Doesn't  this sound familiar? There are many Islamic countries today from which highly educated Muslim students contribute greatly to the advancements in the fields of science and technology and yet they still live in bondage and fear of the ideologies that control their every move. Perhaps future civilizations may one day read about how Muslims contributed to the great age of technology in the twenty-first century but will history shy away from the atrocities and barbaric acts that went on in the name of Islam during this time?

 

The country of Afghanistan is a prime example of how, in the mid- 1990s, a young group of well educated students formed the ruling party of the Taliban and attempted to create an utopian society based upon Islamic principles. The civilized world was able to see first-hand how the concept of Islamic rule oppresses and degrades women and threatens men for not wearing beards and for listening to music in public. People were punished for being late to their obligated prayer time.There is no doubt the Taliban was only "going by the book" which in their case happened to be the Qur'an and Shari'a; the same books that fundamental Islamic terror groups are going by today.

 

Perhaps you disagree with the implementation of Shari'a Law and favor a democratic form of government that gives women protection and equal status to men. You may be enjoying this freedom to choose which clothes to wear, which friends to have over and which entertainment to enjoy at home or in public. These are the freedoms denied to the citizens of Afghanistan while they were under Taliban rule and these are the freedoms you will lose if you really want to live as a true Muslim. The fact is, there is no tolerance for moderate Muslims in the writings of the Qur'an nor in the sayings of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.