In October 2012, 15-year old Malala Yousufzai was shot in the head by a Taliban assassin. The reason? Malala challenged Taliban rule through her blog. CNN reports:
“Where in the Quran does it say that girls should not be educated?” she asked last year. “I have the right to play. I have the right to sing. I have the right to go to market. I have the right to speak up.”
Malala’s story has drawn world-wide attention and support. CNN readers named her the second most intriguing person of 2012 and United Nation Secretary General Ban Ki-moon commemorated November 10 as Malala Day. While many have voiced support for Malala, few–including Malala herself– have questioned the ideas that gave rise to her attempted assassination
The Taliban did not hide from the fact that they tried to kill a teen-age girl who had the audacity to assert her right to her own life.
“We do not tolerate people like Malala speaking against us,” a Taliban spokesman later said.
When civilized people have a dispute, they resort to reason, and attempt to put better ideas in the minds of those with whom they disagree. When barbarians have a dispute, they resort to force, and put a bullet in the brain of those with whom they disagree.
Despite what our political “leaders” would like us to believe, the Taliban do not represent some extreme element of Islam—they represent its essence. Indeed, they represent the essence of religion—any religion.
All religions are founded on faith—on the acceptance of ideas in spite of the evidence or in the absence of evidence.
When faith is elevated above reason, when faith has supremacy over facts, the only method for resolving disputes is force. When men of reason disagree, they seek to clarify their understanding of the facts. If they cannot reach an amicable resolution, they part ways peacefully. When men of faith disagree, they seek to silence their opponents through force. And the Taliban are hardly alone in resorting to force.
America’s Taliban—the religious right—use force to silence those with whom they disagree. For now at least, they usually tolerate words that are spoken against them. But they do not tolerate actions that are contrary to their beliefs. For now at least, they resort to the ballot rather than the bullet, though there are exceptions. The murder of doctors who perform abortions and the bombing of abortion clinics are the most obvious examples. But force is force, and whether individuals are prevented from living as they choose through assassination or through the vote is merely a matter of detail.
Whether one receives his inspiration from the Koran or the Bible is also a matter of detail. Whether one bows before Allah or Jehovah is irrelevant. A man who embraces faith has abandoned reason, and he must ultimately resort to force.