Post 8: Too Much of a Good Thing

An article I read in Newsweek (March 23rd edition) called “Jihad Chic Comes to London” tells of the author, Sami Yousafzai’s, time in London after fleeing Peshawar, Pakistan. While in London, Yousafzai met several young Afghans promoting the cause of the Taliban; this came as a shock to see the very people Yousafzai had been trying to escape.

Supporters of the Taliban rule initially consisted mainly of Sunni Pashtuns and deeply religious students who were educated and trained in Pakistan. These days, support of the Taliban is something Americans tend only to expect from raging-religious, dangerously fundamental Islamic terrorists; but this article reminds us not to be so ready with the tape to stick labels on people. Yousafzai’s article gave some insight about who might support the Taliban rule of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and what their reasons may be.

The need for the preservation of identity, Yousafzai believes, may be at the root of the fervor of so many young Afghans far from home. Often, Islamic immigrants still have very deep roots in their old lives. Tradition does not fade for them because they still see themselves as separate from the Western world.

In London, Yousafzai found one such man, nicknamed Talib Jan. Jan, only twenty-three, steadfastly follows his religion and firmly believes in Taliban practices of brutality against immoral Muslims. He stands outside mosques to hand out flyers that outline the utopia he believes Mullah Mohammed Omar (spiritual and military leader of the Taliban) will bring.

The man harasses Afghans in London about socializing with European women, shaping their beards, wearing Western clothing, or touching hands with women; he threatens that their infidelity to Islam will cause trouble for their families in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Yet London police “regard him as a deeply religious man…or at least as a harmless eccentric.” Well, religious? An understatement. But he’s a little more than just harmless.

And Jan proudly states, "I'm winning converts to a holy cause every day.” But I think that there are those who might be—just possibly—put off by Jan’s radical behavior. There is such a thing as being too fervent.

Everyone is entitled to his or her own beliefs, of course. But if one’s beliefs cause him to act in a way by which others feel threatened, there may be something something wrong.