TIME Makes a Mess of Past and Present

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Have you seen this?

It’s the cover of the latest issue of TIME Magazine, and its story details the horrific ordeal of Aisha, an 18-year-old woman who was abused by her in-laws. Although she managed to flee to Kandahar, they found her and took her to a mountainside, where her husband mutilated her.

“When they cut off my nose and ears, I passed out,” Aisha said, describing the attack. “It felt like there was cold water in my nose. I opened my eyes, and I couldn’t even see because of all the blood.”

Aisha is now in the US for reconstructive surgery, courtesy of the Grossman Burn Foundation.

But Aisha’s haunting face isn’t alone on the cover. She shares it with

What Happens if We Leave Afghanistan

No question mark, no room for doubt, no opening for a conversation. Rather, a declaration – and accompanying a noseless face, a conclusion: This is how it will be when we’re not there to save them.

So the point of the article is that negotiating with the Taliban will moot the progress women have made in the past nine years – from education to participation in sports to parliamentary representation. It doesn’t address which women have benefited from this – those in cities? Rural areas? Rich? Poor? Those who’ve returned from abroad? Those in areas actually governed? But fine, ok. I get it.

The problem is that the narrative itself skips conveniently through history. It harkens back to a time when women were independent:

Kabul 40 years ago was considered the playground of Central Asia, a city where girls wore jeans to the university and fashionable women went to parties sporting Chanel miniskirts (p. 23).

The next year mentioned in the story is 1996 – when the Taliban took over in Afghanistan. There is no mention of the decades between, during which women’s independence eroded in the country. This is especially ironic, because the photo of Aisha – her pose, the angle of her face, the shawl around her head – is evocative of that iconic 1985 cover of National Geographic:

At the time this photo was taken, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan was in its 5th year, and President Ronald Reagan was extolling the virtues of those brave Afghan freedom fighters, the Mujahideen: a group of guys, I’m told, not known for their tight embrace of women’s rights. Nowhere in TIME’s cover story is there any reference to the initial role that Cold War politics played in the transformation of society in Afghanistan.

Retracing his steps in 2002, the National Geographic photographer who took that picture went back to look for the anonymous girl and eventually found her. Her name is Sharbat Gula. She expressed regret that she had not been able to finish school, and hoped that her daughters would have an education. She also said this when she was asked if she had ever felt safe: “No. But life under the Taliban was better. At least there was peace and order.” Probably not surprising, given the chaos that ensued when the Soviets withdrew and the Mujahideen took over and proceeded to fight each other for control.

The TIME cover’s declaration also misses the transition the US has made from proxy warrior to occupying force. In any armed conflict between a state and a militant group, civilians fall victim to both sides. We’ve seen this again and again in South Asia from localized criminal enterprises like Veerappan to the civil war in Sri Lanka to the Maoists/Operation Green Hunt to the Northwest Frontier Province. “What Happens if We Leave” overlooks this basic point – that we have done and are doing far more damage in Afghanistan than we take responsibility for.

I was relieved to learn that Aisha is getting her nose back, and I hope she is able to re-enter Afghanistan and get her life back as well. But I think the TIME editors made a mess of using her story and her image to justify continuing presence in Afghanistan with those five simplistic words.

Thanks to K & S for comments.

90 thoughts on “TIME Makes a Mess of Past and Present”

  1. 23 and #25:

    You’re avoiding my basic hypothesis, in typical Islamic fashion. The US has poured trillions of dollars into Afghanistan and Iraq. Ever watch a condominium project go up? Once the money is in the right hands, the construction goes fairly quickly. The ONLY reason why you don’t see such a vast amount of construction in Afghanistan/Iraq is because the radical Islamic militants have sabatoged such projects, whether it be threatening the workers (construction crew) or blowing the infrastructure to bits, via a suicide bomb. The reports that you find virtually everyday on http://www.yahoo.com about a bomb going off in Iraq/Afghanistan – well guess what – the BOMBS ADD UP. Those are not American bombs either! Tell your jihadi brothers to lay off the suicide bombs, and you might actually see some STABLE LASTING project development in Iraq/Afghanistan. The fact that moderate Muslims – if they even exist – don’t speak out against suicide bombings just proves my earlier assertion that there is no such thing as moderate Islam, period.

  2. 21, Suki Dillon

    Thanks for the heads up. I totally agree with you about the USA bashing. Imagine if the USA hadn’t invaded Afghanistan? Women would still be confined to an existence such as this:

    http://blogs.dixcdn.com/shine_a_light/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/afghanburka.jpg

    I know a lot of Muslims will say that the Taliban do not represent true Islam… but the fact of the matter is NONE of these “moderate” Muslims ever spoke out against the Taliban. A little research will reveal that wealthy Muslims, particularly in the Middle East, are the one’s funding madrassas in Pakistan – essentially, recruiting grounds for the next generation of jihad warfare. The fact of the matter is that SOMEONE had to oust the Taliban… and that someone just happened to be the Americans. You can call it neo-colonialism, but its quite apparent that Afghanis – especially women – are better off under practically anyone, rather than the Taliban.

  3. Poor girl…but is chopping of ears & nose is any way related to any ancient Indian practice? (like in Ramayana Laxmana does this to Shurpanaki)

  4. but the fact of the matter is NONE of these “moderate” Muslims ever spoke out against the Taliban

    enough already with this lie. it’s been said enough times that even sane people believe this.

    but its quite apparent that Afghanis – especially women – are better off under practically anyone, rather than the Taliban.

    were they better off under the russkies or the taliban that america funded? was pakistan’s rapid islamicization funded by reagan through zia a positive move for women there?

  5. @ zazou

    ,عزيزي الأب

    You must forgive me if I am not interested in taking lessons about about my DÄ«n from a Munafiq on a website of Mushrikeen. If the views expressed by you are indeed superficial and you are indulging in Taquiyya, then apologies. 🙂

  6. @Akash

    Totally agree with you mate. All the evil amongst the Muslims of Pakistani/Afghan/Bangla society like honour killings, Dowry, Caste, etc. have their roots in the evil Hindu cult. To solve this we Muslims of the subcontinent must expunge all these Kufr practices, distance ourselves from the idolaters and explore deeply our beautiful and egalitarian religion, Islam.

    Of course it is also our duty to save the idolaters who want to be saved and bring them into the fold of Umma

  7. I know a lot of Muslims will say that the Taliban do not represent true Islam… but the fact of the matter is NONE of these “moderate” Muslims ever spoke out against the Taliban. A little research will reveal that wealthy Muslims, particularly in the Middle East, are the one’s funding madrassas in Pakistan – essentially, recruiting grounds for the next generation of jihad warfare. The fact of the matter is that SOMEONE had to oust the Taliban… and that someone just happened to be the Americans. You can call it neo-colonialism, but its quite apparent that Afghanis – especially women – are better off under practically anyone, rather than the Taliban.

    I wish somebody can tell me where the outrage in the muslim world was the way the taliban treated there fellow muslims and there abuse of human rights. Why before the 9/11 attacks didn’t one of the richer muslims nations like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq or UAE sends troops to come to aid of the muslims brothers and sisters against the Taliban. Where was the outrage over the way the Afghanis were living. Instead they chose to spend all there time crying about the overrated people of Palestine. I just love the double standard.

  8. A change of pace from all the Hindu/Muslim-bashing fun:

    When was the last time TIME covered the on-going femicide in Mexico? How about literacy among females in Latin America as a whole? Machismo and defending the “man’s honor” isn’t unique to the Middle East…

    American news sources get such a hard-on from showing how women fare in Muslim nations, yet ignore the plight for women’s rights and empowerment elsewhere in the world. They’re all racking in the profits from bashing the most popular demon. If anything, our own backyard should serve as an example of how much we (the US) have done to improve conditions for women in developing countries. We’ve been heavily invested in Latin America for the past century (and more) and continue to ignore atrocities against women in these regions despite the leverage we might have with strong business and diplomatic ties. How committed is the military, govt., or private sector to women’s rights? What has our track record been?

  9. This girl was disfigured while we are there in Afghanistan, not while Afghanistan was under Taliban rule. It wasn’t the Taliban that disfigured her, it was her husband.

    There are social problems that our presence in Afghanistan will not change. The Afghan people may have more opportunity to make positive changes while the Taliban is out of power because of our presence, compared to when the Taliban is in power. But it is the Afghan people and not us who will make those changes.

  10. Poor girl…but is chopping of ears & nose is any way related to any ancient Indian practice? (like in Ramayana Laxmana does this to Shurpanaki)

    nak katna- a still used idiom in Hindi coming from the ancient practice of cutting off a woman’s nose for dishonor (i.e. adultery)

  12. The ‘overrated’ people of Palestine do not want their cause to be hijacked by the extremist fringe. Most Palestinians are hardly even religious.

    It is generally a good thing that most countries don’t invade other countries, don’t you think, Suki? But since you asked why some countries didn’t invade Afghanistan, I’m going to go down that list and answer your question.

    1. Saudi Arabia would hardly fight a group funded by its own Wahhabists. Is that perhaps what you were getting at? Then the question I’d ask you is, why does the US continue to treat the Saudis as their allies? And your expectation that Saudi Arabia would stand up for women’s rights in general is laughably naive.
    2. Shiite Iran fighting the sunni Taliban would have quickly united the sunni world against Iran. Terrible strategy for Iran.
    3. Jordan has a peacekeeping force in Afghanistan.
    4. Egypt is hardly a rich arab country.
    5. Iraq was reeling under sanctions during 9/11. Even Saddam wouldn’t have been that stupid. Not to mention the fact Iraq attacking any other country would have been suicidal. Especially since it would have to happen over Iranian airspace.
    6. The UAE has a peacekeeping force in Afghanistan.

    There you go, Military Strategy 101.

    Would you blame every other country in the world for not invading Afghanistan too? Let the concept of white man’s burden die, please.

  13. ronnieboy,

    I just read through that article you linked, and was intrigued by this paragraph, which seems to be the crux of his argument for why India should act militarily:

    There are unofficial strategic experts in India who have been proposing covert action to counter Pakistan’s covert action. This makes sense in a volatile theatre where everyone is engaged in shadow-boxing. If India can mobilise the kind of strategic brilliance the ISI displays, it can hit Pakistan where it hurts. It may even get the tacit support of the CIA and M16. What is required is an iron will on the part of policy makers. Perhaps Indira Gandhi would have found that will.

    What exactly is an unofficial strategic expert? A blogger?

  14. Thanks for that link, Amitava, and let me add this:

    Once Upon a Time in Afghanistan When I was in middle school, I remember that on one visit to a city market, I bought a photobook about the country published by Afghanistan’s planning ministry. Most of the images dated from the 1950s. I had largely forgotten about that book until recently; I left Afghanistan in 1968 on a U.S.-funded scholarship to study at the American University of Beirut, and subsequently worked in the Middle East and now the United States. But recently, I decided to seek out another copy. Stirred by the fact that news portrayals of the country’s history didn’t mesh with my own memories, I wanted to discover the truth. Through a colleague, I received a copy of the book and recognized it as a time capsule of the Afghanistan I had once known — perhaps a little airbrushed by government officials, but a far more realistic picture of my homeland than one often sees today. A half-century ago, Afghan women pursued careers in medicine; men and women mingled casually at movie theaters and university campuses in Kabul; factories in the suburbs churned out textiles and other goods. There was a tradition of law and order, and a government capable of undertaking large national infrastructure projects, like building hydropower stations and roads, albeit with outside help. Ordinary people had a sense of hope, a belief that education could open opportunities for all, a conviction that a bright future lay ahead. All that has been destroyed by three decades of war, but it was real.

  15. Vivek,

    I thought this thread was being moderated. Any reason why Brit Paki’s abusive recent comments (50, 51) are still up ?

  17. To those of you who would have me delete all of BritPaki’s comments (some of which, by the way, I have deleted), let me ask you where your moderate voices were:

    Here Here Here Here

    I could go on. Until you find the moderate voice you demand in others, please don’t request my moderation.

  18. How about number 13 – that kind of thing doesn’t belong on a site of this stature, whoever said it?

    The problem here is that often Pakistan is the aggressor, so India is generally reacting to aggression from outside, not instigating it. Thus when self righteous Pakistanis try and give it large then Indian desis tend to react. Not unjustifiably, in my opinion.

    Pakistan could be fine if they spent more time trying to run their country rather than worrying about India all the time. India has no desire to do anything to Pakistan and in fact would be happy to see them succeed. Also, many muslims live in India and successfully so – many people high up in government, politics, sport, Bollywood are of the muslim religion. Muslims have been part of the history of what is now called India for centuries.

    What people should do is question where this animosity came from. Could it be that the British did it on purpose as a parting shot so that they could create conflict and sell arms? There should be more thought given to these issues than just trying to target India and effectively doing exactly what the colonial rulers wanted them to do.

    We should be brother countries working together, but we have allowed the west to dictate our relationship to each other. That is bad. I hope all Pakistanis think deeply about this, because India is not the natural enemy of Pakistan.

    The problem is that when faced with aggression, sometimes aggression is required in return. So when Pakistanis continually attack India, there is a certain defensiveness which manifests. And I don’t think there is anything wrong with sticking up for yourself in the face of naked hatred and aggression. The fact that that hatred and aggression is misplaced is also very important and should be considered deeply, but if your aggressor is intent on damaging you then before you can talk you may need to subdue.

    Ultimately, however, the key is to recognize that Pakistan and India should not be enemies. It is also important to notice how well muslims do in India and take that on board. India does not hate muslims nor Pakistan, but when faced with irrational aggression a resistance must and should be displayed.

  19. @ Vivek

    What exactly is an unofficial strategic expert? A blogger?

    I think he’s referring to the counter-intelligence “spy vs. spy” world.

    @61,

    The British sure messed up all over the world. Kashmir is just an excuse. I have no clue why Pakistan’s leaders are so obsessed with India. Like you say, it sure is a misplaced (and counter-productive) strategy. Nothing will change unless the Pakistani people realize their leaders are no good and do something about it.

  20. Vivek,

    Fine, I understand if you feel that Brit Paki’s comments about Hindusim being an ‘evil cult’ and hindu girls ‘liking islamic penetration’ are not abusive, or insulting..

    Somehow I don’t think these have anything to do with the topic at hand, and are likely to just invite retaliatory comments about Islam and muslims..

    However I don’t see what others may or may not have said on other threads has to do with this.. You announced that you would be moderating this thread and I just assumed that meant that all abusive and trollish comments about ‘any’ community would fall under that.

  21. Oops! What happened to #61. Vivek, why did you delete that? I thought he made some valid (and well-tempered) points.

  22. @ronnieboy – yes that was me – I don’t know why I got deleted either – I was quite polite!

  23. Interesting what is going on here.

    Vivek, I am not a moderator of this blog; I asked why the disgusting and obviously false and laughable comments that use depictions of sexual depravity to espouse his cowardly views of Britpaki were kept?….Since I’m not responsible for moderating, as abhi has pointed out and yet there is a anti-abuse policy, I suggest you can decide or ask why the moderators of those threads that you pointed out, did not erase their comments.

    Anyways I won’t be commenting on sm again – it’s ridiculous that a blogger is asking me to go back in time and ask me to comment to others apparent “abuse” and to make a point keeps disgusting comments by a depraved ignorant participant in this discussion.

    The British sure messed up all over the world. Yes, it’s fine to make comments like this, but we can’t make comments about the state of Pakistan that we disagree with. carry on and sure, I am more than happy to be banned.

  24. The comment is in fact deleted. Unless you want SM to require you to register and/or postpone publishing your comments until somebody can approve them, you need to have some more patience for folks who are scrambling to keep this space safe, welcoming, and clean– while trying to keep their day jobs. Hats off to Vivek for creating this discussion.

  26. All the trillions of dollars wasted in two Islamic countries… imagine if the USA had invested that in India. How many Silicon Valley type revolutions would we have seen!

  27. @Absolut

    The trillion of dollars have not been “wasted”. The funds are rightfully deserved by Pakistan for allowing supplies for the NATO and US occupiers to transit through Pakistan to Afghanistan.

    You do not want your troops to perish there, without supplies . Do you ?

  28. What happens when you patronize a people and don’t let them sort out their own problems?

  29. Can the moderator please explain why my comment was deleted? I know he’s there because he just deleted a post.

  30. BritPaki, why are you living in a kuffir nation, one that humiliated your own nation for decades, instead of the glorious land of the (un)pure? RAW controls more of Afghanistan than ISI anyway, including Kabul.

  31. 65 – thanks, ‘preciate it.

    Yes, but why was I deleted?

    Because India-Pakistan relations have nothing to do with this post.

    I haven’t been particularly thrilled with the discussions on most of my posts here thus far, and I’m coming to realize that I won’t be without some intervention here and there. This isn’t something I’ve had to do before, and I really have to tip my hat to Abhi, Anna, Sugi, and the others who’ve been doing it for a number of years.

    My moderation isn’t going to be perfect, and if you’d like to stick around for my learning curve, be my guest. But when I have time to moderate, I’m no longer going to put up with comments that are unrelated to the post, nor with comments that essentialize states, members of religions, or citizens of countries.

    If you’d like to say anything to me about this or offer suggestions, please email me at vivek [at] passtheroti [dot] com. This is the last comment on this thread about moderating.

  32. Absolut, you do realize that India is ranked 124 in economic freedom, don’t you? And it ranks fairly high in corruption.

    And within the State Department, there is consensus that Iraq was lost because of a lack of strategic planning. But feel free to blame Islam, it’s far more simplistic and dramatic.

  33. Yes, but why was I deleted?

    Because India-Pakistan relations have nothing to do with this post.

    You could have at least let me copy it into word – I have now forgotten most of it! Still, I would have thought a positive post about Indo-pak relations would have been welcome, but fair enough – you have to do your job. I’ll save it for a more relevant topic.

  35. @BritPaki

    Realist, get real . Britain won’t be staying Kufr for long. Look up Londonistan on google . 😉

    Are u for real ? You sound like what the BNP believe’s most British Muslims to be like.

  36. Are u for real ? You sound like what the BNP believe’s most British Muslims to be like.

    DING DING DING DING DING! Congratulations. You’ve just one this game of Troll-Spotting.

    Brit-Paki is obviously here to rile people up with extremist and inflammatory screeds. I’m surprised Vivek hasn’t banned him unless this is supposed to be some farcical attempt at being “Fair and balanced.”

  37. The only reason why this photograph could be inappropriate is because it violates this 18 year old girl. Rest is just hogwash from apologists who pick and choose stories and pictures to make unreasonable assertions.

    The author of this post dug out an old photo and a quote from “Sharbat Gula” on how she preferred Taliban over the chaos at that time- can anyone verify whether Ms Gula would prefer Taliban today. And what about this girl – did anyone ask who would she prefer Taliban over the “occupiers”.

    Funny thing is such so called “left hand siders” expect intellectual honesty from Tea Baggers but expect slack when they are called out.

    It is strange that some people are ambivalent about Taliban – would it be appropriate to wish that sisters and daughters of such people get the opportunity to live in a society that BritPaki wishes for ?

  38. Jeez guys, if you buy tosh you cannot blame them for selling tosh. Switch over to a better publication and Time will be forced by the hand of the market to sell journalism not sensationalism. Anyone read the Economist recently, they’ve covered all these topics in recent months from a fact based perspective – Afghanistan from various perspectives, genital mutilation in Africa, democracy and American influence in the Middle East, atrocities in South America among others. It is an opinion based publication but even if you do not agree with their point of view, there are enough facts there to form your own opion.

  39. Yunhi,

    If you don’t publicize WHY you’re switching to a different publication how exactly is Time supposed to know what it needs to do to improve itself? This whole notion of “Let’s not criticize people for not meeting standards” doesn’t make sense.

  40. 68:

    You actually bring up a good point. The so-called American imperialism is not a one-man affair. Many Muslim countries are perfectly happy to take money from the Americans in exchange for military cooperation. The Saudis could kick the Americans out of Saudi overnight, if they wanted. So could Pakistan. But there is a lottttt of money involved. Someone told me that if there were no Americans in Afghanistan/Pakistan, the Taliban would probably overrun Pakistan. I don’t know how true that it is, but its certainly not an impossible scenario. In any event, that is what all this comes down to – economics, not neo-imperialism. Almost all of the oil-rich Muslim nations would collapse without American investment – but I’m sure they must be knowing that that oil is used to fuel the tanks, planes, and humvees that send loads of jihadis to meet their 72-virgins, on a daily basis.

    Let me summarize: if you want to condemn the Americans for imperialism, also condemn the Muslim nations that assist with the logistics, in exchange for vast sums of money.

  41. Swati:

    Of course India is not perfect, but it has progressed in leaps and bounds since Independence. Unlike the Arab countries, dominated by you know who, that sit tight with their oil money and do nothing, India has actually created an intellectual class that has, on a global scale, transformed everything from IT to engineering to commerce. India can certainly survive without oil, but how many of the Arab nations can? India has its economy built around IT, manufacturing etc, which is good. Oil is a natural resource that does not replenish itself. Like I said before (no clue if the post is still around) when an alternative to oil is found, you are going to see the MidEast dissolve into a series of Sharia-like dictatorships. Look at Gaza if you need confirmation. That’s the economy of your typical Arab nation, if no oil is around.

  42. Poor girl…but is chopping of ears & nose is any way related to any ancient Indian practice? (like in Ramayana Laxmana does this to Shurpanaki) nak katna- a still used idiom in Hindi coming from the ancient practice of cutting off a woman’s nose for dishonor (i.e. adultery)

    An Afghan Muslim girl gets her nose cut off by her Afghan Muslim husband in the Islamic state of Afghanistan, and some how this is because of India and Hinduism. No the husband is just a total jerk.

  43. An Afghan Muslim girl gets her nose cut off by her Afghan Muslim husband in the Islamic state of Afghanistan, and some how this is because of India and Hinduism. No the husband is just a total jerk.

    No, Sameer.That’s a simplistic, non nuanced reading of the issue. As BritPaki so elegantly explained, and you can still read his comment in full at #49, the real fault lies in the corruption of the pure ideology of Islam by the evil Hindu cult. The solution is clear- more Islam. These countries should strive to be purer, preferably more than the Saudi Arabians themselves, and incorporate as much Islam as they can in every aspect of their life. Then all their problems will vanish, just like they have in the middle east.

  44. Tell that to the filipinos, puerto ricans, hawaiians….”

    A little off topic, but refers to a conversation I just had… The Hawaiians could vouch–that was the tyranny of sugar and pineapple, that caused America to decide it should be the 50th (I think) state.

    However, the filipinos ( heavily Christian which contributed to their openness) were glad when McArthur returned after WWII. The Japanese had been engaging in some terrible behavior one would never expect of such normally polite people. In an agency archives, I saw some grade school text books produced by the U.S. Dept. of Education for the Filipino schools in the early 1900s and I was impressed by the beauty of the illustrations and respect for the culture. No “exoticizing” just tastefully done colored drawings of everyday life and stories suited for the children of that country. But those days were a high-water mark for illustrators in the western world. I’m blown away by the quality of a lot of ordinary text-book drawings from the first 3 or 4 decades of the 20th century. I would say the Philippines is one of the few places where American foreign policy succeeded in winning friends and influencing people over a long period of time, at least until the 1970s.

    As for Puerto Rico, considering how many are here, I think a referendum on the subject of remaining in the fold would be iffy.

  45. You know if all the oil moguls in the Arab nations wanted to invest their money in Pakistan/Afghanistan/Iraq, no one is stopping them. Instead they choose to indulge in luxury… the Sultan of Brunei alone owns more than 200 Rolls Royces. They own property in the French Riviera, Swiss Alps, and every other hotspot you can think of. They have jets to take them all across the globe. Yes folks, the money from oil flows equally as well as the oil itself… but the fact of the matter is, the average oil-rich Arab (Muslim) nation does nothing to uplift the poorer Muslim nations such as Afghanistan. The sultans, sheiks and other royals are way too busy squandering their easy money on themselves. I don’t see how these nations have a right to complain when the Americans actually try to make a difference in Afghanistan and such places, at the risk of their own lives.

  46. @79 Yoga Fire

    Brit-Paki is obviously here to rile people up with extremist and inflammatory screeds. I’m surprised Vivek hasn’t banned him unless this is supposed to be some farcical attempt at being “Fair and balanced.”

    Vivek did warn us we need to catch up with his learning curve! Give him a little more time. Till then the trolls can have a field day.

  47. Sorry Hindu friends if I am getting under your skin, but the fact is Hinduism is a cult with hodge-podge of conflicting and often contradictory ideas. It is not a true religion like the Abrahamic faiths. For God’s sake you pray before a phallus. Inferiority complex, anyone ? It is because of misogynistic practices of Hindu cult that poor Hindu women have to seek succour from Muslim men . 😉

    All this wouldn’t concern me but for the fact that this disease has also infected true faiths in the subcontinent. This unfortunate incident is just one example of how Hindu ritual of cutting of women’s noses has infected our Pure religion. To prevent this every true pious Muslim should do all within his power to get rid of this cancer.

  48. The solution is clear- more Islam. These countries should strive to be purer, preferably more than the Saudi Arabians themselves, and incorporate as much Islam as they can in every aspect of their life. Then all their problems will vanish, just like they have in the middle east.

    Reminded me of “Among the Believers” by VS Naipaul. Also this:

    What Do Terrorists Want “In nearly all cases, the jihadi terrorists have a patently self-evident ambition: to establish a world dominated by Muslims, Islam, and Islamic law, the Shari’a. Or, again to cite the Daily Telegraph, their “real project is the extension of the Islamic territory across the globe, and the establishment of a worldwide ‘caliphate’ founded on Shari’a law.”

    Terrorists openly declare this goal. The Islamists who assassinated Anwar el-Sadat in 1981 decorated their holding cages with banners proclaiming the “caliphate or death.” A biography of one of the most influential Islamist thinkers of recent times and an influence on Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Azzam declares that his life “revolved around a single goal, namely the establishment of Allah’s Rule on earth” and restoring the caliphate.

    Bin Laden himself spoke of ensuring that “the pious caliphate will start from Afghanistan.” His chief deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, also dreamed of re-establishing the caliphate, for then, he wrote, “history would make a new turn, God willing, in the opposite direction against the empire of the United States and the world’s Jewish government.” Another Al-Qaeda leader, Fazlur Rehman Khalil, publishes a magazine that has declared “Due to the blessings of jihad, America’s countdown has begun. It will declare defeat soon,” to be followed by the creation of a caliphate.”

    Yup. Once that happens, all their problems will go away like magic.

  49. Whatever. If you think stoning a woman to death for adultery is more Islamically pure, go for it in Afghanistan or in Britain.

  50. Absolut

    India’s economy grew at barely 3 percent until we (I’m DBD) liberalized our economy in the 90s. We started out in the 50s with the same GDP per capita as South Korea, which grew by leaps and bounds and is now on par with industrialized, western nations. Per capita, we’re still among the poorest nations in the world. That’s a separate discussion though.

    The ancient Arab world was extremely prosperous, well before oil. Both under Islam, and in antiquity. The gulf Arab states however were fishing villages. It’s important to make this distinction. Even in the Arab world (don’t forget North Africa), there are few fans of Saudi Arabia/the UAE.

    Islam changed around the time the Muslim Brotherhood started, basically to counter British imperialism. You could almost legitimately blame the British for this one. They left a mess wherever they went. Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, Egypt. (They just left India impoverished, but I do think we did very well to adopt a secular constitution, unlike Pakistan. Our lack of government accountability kills us though!) The USA is repeating these very same mistakes. And the USA has caused some newer non-Islamic ones with Vietnam, its support of corrupt autocratic right wing dictators in South America.

    Do you see why America bashing happens? I’m no America basher, quite the contrary. I’m a constitutionalist. America needs to get back to its founding principles of liberty and freedom.

    Gaza’s economic condition has everything to do with blockades and conflict. And little to do with Islam.

    Yes, the Taliban are awful, no ambivalence there. They stood in solidarity with the hijackers of IC814. Didn’t allow Indian troops to storm the aircraft. What they do to their women is unforgivable/barbaric. But cliche as it sounds, the only way out of the mess is infrastructure development. This war is unwinnable/unaffordable.

    The troll needs to be ignored, it adds nothing of value.