Disembowelled, then torn apart: The price of daring to teach girls
The gunmen came at night to drag Mohammed Halim away from his home, in front of his crying children and his wife begging for mercy.
The 46-year-old schoolteacher tried to reassure his family that he would return safely. But his life was over, he was part-disembowelled and then torn apart with his arms and legs tied to motorbikes, the remains put on display as a warning to others against defying Taliban orders to stop educating girls.
Because he taught girls.
There can be no reasoning with the Taliban mentality. No negotiating. No terms. No "Hey, we used to tear guys apart for treating women like humans, but we're okay now; let's sign a peace treaty and form a coalition government."
Us.
Or them.
Civilization.
Or barbarism.
There is clear good and evil here, and only a moral cripple could fail to know which side is which. One side elects a woman to Speaker of the House, the other side disembowels men alive for teaching girls to read.
Good.
Or evil.
That is what hangs in the balance in Afghanistan right now.
Animals? Oh, Tamara, I think you are giving them waayy too much credit. Animals have warm blood; animals, with some exceptions, don't eat their young;pack animals generally have a vested interest in having all the pack members be strong, even the females!
ReplyDeleteThe Taliban are something more along the lines of a parasite or a retrovirus. A creature that invades and then destroys its host from within.
That's what the Taliban is!
Yep, and reports of moderate Muslims objecting to this radicalization of their religion flood the news today, oh, wait.......
ReplyDeleteBut Tam! This is all Bush's fault! That's another culture, and we have to celebrate diversity! It's none of our business what dark-skinned people of other cultures do to each other.
ReplyDeleteUnless they live in an area of absolutely no strategic interest to the United States. Then we must intervene.
I agree with Tamera.
ReplyDeleteThe often quoted number of Muslims in the world is about 1.3 billion. Most of them are not fighing us.
This war is a result of political figures using religion to manipulate people. If you trace it back, every one of these "jihad" idiot leaders is or has become powerful because they maniuplate people via means of religion. The same thing happend in Christianity. Much of the Islamic world is still of a feudal mindset; remember, they still identify themselves mainly via tribal affiliation, not national affiliation. Islam is not a mature religion.
Wonder if some training, and a 1911, would have turned the tide into Mr. Halim's favor?
ReplyDeleteSend these people a bunch of guns and teach them how to use them, I say.
Can't be any worse outcome than what we are seeing right now, can it. (that's a statement, not a question)
"You do not placate, you do not negotiate with evil; you destroy it."
ReplyDeleteTotal agreement. The only way to quash this sort of thing is to demonstrate again and again that creatures who impersonate humans get hunted down and destroyed like the broken vessels they are.
Shudderingly hideous. This kind of crap has no place in this world. Sickening.
Wow, from the standpoint of an American of European descent, the idea that teaching girls is as bad as treason is mind boggling. OTOH the practice of drawing and quartering as a punishment for treason did go out of style centuries ago in the West.
ReplyDeleteYes it is evil. However, who should be stepping in to eradicate it? Obviously, it ought to be some group of muslim clerics, both because it IS evil, and from a self-preservation desire, if nothing else. Otherwise, non-muslims are likely to end up painting ALL muslims with the same brush and here come the gas chambers and smallpox blankets.
Alternatively, according to their mission statement this is also an area that the UN, in a perfect world, ought to be working to resolve. Through hired military force if nothing else. NO, not through the use of US troops. Sadly, while they fit de jure, the de facto experience with the UN shows that the vast majority of them are just as evil as these miscreants.
Yep, we live in interesting times
Tam,
ReplyDeleteWhat solution do you suggest?
Jesper
Solutions? I don't pretend to have any.
ReplyDeleteIf I did, I'd run for President.
I know this:
"Let's just talk out our differences" is wolkencuckcuckland bullshit.
"Nuke 'em all 'til they glow" is genocidal, impossible, and just plain wrong.
In a perfect world, a way would be found to excise the tumor while leaving the patient alive.
I fear this world is less than perfect, and that whatever solution the West winds up using will smack more of endlösung than we will want to remember in years to come. To the detriment of the innocent they live among, I fear that radical Islam is sowing the wind...
[i]I fear this world is less than perfect, and that whatever solution the West winds up using will smack more of endlösung than we will want to remember in years to come. To the detriment of the innocent they live among, I fear that radical Islam is sowing the wind...[/i]
ReplyDeleteChilling words, but spot on from all I can see. I think our last chance at resolving things with minimal bloodshed is rapidly fading now.
Matt G. said:
ReplyDeleteBut see, good men and women are Muslim. How many? Well, I'd expect that the percentage runs right up there with the percentage of good Christian men and women.
I don't know about the percentage of good Christian men and women (how would one define good in this case?), but the best estimates for "good" Muslims run at less than 50%. In this case I've defined "good" as any Muslim NOT supportive of political Islam, that is to say, NOT in favor of implementing the barbaric legal system known as Sharia law on the whole world. Not all of the evil Muslims support terrorism, but imposition of Sharia law would still have the same result, regardless of how it was imposed: barbarism, utter backwardness, complete resistance to change, basically the end of Western civilization.
"Islam is evil"
A case can indeed be made that Islam is evil. The Muslim holy books (and I use the term holy loosely) contain passages that encourage the faithful, among other things, to convert infidels by the sword, to steal from infidels, to torture infidels taken prisoner, lie to infidels to gain the upper hand, and pretend to convert to other religions in order to betray them later. The root of the problem, I believe, is that Mohammad was an entreprising young warlord who invented his own religion by taking the moon god (Allah) from the pantheon of pagan gods worshipped in the region at the time, mixing in some elements of Judaism and Christianity, and using his mystic visions to condone his war crimes. As a result, those who follow Mohammad are essentially following a 7-th century warlord, war criminal, and child molester.
Does that make all Muslims evil? No it does not. Just like some Southern Baptists tithe the 10% demanded by their sect and some do not, so some Muslims follow Mohammand closer than others. It does mean, however, that Muslims as a group have a greater propensity towards violence, barbarism, lying, cheating, etc, etc than all other religions on Earth.
Just as an aside, it might be more appropriate to think about Islam's "holy" books not in the context of the Torah and the New Testament, but in the context of conquest. Islam's holy books are essentially the rules-of-engagement of Muhammad's conquering, plundering horde: absolute authority for the leader ("Islam is complete and perfect"), complete obedience to the leader ("there is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet"), swift and harsh justice for those who disobey (chopping off hands, limbs, ears, tongues, etc), the death penalty for traitors (apostates), and an imperative to the footsoldiers (the faithful) to do their absolute worst to the enemy (anyone who has not submitted) as long as the leader still gets his share of the spoils.
ReplyDeleteWhen seen in that light, the drawing an quartering of the unfortunate teacher, who fit his assailant's definition of an enemy, was not only justified, but wholly appropriate. The only way it could have been improved upon would have been to also kidnap his daughters, rape is wife and steal any valuables in the house. Muhammad would have been proud.
Oh, yeah, I forgot one: sanitary habits (wipe your butt with your left hand, eat with your right hand).
ReplyDeleteI hope this isn't too inflammatory, but Westerners - even the most intelligent, well read, educated Westerners - simply have no clue about Islam.
ReplyDeleteI won't try to explain it, but instead urge everyone to read Brigitte Gabriel's book "Because They Hate." She is a Lebanese Christian who grew up during the "civil war" when Muslims took over Lebanon.
It isn't pretty reading, and if you're one of the "Islam is just a peaceful religion that's been hijacked by a few extremists" crowd it's gonna be downright infuriating.
But, the reason for reading it is because she's "been there, done that, got the t-shirt." I believe it's the most important book I've read all year, and urge that everyone read it. Until you do, you really don't understand what we're up against.
(Yes, that's an absolute, blanket statement. It's meant to be.)
But see, good men and women are Muslim. How many? Well, I'd expect that the percentage runs right up there with the percentage of good Christian men and women.
ReplyDeleteMatt -
Islam isn't Christianity; it is not at all comparable. Islam is trans-national, and it is unlike anything you're familiar with in the western world.
When you thoroughly understand the Islamic concepts of taqiyya, umma, harb, qital, and dawah and most importantly naksh,, then you will begin to comprehend. Please don't take this personally, but until you do you're just another pawn of the Islamic media machine.
Heck, I'd settle for a thorough understanding of the word "islam". (No, it doesn't mean "peace.")
One thing that Islam, Nazism and Communism all have in common, it that "true belivers" have a strong willingness to use violence, instantly and brutally, on anyone who does not toe their particular line. I think this has a tendency to keep anyone who might argue with them in hiding.
ReplyDeleteThis is so perfectly stated. It's staggering how black and white this issue is, and heartbreaking how blind people are to it.
ReplyDeleteThat post made my blood run cold.
ReplyDeleteOh wow.
I was referred here by phlegmfatale's site...great posting.
I'll be back!
Jesper was looking for solutions?
ReplyDeleteImmigration!
All women of child bearing age (or younger) from any Muslim nation, that does not grant women full equal status, will be encouraged to immigrate to the United States. Simply report to the nearest US embassy or military base, leave your burka at the gate and welcome to the USA.
Immediately take most of the money that we keep wasting funding the UN and use it to fund college scholarships for our newest citizens. Those who chose not to go to college can get jobs filling in for all the illegal aliens who have returned home when we no longer allow them to work, rent apartments or receive social services.
Lets see how long these barbaric cultures last when there is no one left to procreate with.
Then we provide free transportation for (male only) PETA representatives to these countries to make sure that the donkeys and sheep aren't being ill used.