Afghanistan and the true values of Islam

After 20 years of US occupation, the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan and announced the establishment of Islamic law, known as "Sharia".

The Taliban emerged in the late 1980s after the Soviet Union withdrew its troops from Afghanistan. They were then supported by the US, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and others. It is not the first time they have occupied Afghanistan since they ruled the country from 1996 to 2001. They were welcomed by most of the Afghan population because they managed to eradicate corruption and infighting.

However, they also introduced new rules and laws according to their own interpretation of Islam. For example, they banned television, music, cinema, make-up and almost completely restricted women's participation in public life. They decreed that schooling for girls could be up to the age of 10 and forced women to wear the burqa. While the Taliban were condemned in the West for violating human rights, they themselves justified their extreme and controversial positions in the name of Islam.

Their time in power was not only a black chapter in Afghanistan's history, but also tarnished the image of Islam globally, fostering prejudice against the world's 1.7 billion Muslims. Even today there are those in the West who argue that Islam's stance is a threat to world peace.

Before analysing the teachings of Islam, it should be noted that the Taliban movement is a military movement with a political agenda, whose emergence is rooted in the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. In 1994, the Taliban movement was born as a continuation of the various military groups that had fought against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Islam, on the other hand, is a religion that emerged in the 7th century and is based on the revelation of the Koran, practical life and the words of the Prophet Muhammad, the Founder of Islam.

While the Taliban spread fear and violence, Islam literally means peace in Arabic, and from its linguistic roots condemns all violence and terrorism. The Founder of Islam defined a Muslim as "one who by his hands and tongue makes other human beings safe". This is also why Muslims are commanded to greet others with words of peace: "Assalamu alaikum", peace be upon you.

While the Taliban persecute and murder those who oppose their ideology and thinking, Islam teaches to honour and protect every human life, regardless of religion, ethnicity or political flag. The Koran proclaims that whoever kills an innocent person is as if he has killed all of humanity.

While the Taliban impose their interpretation of Islamic law, Islam guarantees freedom of belief and worship. The Koran made it clear from its inception that there must be no coercion in matters of faith and mandated the separation of state and religion.

While the Taliban destroy non-Muslim churches and temples, Islam teaches to protect every church, synagogue and place of worship. According to Islam, Al'lah is the universal God, and sent the Prophet Muhammad (lpbD) as a mercy to all mankind.

While the Taliban abuse women and violate their human rights, Islam is the liberator of women and guarantees their dignity and respect. Since the advent of Islam, women were given the right to inherit, work, own property independently, obtain education, marry of their own choice, divorce, vote and be an active and productive part of society. Prophet Muhammad (lpbD) elevated the status of women and said that "the best among Muslims is the one who treats his wife best".

The Taliban do not represent the true teachings of Islam, but are trying to hide their own ideology in the name of Islam. If there are people who self-identify as Muslims and usurp the rights of others, it is only because they reject the teachings of Islam or ignore them altogether. These people are not only a threat to the values of the West, but also to the Muslim world itself.

There are ulema who think they are the embodiment of mercy, but their hearts are filled with hatred. In the name of God's holy water, sent to cool our anger, they inflame the fires of hatred and anger in the hearts of the innocent. The followers of the Prince of Peace, the Prophet Muhammad (lpbD), whose blood purified barbaric Arabia, are being persuaded to murder defenceless people. In the name of the protector of the helpless poor, his followers are encouraged to rob the homes of those who are powerless to defend themselves. In the name of the Prophet Muhammad, who protected the honour even of women from ruffians, the happy and loving marriages of Muslim women are annulled and transformed into adulterous relationships. In the name of the builder of the first mosque in Medina, who offered it to the Christians of Nallran for Sunday services, and in the name of the Prophet Muhammad (lpbD) who taught his followers to respect the centres of other faiths, today's ulema incite the masses to destroy temples that are not to their liking.

What would the Prophet think if he could see the ulema of his "ummah" (commonwealth) falsely accusing the dignitaries of other Muslim groups of all sorts of crimes and cheering the abuse of women and housewives? How would an agnostic react to such a display of "religious fervour"? What Muslim would think for a moment that our Prophet would have advised the ulema of his umma to deliver provocative and destructive harangues; or that he would have ordered them to deliver angry sermons so that whole villages of poor and destitute people would be burnt down? Not satisfied with all this, could the Prince of Peace, the Prophet Muhammad (lpbD), have told religious leaders to treat as apostates those Muslims whose understanding of Islam did not coincide with his own? Would he have authorised the killing of them and their wives and the destruction of their mosques and temples as the only divine way to erase apostasy?

These are the questions on which we should all reflect seriously. Muslims should consider the attitude of these ulema since repression, torture, execution, burning and demolition of mosques or other temples are not the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (lpbD). Every stone in the streets of Mecca over which the so-called apostates were dragged bears witness to this. Likewise, every grain of burning sand in Arabia where defenceless people were tortured for accepting Islam. The pebbles of Taif, where the Prophet's blood was shed, bear witness to the fact that our great Master mercifully did not teach that religious belief was obligatory and that He did not order the burning of houses of worship in the name of worship, or dishonouring women in the name of honour. Muslims bow their heads in shame and their souls cry out over today's religious leaders who preach violence in the name of the Prophet.