THE CONTINUING DEFAMATION OF ISLAM                                                                                         (…with rabid perverted zealotry)

If anyone in the world of Islam had any remaining illusions that the Taliban, and all of its adherents anywhere, is simply a – Puritan – form of their faith, the recent attempted murder in Pakistan of a 14-year old school girl just because she publicly stood up for her right to an education…should forever disabuse them of such illusions.

By their rhetoric and barbarous acts the Taliban (and their affiliates such as al Qaeda), have over and over again demonstrated they have no tolerance…for tolerance… of any kind. Acts such as this one prove it. It’s either their way…or the die way, and such rabid perverted zealotry simply defames Islam. It makes a mockery of Islamic clerics’ claims that theirs is a faith of peace and tolerance.

World-wide condemnation of this latest Taliban perversion is not enough. Nor will the vows of high level civil and military officials in Pakistan to do everything possible to put it down be enough. Nor will similar vows by officials in Afghanistan be enough either. None of that will have any effect until high level religious authorities have the moral and physical courage to openly condemn them as defamers of Islam, and thus, subject to the utmost  – Fatwah–. Pariahs to be shunned (if not stoned) by anyone claiming to be a true believer.

Sincere and true believers of Islam should be swarming in protest everywhere clamoring for such a declaration by every mullah, imam, or ayatollah of their faith. Anything less will simply show the rest of the world that none of their faith’s clerics are truly men of faith, but just hypocrites, willing to allow murderous thugs to pervert it…for their own ends.

Of course, such extremes of misguided interpretations of faith are not unique to Islam. They lie deep within all other religions as well, much like a dormant virus just waiting for an opportune moment to cut loose in virulent ways. Human history has shown us that eternal vigilance is indeed the only defense against such eventualities. One can only hope that the world community of Islam might someday realize that.

CENTURION