Taliban: a new agenda, an old name

Taliban history is well known, they started off as a U.S. supported group back in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet Union. From 1996 to 2001 is where laid the real history of Taliban.. and I am not going to explain the history in this post. This post is what happened afterwards...

In 2004.. a reformed group emerged.. which only call themselves Taliban. I will not call them by that name, for they disgust the name. The media called them Taliban.. just because they were of Pashtun origins. A name represents an ideology, and their agenda or cause is neither as noble as Taliban nor based on any Islamic law.

These new formed "so-called-taliban" are bombing civilians, attacking civil protection agencies, banning education and portraying an image which is nothing Islamic in the name of Islam. It is like their agenda is to degrade Islam and do instability in Pakistan.

We can be free of a guilty conscious and blame it on "external" factors like RAW or CIA to fund and fuel these "wars". But the blaming will not solve anything. Both the image of Pakistan and Islam has already been badly damaged. If I quote from Newsweek..

Today no other country on earth is arguably more dangerous than Pakistan. It has everything Osama bin Laden could ask for: political instability, a trusted network of radical Islamists, an abundance of angry young anti-Western recruits, secluded training areas, access to state-of-the-art electronic technology, regular air service to the West and security services that don't always do what they're supposed to do. (Unlike in Iraq or Afghanistan, there also aren't thousands of American troops hunting down would-be terrorists.) Then there's the country's large and growing nuclear program. "If you were to look around the world for where Al Qaeda is going to find its bomb, it's right in their backyard," says Bruce Riedel, the former senior director for South Asia on the National Security Council.

So, this is the image we are left with... an ideal home-ground for terrorists. So, the question is what can be done? and the biggest questions in that is that as an individual who has no authority or power or money or resources... what can be done by you.

• Stop calling these suicide bombers.. "Taliban". Taliban (once) represented an Islamic movement. Just calling these new hot heads taliban, just puts it in mind of everyone that these are some "Islamists", whereas that is not the case. So, even in your general discussion with friends, collegaues, family... if someone mentions them as "Taliban" stop them and correct them..
  
  
• Support mudrasas (Islamic schools) and stop blaming all of them for terrorist activities. Once again when some school is closed by calling it "Mudrusa" we shame our religion; as it puts in mind that maybe all that is taught in any school with islamic name is "suicide" and bomb blasting.
  
  The fault is not with school.. it is with parents. It actually becomes dangerous when parents stop takign interest in what their children are learning. If they rely 100% on schools .. then even a high profile English medium school is worse than a suicidal mudrasa; where your kids will learn to smoke, disrespect women and parents and become someone who knows how to fluently speak english, but doesnt know a thing about being a good human being.
  
  
• Become pro-Islamic and pro-Fundamentalists rather than shying away. Yes these days if you stop being Islamic supporter.. then you already made the terrorist win. Their objective of degrading Islam is successful. Cuz now not only the exterior world.. but the Pakistani Muslims and its youth themselves started to turn away from the real message.
  

Our Islamic Fundamentals are our root.. be a Fundamentalists who believes in Quran and Hadith as guiding light.. promote them! Its an era of psychological warfare. Instead of going away from Islamic beliefs and calling them "un-modern", become a representation of true Islam in modern era. A Good or bad image decides the fate of the war... not swords and sticks.