Link with 7 notes
Karzai Calls for Arrest of Taliban in Public Execution →
A video of a woman being publicly executed, supposedly for adultery, sparked outrage in Afghanistan—and now President Hamid Karzai has ordered the arrest of the Taliban involved. Officials actually believe the woman was killed—shot nine times as a throng of people cheered—because two Taliban commanders both had a relationship with her and ended up fighting over her; the adultery charge, they believe, was simply an attempt by the Taliban to safe face.
The two commanders “faked a court to decide the fate of this woman and in one hour, they executed the woman,” a provincial governor tells CNN. But both commanders were then killed by a third commander, he claims. Karzai ordered today that everyone involved be arrested and punished, and the commander of NATO-led forces in Afghanistan has offered the help of NATO troops. The video has sparked concern over the 2014 NATO withdrawal and the consequences it has on women in the country.
The above link also includes a CNN video related to the story where it mentions that dozens of men sit on a hillside nearby watching it all happen and chanting “God is great”. It is unfortunate to say but these stories will likely not stop anytime in the near future as troops withdraw from Afghanistan.
Post with 19 notes
So those familiar with my blog know that I normally stick to facts and random posts about Atheism. This is also my blog though and as a result I will post my opinion. If you disagree with my opinion you are certainly welcome to it but disagreeing with someone and simply calling them a racist are two different things. I don’t even know how the subject of race really got dragged in to the discussion. My comments added on to the story about people being MURDERED over some burned paper did not discuss race at all but apparently it is taken as racist.
So simply and briefly I want to explain a few of my comments. Perhaps those unfamiliar with the situation and culture of Afghanistan could see it as a baseless stereotype. I want to be clear that I am not attempting to stereotype all people of Afghanistan. My wording when discussing a horrific and disgusting act didn’t go out of the way to clarify that not all Afghans are that way, but it also does not specifically say that all Afghans are that way. To assume one way or the other would be an assumption but it seems so much easier for people to assume the worst.
It is no secret that culture of Afghanistan is very different from our own. Honor killing and honor rape are not uncommon practices. Middle aged men will take boys between the age or 9 and 15 to use as sex slaves. They see it as a matter of status, they openly flaunt it. It’s socially accepted pedophilia. Afghanistan ranks number 2 in the entire world in infant mortality second only to Angola with nearly 150 children out of every 1,000 born passing away before the age of 2. They are also second to last in the world in life expectancy (again behind Angola) with an average age of about 45. Obviously this is not a thriving country that highly values life or the continuation of life. This culture has deemed it entirely acceptable to kill a young girl for the shame of being raped or marrying someone their family does not approve of. They see it as perfectly acceptable for men to force sex upon young boys, it isn’t considered a crime in the least bit. This is not even to touch upon the horrific treatment of grown women as well.
What about wanting to get high? That’s a pretty bold statement right? Since I am sure many people on her have access to a Netflix account I would suggested the documentary “Camp Victory”. It is a good look at many of the struggles that the US and other allied forces have faced in attempting to train Afghan people to police their own country. You hear stories of how many of them will stay up all night long smoking hashish and opium and run out from cover in just a shirt and shorts firing guns recklessly as if they are living a video game. There is even one story of an Afghan solider who almost fired a missile launcher, pointed the wrong direction because he was too high to realize. Many of them, dare I say the majority, who are being trained to help bring order to their country are too busy smoking day and night to do anything productive.
This isn’t even to get in to the general animosity between the allies and troops that have already been trained in Afghanistan. It wasn’t long ago that a uniformed Afghan military official killed 4 French service members which prompted France to put a hold on all of their operations there. It is not an isolated event as the number of trained Afghan solider killing Western aid workers as well as solider is very prevalent. It seems no matter what we do the Afghan people can not overcome their animosity to these “foreigners” being in their country.
The riots of the Quran should honestly come as no surprise. There were similar riots not more than a year ago over the ignorant Terry Jones in Florida setting fire to their “sacred” book. Book burning does not mean today what it used to mean. It no longer means people are suppressing information and looking to destroy it for all of eternity. What it means now is exactly what it is, someone burning a book. People can be upset, people can be offended, no one can say what others will be offended at because it is their choice, but to murder 23 people over the act? It is in-human.
If me stating bluntly my opinion of the current situation in Afghanistan and the temperament the people of Afghanistan have displayed is considered racist, no one is forcing you to follow my blog page. I temper my words too often out of fears of offending someone sensibility so I will not stay quiet when a few ignorant people want to cast disparaging and entirely incorrect insults against me. If you see this as a subject of race, perhaps you are the one that needs to re-evaluate your views, not me. I’ve never said this was a subject that had to do with race at all. Considering how often I have it tossed at me to recognize the differences between cultures, races, and religions I would think people could return the favor. It has to do with the ignorant, barbaric, brutal, misogynistic, drug addicted, and violent people that are controlling the lives of everyone in Afghanistan. Ignoring the problem only perpetuates it and attempting to silence those that wish to discuss it gets us no where.
Link with 31 notes
Qur'an burning protests rage as death toll reaches 23 in Afghanistan →
Twelve people were killed on Friday in the bloodiest day yet in protests that have raged across Afghanistan over the desecration of copies of the Muslim holy book at a Nato military base with riot police and soldiers on high alert braced for more violence.
(Click the link for more information on the story)
This whole situation is sad, terrifying, and disgusting to me all at the same time. Their holy book is more precious to them than not only their own life but the lives of others, regardless of who they are. This is the perfect example of the disgusting level of idiocy and barbarism that can still happen in the name of religion in this day and age. Simply because of some burned pages of a disgusting old book many people are dead, people are protesting, they are calling for more death and violence. Over a BOOK!
We should be out of Afghanistan. It was a failed attempt. The people of Afghanistan have shown their priorities to be getting high, abusing children, and rioting over the burning of some paper. They are not doing anything to better the quality of life for people of their country, they have made their choice. We have made a strong effort but it is obvious they will put forth every effort to live in squalor and ignorance.
Quote with 19 notes
How dispiriting to see, once again, the footage of theocratic rage in Kandahar and Mazar-i-Sharif. The same old dreary formula: self-righteous frenzy married to a neurotic need to take offense; the easy resort to indiscriminate violence and cruelty; the promulgation of makeshift fatwas by mullahs on the make; those writhing mustaches framing crude slogans of piety and hatred, and yelling for death as if on first-name terms with the Almighty. The spilling of blood and the spoliation of property—all for nothing, and ostensibly “provoked” by the corny, brainless antics of a devout American nonentity, notice of whose mere existence is beneath the dignity of any thinking person.
Post with 40 notes
Afghan Qu’ran/Koran Protests
Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who sparked up controversy last year with his announcement to burn Korans has his name once again in his news. Just a few weeks ago with little publicity or media coverage Jones and his tiny Florida church put the Koran “on trial”. As a result of this “trial” they burnt a copy for being “guilty of crimes against humanity”.
Most people in American went on not caring. Very few people paid any attention to it. Sadly the same can not be said for the rest of the world. During the last 3 days there have been large protests near Kabul, Afghanistan. As a result of these protests there have been at least 20 death so far. The majority of the deaths are U.N. workers and all are completely unrelated to the situation.
How can this kind of insanity happen? How can 20 people be dead because of the actions of one rogue foolish pastor in Florida? Is he to blame? Is the blood on his hands?
To be entirely clear I am absolutely no fan of Terry Jones but I don’t think he is to blame for these deaths. In the United States we are free to express ourselves however we chose, even if many people do it to express their ignorance. There have been countless bibles burnt in protest, for artistic purposes, and since they appear in nearly every hotel room, many just for “fun”. Terry Jones did not commit a crime, he did absolutely nothing wrong by law, and a case could hardly be made that what he did was immoral.
These people provided Terry Jones exactly what he was asking for, a violent reaction. His point has been proven. He has been able to show exactly what he was trying to tell the world, that Muslims would react violently and ignorantly to his actions. It cost 20 innocent people their lives but his point has been shown.
It’s somewhat unfortunate that this story comes at a time when the media is already flooded with headline news. Chances are this story will go mostly unmentioned. These 20 people died because of religious ignorance but that message will sadly not get across.
What do I think is to blame? I think it should be obvious sadly, it’s the religion. Not all Muslims react with outrage, not all react in protest or violence, but the fact that some did shows exactly what Terry Jones was trying to show. Especially in a place like Afghanistan, where education is extremely poor, the people reacted in an archaic and ignorant way, because they believe that is what they should do for their religion. They killed 20 people cruelly because of the burnt pages of their “sacred” text. The fact that these people are able to justify it to themselves in such a way is, I feel, what the real crime is in this situation.
