
By: Rod Swift
Re: One Nation Under God?

This is yet another example of religious dogma interacting with the
political system.  This is an example of why people of non-Christian
belief should fear the idea of One Nation Under God!

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08:39 AM ET 03/05/97

Taleban to punish men with trimmed beards


            By Tim Johnston

            KABUL, March 5 (Reuter) - Afghanistan's purist Islamic
Taleban said on Wednesday the militia would start punishing men
who had trimmed their beards.

            ``As of today our teams went out on the streets to punish
those who have cut their beards,'' the acting head of the
department for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice, Maulawi
Qalamuddin, told reporters.

            ``There are sanctions for those who have not obeyed our
orders about growing their beards, and the deadline has expired.
The punishment is one day in jail and two or more lashes. They
will be released if someone will give a guarantee (that they
will not trim their beards in future),'' he added.

            The Taleban, who captured Kabul in September and now control
more than two-thirds of Afghanistan, have vowed to impose strict
Islamic Sharia law on the country.

            Shortly after they took Kabul, the Taleban announced that it
was an Islamic obligation of all Moslem men to grow a beard.
They said the beard should grow long enough to extend beyond a
fist gripping the beard at the chin.

            Qalamuddin said 60 percent of men had accepted the rules but
that others had not.

            ``Almost 60 percent of the people have accepted the
announcement about growing their beards, but the other 40
percent have avoided it by presenting various excuses,'' he
said.

            He said the Taleban had tried to persuade men to grow their
beards, and now there was no excuse.

            ``We have tried to let people know about growing their
bears through many channels, but if we fail we will have to
force them to grow beards,'' said Qalamuddin.

            Qalamuddin also reiterated that punishment of women who
failed to follow strict dress codes was part of Taleban policy.

            The Taleban have said women should not venture outside the
home unless they wore a burqa, a shroud-like head-to-toe veil
with a small patch of gauze over the eyes.

            They have said Iranian or Saudi-style veils, which show the
eyes, are not acceptable.

            There have been a number of cases in which women whom the
Taleban considered improperly covered have been beaten with
sticks, lengths of hosepipe, or radio antennas.

            Qalamuddin said women had been told about the edict, and
other citizens enlisted to make sure it was observed.

            ``We had repeatedly told women to observe Islamic hejab
(veil). We announced to taxi drivers that they were not to take
women passengers who were not properly covered; we told
shopkeepers not to sell to women who did not observe hejab.

            ``We used all possible means to to stop them wearing
unIslamic coverings. We have got tired of telling them, and if
they still don't obey, then of course they will be beaten.''

            There has been strong criticism of the Taleban's treatment
of women since they took over Kabul. Apart from the strict dress
code, the militia has placed restrictions on women working and
closed schools for girls.

            Western nations have expressed displeasure at the Taleban's
policy on women.

            Last year the United Nations special rapporteur on violence
against women, Radhika Coomaraswamy, released a statement that
specifically referred to discrimination against Afghan women.
 ^REUTER@
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