An Afghan journalism student was sentenced to death for distributing an article about Islam and women's rights that "insulted" Islam. He was sentenced January 23rd by a three-judge panel in ultra-religious Mazar-e-Sharif because he distributed an Internet report to his fellow journalism students that asks why men can have four wives but women cannot have multiple husbands. No jokes are permitted in Islam.
• Insulting Islam. "Insulting" Islam has long been a good reason for executing someone in the Muslim world. Now that Muslims have spilled out into the Western world, there are many who would like to extend these death sentences to non-Muslims as well, such as Pope Benedict, Danish cartoonists, and an assortment of novelists.
• Insulting Warlords. Some people think that the real target of ire is not this student, but rather his brother, who has done some hard-hitting pieces outlining abuses by some powerful warlords. If the Karzai government does not intervene or the student does not secure asylum elsewhere, he will be the first of the three journalists executed in the six years since we ejected the Taliban in Afghanistan.
• Attending School. Another reason for a death sentence in Afghanistan is attending school. So far, in the southern (Taliban-infested) part of the country, there is an active campaign to close schools and force teenage boys to join the Islamic militia. In the past year, students driven out of school have increased from 200,000 to 300,000 while students and teachers killed have gone from 46 to 147. The most ferocious attacks have been on girls’ schools and their teachers, of course. Unless the international community (or NATO) does something about this, Afghanistan will once more decline to its miserable backwardness under the Taliban. Read more ...
• Insulting Islam. "Insulting" Islam has long been a good reason for executing someone in the Muslim world. Now that Muslims have spilled out into the Western world, there are many who would like to extend these death sentences to non-Muslims as well, such as Pope Benedict, Danish cartoonists, and an assortment of novelists.
• Insulting Warlords. Some people think that the real target of ire is not this student, but rather his brother, who has done some hard-hitting pieces outlining abuses by some powerful warlords. If the Karzai government does not intervene or the student does not secure asylum elsewhere, he will be the first of the three journalists executed in the six years since we ejected the Taliban in Afghanistan.
• Attending School. Another reason for a death sentence in Afghanistan is attending school. So far, in the southern (Taliban-infested) part of the country, there is an active campaign to close schools and force teenage boys to join the Islamic militia. In the past year, students driven out of school have increased from 200,000 to 300,000 while students and teachers killed have gone from 46 to 147. The most ferocious attacks have been on girls’ schools and their teachers, of course. Unless the international community (or NATO) does something about this, Afghanistan will once more decline to its miserable backwardness under the Taliban. Read more ...
Source: Family Security Matters
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