The Taliban prides itself on killing apostates from Islam, killing people brutally under Sharia Islamic law and enforcing its Islamic inquisition on all and sundry. It matters not if they kill Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, Christians, and so forth; the only logic to the Taliban is that all other thought patterns must be crushed and defeated utterly. This brutal methodology is also being unleashed against the people of Syria, northern Mali, Somalia, parts of northern Nigeria and in other parts of the world where Islamists have a strong foothold. Malala Yousafzai, a young girl from Pakistan, is fighting for her life because of an Islamist organization which glorifies in killing children, Shia Muslims and any individual which opposes their Islamic inquisition. Part of the blame for this hatred also belongs to the government of Pakistan which bankrolled the Taliban in its proxy war in Afghanistan. Likewise, the draconian nation of Saudi Arabia alongside the United Arab Emirates fully recognized the Taliban diplomatically prior to September 11, 2001. In many ways the Taliban is the “outward mirror” to what Saudi Arabia believes in. After all, in the land of Saudi Arabia you also have an Islamic inquisition whereby Muslim converts to Christianity/Buddhism/Hinduism/Judaism/Sikhism and so forth, face either the death penalty or prison. Minority Muslim groups like the Shia and Ahmadiyya also suffer horrendous violence at the hands of Islamists in Pakistan. In recent years Sunni Islamists have taken the Shia off buses and then killed them systematically. Shia Muslims were also butchered by the Taliban and al-Qaeda in vast numbers prior to the loss of Taliban control over vast areas of Afghanistan. Malala Yousafzai is clearly a victim of the barbarity of the Taliban but within Pakistan many non-Muslim and Muslims also reside in fear because of institutional hatred by the government. Blasphemy laws are clearly breeding grounds of hatred whereby nobody can feel protected because so many innocents have suffered, irrespective if Sunni, Ahmadiyya, Shia, Christian and so forth. Until rationality returns to Pakistan within all major levers of society then hatred will continue to rule the day. After all, the riots which erupted over the “innocence of Muslims” in Pakistan were about “blind hatred,” an excuse to incite violence and to manipulate the masses. Many Muslims were killed by “mobs of religious bigots” but will the same “religious fanatics” kill in order to protect the freedom of Malala Yousafzai? Of course not, because it is not part of the Islamist agenda. Simply put, it is hard to burn American flags when it is Pakistan nationals which care little about killing young girls and ruling by fear. It is time for the people of Pakistan to stand-up against institutional hatred within the government system and against Islamists which desire to turn Pakistan into “year zero.” The foundation of Pakistan was not based on religious hatred but day by day the freedom of many is being crushed. In Saudi Arabia you have no Christian churches, Ahmadiyya mosques, Jewish synagogues, Hindu temples, Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and so on. Instead, you have an Islamic inquisition whereby even reading the Bible outside means persecution. Likewise, women are still forbidden from driving cars and you have no freedom over dress and shopping freely. This barbarity is the same mirror which the Taliban supports and the same applies to other Islamists like al-Shabaab in Somalia and Islamists in northern Mali, who are now destroying black African Islam in this nation. The Prime Minister of Pakistan commented that “It was not a crime against an individual but a crime against humanity and an attack on our national and social values.” However, this is only part true because blasphemy laws agreed by the government of Pakistan are also inciting hatred and playing into the hands of Islamists. Malala Yousafzai was attacked because this brave young girl just wanted a normal future, which is taken for granted in the vast majority of nations throughout the world. It is time for the Taliban to be openly challenged religiously and it is also time for Pakistan to amend laws which are encouraging hatred and supremacy. Also, all ratlines which still exist between the Taliban, and institutions within Pakistan and outside of this nation, must be severed completely. leejay@moderntokyotimes.com http://moderntokyotimes.com