It may be justified to presume that every other reader might have been moved by a recently published photo, wherein a teacher is trying to console a small girl who has been crying after watching the damage to her school in Tunis. The other photo shows books on fire probably in the school’s library. What this school has to do with the production of a crude film uploaded on the internet by some individuals in the US?
I don’t know whether this Tunisian girl is aware that she is not alone trapped in this agony and misery. There are hundreds of thousands of boys and girls in Pakistan’s Pashtun areas whose schools and colleges have been destroyed by Taliban. Why, because Taliban think that modern education invites the wrath of God and one need to be clear of such education as proof of being a true Muslim. They have waged a systematic campaign to dismantle modern education facilities by blasting them to rubbles; only in Pakistan’s KP province and tribal agencies more than 700 schools and colleges have been destroyed. Most of these are girls schools as Taliban don’t believe in female education. Afghan Taliban banned female education during their 1996-2001 tenure. Even now Afghan girls schools are frequently threatened; poisoning water supplies to a girls school is still in the news.
Muslims are being criticized across the world for not doing enough to isolate a minority who has hijacked the religion for its evil designs. We need to come out and stop this madness in the name of someone’s twisted interpretation of religion. History will never forgive us for surrendering of our values —- decency, moderation and enlightenment at the altar of a deviant mentality.
MASOOD KHAN
Jubail, Saudi Arabia
