The Pakistani Taliban's Rationale For Shooting A Schoolgirl

In a letter issued following international condemnation of the shooting of Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan's northwestern Swat Valley, the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) states its case for the attack and threatens anyone who challenges its strict interpretation of Shari'a law.

"If anyone argues about [Yousafzai's] young age, then [consult] the story of Hazrat Khizar in the Koran relating that Hazrat Khizar -- while traveling with the Prophet Musa -- killed a child," the letter reads. "Arguing about the reason for his killing, he said that the parents of this child are pious and in future [the child] will cause a bad name for them."

For those who argue that Yousafzai's shooting was not justifiable because she was female, the letter says, "then we can see the incident [in the Koran] of the killing of a wife by a blind companion of the Prophet Muhammad because she spoke insulting words about the Prophet. And the Prophet praised this act."

"The Tehrik Taliban's crime wasn't that they banned education for girls. Instead our crime is that we tried to bring the education system for both boys and girls under Shariah," the letter reads. "We are deadly against coeducation and a secular education system, and Shariah orders us to be against it."

The Taliban's justification concludes with a threat, saying: "If anyone thinks that Malala is targeted because of education, that's absolutely wrong and is propaganda by media."

http://www.rferl.org/content/pakistan-taliban-justification-for-shooting-schoolgirl-yousafzai/24735155.html

According to Muslims the religious verses of the Koran are absolute, final and the verbatim word of God. So to condemn the Taliban must we condemn all of Islam?

I truly fear for Malala.

This young woman is a Muslim.

The Taliban are extremists.

Equating the Taliban with all Muslims is like saying the Westboro Church represents all Christians. And did you know there are people protesting the attention that this young girl is getting because she is Muslim? There is just general hatred even though her worship of the Muslim religion is not one of violence and repression.

There are somewhere along the line of 2,000 separate branches of Islamic followers (eight main branches, then sub-sects from there--just as Christianity has a few thousand different divisions like Jehovah's Witnesses, Episcopalians, Methodists, Protestants, Catholics, Latter-Day Saints, Baptists, etc.). But you cannot lump everyone in to one basket just because they operate under the general heading of "Christian" or "Muslim." Some people are simply delusional and fanatic enough to follow the Quaran word for word, just like those Southerners in the U.S. that contend live venomous snake-handling is in the Bible and must be followed word for word.

Standup--- I totally 100% agree with you. Thank gosh someone has a brain!

That little girl is a muslim, the Taliban think they are, they are extreemist who could take any thing written in any holy writtings and turn it around and make it evil.

I do not follow or practice any religion. However, my family is muslim. They do not in any way shape or form agree to anything the Taliban are doing or believe in.

What they do makes me sick to my stomach. The fact that they truly in their sick messed up heads, think that they are doing what "Allah" wants them to do and that they are going to go to "heaven" because of their actions, is even more sickening!

This woman is extrordinarily brave to speak out in a society that expects females to be silent. I truly believe she is changing the face of Islam and this can not be stopped. A human beings body can be destroyed, but an idea can not once it is firmly implanted in the hearts of others. I am hearing Muslims say the taliban are crazy....this is very telling...Malaia may very well be eventually killed (although I sincerely hope she is not), however, she has done what the saviors of human civilization have done through the centuries. She has introduced an idea. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of Malaias male and female who are now thinking about the injustices of the taliban. This is precisely why these power hungry tyrants put so much effort into silencing her. They have truly, truly failed.

You may kill the dreamer. You can never kill the dream. In this case, they have failed to do either.

What, are you kidding me? And how cruel of a thing to do!

You want to take a child away from her family and friends, and then what? Bring her to America, to a land she knows little to nothing about? Why not Britain, then? Or France? Or Germany? Where are we going to drop her, exactly? What language(s) is she going to have to learn in her new environment? What kind of personal protection can we offer her from the extremists that might seek her out? Who is going to pay for her to stay somewhere, to eat, to dress, to go to school?

Certainly in America, we complain enough about "all these foreigners/illegals coming here and getting visas and taking American resources, blah blah blah," so... is such complaining only an exception when we want it to be?

We are not the be-all, end-all of countries nor are we the solution. What has happened to her HAD to happen to wake that country up as to how the Taliban is treating its citizens, and what cowards they are for thinking a 14-year-old girl is a threat. The U.S. cannot walk in to every country and simply start shooting people; we've killed an untold number of innocent civilians in the guerilla warfare that's gone on in Iraq and Afghanistan already, and we don't need to compound that by us getting involved in Pakistan's issues.

TO=====StandUpJokeOff........I do not agree with you. And apparently Malala already knows good English as she appears on TV interviews. America is involved deeply in Pakistan's issues did not our Special Forces already take out BinLaden who Pakistan was hiding in their country? If it would give Malala a chance at life I would get her out of that hell hole in a heartbeat. She is an easy target and most likely will have to go into hiding indefinitely. What kind of opportunities would she have in that country? If your own daughter was in Pakistan how would you feel about it? These are savages who think nothing of cutting our militarys and news reporters heads off if they catch them because they think they are going to heaven and obtain dozens of virgins...............

I think she is in England

MMC is correct. She is currently in the UK seeking medical attention. Hopefully she is safe there and they find somewhere safe for her and all of her family to go.

AMEN Lunar Lilly... AMEN.. Love your pix...I am a Gorilla fanatic!!

Who's going to pay for it?

There are actually docs and others who do that stuff gratis...I am one of them and as a result, have no worries about paying for anything in my own life...It is amazing how that works..

Good Luck Malila, we are praying for you. Thank You Great Britian for providing her sanctuary to heal. Keep up the good work everyone and FIGHT the GOOD fight...