Taliban doesn't equal Islam: How news coverage of Afghanistan disserves a great religion
As the Taliban asserts authority in Afghanistan, let us not fall prey to simply demonizing Islam and Islamic law.
Like the dizzying speed with which events transpired in Afghanistan, so too has been the apoplectic invocation of terms used to describe the Taliban’s return to power.
News outlets and commentators have recklessly referenced Islam, fundamentalism, Islamic law and Shariah with little, if any, context, definition or understanding of the religion and its complex layers of teachings, laws and people.
And so, as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban this week, my heart broke twice. Once for all the work I did there building institutions that respect human rights in keeping with Islamic law and values, and a second time, for the way the media and politicians resorted to careless and often misleading rhetoric that stoked confusion, concern and outright fear of Islam and Muslims.