The Guardian

 

The Taliban Mock God and His Messenger
By Dr Aslam Abdullah
CA

In defiance of God, they describe as their source of legitimacy, and in violation of the Prophet, they swear to follow; the ruling Taliban have announced that female students would not be allowed to access the country's universities until further notice.

A letter, confirmed by a spokesperson for the higher education ministry on Tuesday, instructed Afghan public and private universities to suspend access to female students immediately following a Cabinet decision.

"You all are informed to immediately implement the mentioned order of suspending the education of females until further notice," said a letter issued to all government and private universities, signed by the Minister for Higher Education, Neda Mohammad Nadeem.

The Qur’an instructs its followers to acquire knowledge regardless of their gender. Therefore, Prophet Muhammad advised Muslim men and women to get educated even if they must travel to China.

But, the Taliban, who achieved victory against foreign occupation, failed to win their battle against cultural discrimination and gender biases. Their latest notorious action is the darkest in Afghan history, as they closed the doors of higher education for women.

The Islamic instructions about acquiring knowledge referred to every aspect. By issuing the dictate, the Taliban are inventing a new religion that violates the fundamental principles of the faith they claim to follow. The Taliban, in their understanding of divine guidance, offer a male-dominated, regressive view that stands against Islamic scriptures, divine revelation, and common sense. They have priorities rooted in their perverted mind that defines faith confined to beard, whipping, stoning to death, and denying people the God-given freedom to acquire knowledge. It becomes the obligation of Muslim scholars to confront the Taliban theologically. Islam is not the monopoly of its developmentally disabled self-proclaimed followers. It is universal, with equal rights for all, regardless of gender or faith.

The worldwide Muslim community should challenge this narrative of Islam and demand that females have equal status guaranteed constitutionally. Without their access to education in all aspects, the so-called verbal manifestation of Islam is a farce.

The comical interpretation of Islam by the Taliban is an insult to divine faith and Muslims all over the world.

(Dr Aslam Abdullah is a resident scholar at Islamicity.org and editor-in-chief of the Muslim Observer newspaper. He is also the Indian Islamic Heritage Project director of the American Federation of Muslims of Indian origin and the interim President of the World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations, WCMIR.)

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