Taliban False Soldiers Of Islam

Taliban False soldiers Of Islam
Is it Time For Islam To Modernize?

By Afshan Khan

After seeing repeatedly the gory scene of young girl being beaten by Taliban, the self proclaimed Islamic soldiers, amidst the huge crowd of spectators on CNN and other channels, I felt the shivers running down my spine, I felt I was sent on a movie set of a Pre-Islamic, Barbaric society. And I had to shut off my TV set quickly as my little girl entered the room. My mind was occupied with myriad of thoughts about Islam and these distorted pictures of Islam. Among all these thoughts one question was sharply pounding my head was that, “Is it Time For Islam To Modernize?, Is Shari’a law is out dated?”

Then I started to think of all the basic principles of Islam, which are in tune with all the other religions which came before and after Islam, like love, kindness, and compassion for poor and needy etc… But I realized that Islam has given us much more than that. Islam has given specific rights, which has not been given before in any religion. In fact Islam is pioneer in acknowledging and granting supreme respect and very crucial rights to empower women, thus enabling women to usher into a era of emancipation.

Certain rights has been decreed in Quran very clearly, such as rights of parents in old age, poor, needy, and orphans are clearly written in Quran as it have been stated in other divine books before Quran, like Torah and Gospel, but most importantly Woman’s rights were clearly stated and safeguarded for the first time in any religion’s history . Fourteen hundred years ago when the rest of the world was in total darkness and women had no status in human society, they were treated as man’s possession/material property, even in some societies they were equivalent to animals, Islam brought the message of woman’s emancipation. Before Islam women had no rights of any kind. Islam decreed for the woman the right to own and inherit property and most importantly right to choose a husband and right to Divorce. Among the various rights which have been granted to women in Islam, I believe two rights stand very tall and they are the core and crux of modern woman’s emancipation, and these are “right of inheritance” and “right to divorce”.

The concept of Marriage as contract between man and woman is the breakthrough in Islam which sets Islam apart and ahead of all other religions in granting woman her rights. According to Islam marriage is a contract between man and woman based upon certain terms, if those terms are broken, both man and woman have equal right to dissolve the union, an incredibly modern law 7 centuries ago!.
Before Islam in all other societies, religious or non religious, marriage has been considered as divine match making which shall never be broken. It was sacrilegious and impossible to dissolve the marriage. Empowered with these Islamic rights woman has strengthened her position in Islamic society. Woman plays central role in a Muslim family, whether as a Mother, a daughter, or a Wife. In other words woman runs the household and have equal say in every affair and men in the family hold women in highest regard and women enjoys not only the powerful position empowered with equal rights but also enjoys many privileges and commands supreme respect as mothers.

In light of such modern Islamic laws, which not only gives and safeguards equal rights to women, but also grants unprecedented privileges and respect. I don’t think that we have any need to modernize Sharia law, but I see the dire need to modernize Muslim outlook and I see an urgent need to modernize the methods of implementing the sharia law. We do not have to choose between modern laws and Islamic laws because I don’t see a contradiction between these two except the question of morality of laws, which can’t be separated from legality in Islam law, as Islam upholds morality as the primary character requirement of all Muslims. The Islamic society should be able to implement the Sharia laws, but I believe its time for us to start modernizing our methods of punishments and corrections of crimes. Certainly women going out of house without male escort during daylight should never be a crime during this day and age. As this requirement was contextual and it was there to protect women from harms way. Those conditions no longer exists, so that requirement of having a male escort becomes null and void.

In cases such as of adultery, which is strictly prohibited in Islam for both man and woman equally. Since Islamic law is not amoral, adultery is a punishable crime/sin, but the question is how? Is it by whopping? or pelting on the busy crossroads? Answer is certainly NOT. Punishments in Public crossroads were carried out because the Public crossroads were the center of all activities centuries ago in Islamic as well as non Islamic society, that was sole source and center for reaching greatest number of people. Hence the public punishments were prevalent to deter others from committing same crime like in any other society.

In this day and age, communication is not a problem, hence we need to revise our ways of crime punishments. we don’t need any changes in Sharia, we need new approach, which I believe is very much in sync with modern ways of Islam.

We Muslims need to take our religion back from this false soldiers of Islam and condemn their barbaric acts. Lets raise our voices together and vehemently condemn these heinous crimes against our women in the name of our religion. All Praise to Allah.