facial hair must be long enough that it protrudes from a fist clasped at the point of the chin, or you go to jail until it grows back. Men must wear head coverings. Boys without head coverings are refused access to schools. The rules for women are even more extreme. Women are not to work outside the home except as in special circumstances such as for medical care purposes. Women are not to leave home without a body covering, called a burqa a three-inch square covered with mesh provides the only means of vison they cannot go anywhere without being accompanied by a close male relative. Women are not to deal with male shopkeepers. No formal schooling for women. No revealing your ankles. No treatment by male doctors. Separate doctors for men and women. No make-up. No brightly colored clothes. No associating with foreign men. No sex outside marriage under penalty of stoning. No laughing loudly. A stranger should not be able to hear your voice. No wearing of high heels or anything that makes a sound when you're walking. No driving, if you're a foreigner. No performing on TV, radio, or appearing at public gatherings. No riding bicycles or motorcycles, even with a male relative. No washing clothes next to a river or any public place. No going to male tailors. No transparent windows in houses that have female occupants; they must be painted over. And last but not least no white socks (because they are considered a sexual lure or because Alghanistan's flag is a simple white sheet. |
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| © Copyright 2001 Marcia Estep - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Wesley the Blue Member
since 1999-09-02
Posts 426Forest Lake, MN, USA |
Its amazing how our tolerance of others breeds intolerance. The taliban is certainly a threat, and a very dangerous one, because it isnt a government, and we cant target them because they are always on the move. A very good insight into who these people are and what makes them tick. Well writen. "One does not need buildings, money, power or status to practice the art of peace. Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the place to t |
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Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
It's amazing isn't it? That this kind of restriction can be a part of our world. Thank you. |
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Bec Member
since 2001-02-23
Posts 475Canberra |
It's hard to believe that while we sit here, typing on our computers, discussing the atrocities happening around us, they have no idea what it's like to have and to do the things we take for granted. Can you imagine having to follow these rules for just one day, let alone your entire life? The past is a foreign country - they do things differently there ~ Unknown |
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Songbird Member Elite
since 1999-12-15
Posts 2184Missouri |
No, I certainly cannot imagine having to live by everyone of these rules..every day of your life.. very repressive to say the least. "The no white socks rule" really shows how ridiculus there rules are..I myself never dreamed white socks were sexy.. just goes to show you how cultures differ and times change. |
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JamesMichael Member Empyrean
since 1999-11-16
Posts 33336Kapolei, Hawaii, USA |
Nice descriptive writing...wonder what the rules would be if the women made the rules?...James |
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Larrysmom Senior Member
since 2008-04-03
Posts 533Florida, USA |
I am fortunate indeed… Thank you for the graphic insight. Tammy<333 |
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Bob K Member Elite
since 2007-11-03
Posts 4208 |
There are over 600 commandments in the first five books of the bible, some of which would make the ones you're quoting feel right at home. The consequences for breaking many of them are draconian. Some of them, such as giving farm land a rest every seven years (more frequently?, I'm not sure) seem to have some wisdom to them. Others that regulate marital life and the treatment of slaves might raise some hackles. Like the Koran, the torah is an object of reverence in its own right. (Correct me here, folks) but I believe neither are supposed to touch the ground. Ever. When Korans fall apart, they may, for example, be placed between the rafters for storage. They are quite literally the word of God, The Word made into a solid object, like a desk or a salt shaker, the solid essence of God. For many Jews, the Torah may be the same thing. When Christians talk about the Word of God, the meaning is different, though the concept is holy still and worth the reverence paid to it. I'm not saying anybody needs to like or agree with this particular form of islamic culture. I'm not fond of their treatment of women and I don't like their treatment of other cultures, especially their art, certainly their religions. What's coming next, huh? Sometimes I feel I can get whiplash just from falling asleep at night, let alone by facing what's waiting for me when I get up the next day. |
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JamesMichael Member Empyrean
since 1999-11-16
Posts 33336Kapolei, Hawaii, USA |
So Bob, are you saying the rules of the Taliban come from the Koran? Because I was wondering myself if they are from the Koran or if they are rules made up by a bunch of men in power?... Either way, they are unacceptable...James |
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Bob K Member Elite
since 2007-11-03
Posts 4208 |
Dear James, Don't ask me to sign on with the Taliban, please. We didn't pick a fight with them, however, about any of these issues, did we? The issue we thought was unforgivable was that they didn't turn Osama bin Laden over to us. We may grumble about female genital mutilation too, but we're still buddies with Egypt, aren't we? These are things worth outrage. Most of the teachings of the very conservative muslims with which our government would say we have a war to fight come from Saudi Arabia. Do you hear us threatening them? No, you see pictures of President Bush holding hands with the ambassador. Why? Because he understands that he needs to adapt to some extent to their values and customs. It seems to me that understanding what these customs are, where they came from, and how they found the place they now hold in the current cultures in the region doesn't me you sign on. I want to know, for example, how Republicans think and where their ideas came from. Whoops, I guess that would mean that I'd actually have to do something liberal and give Republican ideas an honest hearing and not simply reject them out of hand as being too disgusting to consider without even knowing what they were in advance. The way you'd have me do with this other set of ideas I haven't given any depth of consideration to yet, either. Simply learning about something and trying to understand it doesn't make you or the ideas "unacceptable." It makes you a student. If you are depending on me to tell you where the ideas come from, you know even less about the stuff than I do; and I'm reasonably sure I don't know very much. Heck, I don't even know very much about the region. I don't have to like the Taliban to need to understand at least something about it. I certainly don't have to pretend that moral outrage at the Taliban is why we're trying to curtail their growth. Though it sure sells well, I've got to say. Foreign policy works on realpolitik, and moral outrage is simply one of the tools to be used by those who play realpolitik for blood and money. If moral outrage doesn't work well, they'll simply try something else. Are you old enough to remember the old Saturday Night Live routine about the land shark? Like that. Also, really, you should try to go through the 3d, 4th and 5th books of the bible and check out the rules there. Holy cow, James! There really are over 600 of them the way the orthodox Jews count them, and if you try to actually set up some idea of what a life would look like based on an adherence to them, what comes up is something a bit like the wild and wicked Taliban life-style. Including stoning people to death. There's a whole body of legal opinion and Jewish case law about this stuff, maybe 1500 years worth of it, maybe more in the Talmud and the Midrash. Somebody write in and correct me here. I don't want to get too far away from my knowledge base. I have no idea what's in Church Law, but I'll bet there some precedents about heresy and questioning for example that would be as wild as any quoted in this thread. Perhaps not. Thoughts? |
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