by Jason on January 21, 2009
The militants in this area have continually bombed schools that are not madrasahas and have perpetrated terror on the people of these countries for far too long. They seek to intimidate parents from sending their daughters to school to be educated. The Associated Press reports that Pakistan will move quickly to reopen one such school.
Speaking to reporters in the commercial hub of Karachi, Sherry Rehman said all efforts would be made to ensure that classes in the Swat valley resume in March following the winter break.
“We will try our best to reopen girls’ schools and we will try to give the girls confidence. We have to show them a ray of hope,” Rehman said.
It has a profound effect on me to think that children are risking their lives in these two countries just to be educated. These young girls and boys are true heroes in my mind and I pray that God will be with them.
by Jason on January 21, 2009
We know that Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are in that infamous lawless area near the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. We are told that this is where Bin-Laden and Mullah Omar are hiding in caves, Bin-Laden dragging around some kidney dialysis machine. So it isn’t too surprising to read this article about the Taliban putting the pressure on Pakistan to stop evil music from playing on their busses.
According to the article:
Transport workers in Mardan town received letters this week from militants saying that buses offering such entertainment were guilty of spreading “vulgarity and obscenity,” Walid Mir, general secretary of the town’s transport union, told The Associated Press.
The militants said they would check the buses and that suicide attacks would be carried out against vehicles that still had audio and video equipment – prompting union members to act quickly, Mir said.
The Taliban letter complained that traveling in buses that provide audiovisual entertainment was a “source of mental agony for pious people,” according to a text obtained by AP.
“It is obligatory on us to stop such violations. We request you to remove the vulgar systems … otherwise suicide bombers are ready,” the letter said.
Its so asinine if it weren’t for their track record, it would be amusing. In case you forget how brutal these people were to the Afghani people, read this press release for a reminder.
I am all about cultural understanding but when some group brutally abuses members of it’s society, often times women, there comes a time when you throw understanding out the window and let them know that this behavior will not be tolerated.
by Jason on December 9, 2008
If you live in or around Central Ohio, you know that we have a prominent and growing Somali population. I’ve noticed very few problems in connection to this group of people that has spread out in various places within the greater-Columbus area. Unfortunately for this group of people, they have been stigmatized by stories like Nuradin Abdi that plead guilty for planning to blow up one of our malls in this area.
Because many of the women continue to preserve their cultural and religious traditions by wearing the hijab, or the traditional head coverings, they stand out in our society and as do other minority groups suffer from certain prejudices and stereotypes. As a teacher in the area, I’ve heard young people complain/question why these students are given special treatment by allowing them prayer time and a place to pray during Ramadan. Some feel that they are not permitted or discouraged from practicing their own religious beliefs in a public school and it is hard sometimes to make them understand why this is different. After all, is it?
So my post has gotten a little off track. What I originally wanted to discuss was an article from the Columbus Dispatch titled “Local Somali Leaders Check For Terror Connections.” Any time we see an article or hear a story with the word terror these days, it draws our attention. And it should. So this article talks about something that many members of our community fear, a local connection to terrorism. In part the story states:
Six Somali men from Minneapolis left that city early last month, went to Somalia and have not been heard from since. Community leaders there worry that the men might have been recruited for terrorism.
A Somali from Minneapolis is thought to have been involved in a suicide bombing in northern Somalia in October, the Associated Press reported. The wire service quoted an unnamed law-enforcement official, who said the FBI and Justice Department were investigating.
Somali leaders here who have met with one another for the past two weeks say there have been no reports of such a connection in Columbus and they will continue to share information to be sure there are no terrorist associations here, said Mussa Farah, president of the Horn of Africa, a nonprofit group that helps African immigrants.
So I wonder again if this story is written more due to it’s intrinsic news value or if it is playing on the fears and even prejudices of some in our community. Are we watching “those people” because they look differently and they are easy to spot? Are we keeping an eye on things because of past actions? Do we trust that when their religious leaders disavow terrorism in local mosques that it is sincere? Just wondering aloud…
