The Reason Behind the Violence

How would you like to live in a country, which a small group of people would dictate you to forcefully follow their beliefs? There have been many different political groups and leaders in history that have done that to their people but none of them compare to the present radical Islamic group in Afghanistan known as the Taliban. The Taliban have been basically ruling Afghanistan under their own radical religious beliefs called the Shariah Law. The Shariah Law serves as the law of the land and any small antagonism against these rules can result in harsh punishment or even loss of life. These harsh and inhumane conducts are discussed in the book: “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini and also in two recently published New York Times articles. These pieces of writings give the readers a good idea of how the poor people of Afghanistan are treated under these dictators and make the reader wonder how these cruelties are allowed to happen in this day and age. The Shariah law is the basis for all of the Taliban’s actions, and sadly the reason for the horrifying events that happen in Afghanistan. The book, “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini is about a boy named Amir who lives with his father Baba, Hassan, and his father Ali in Afghanistan. Even though, Amir and Hassan are very good friends during childhood, Amir betrays Hassan by watching him getting raped by a group of bullies. Being embarrassed and uncomfortable to face Hassan on a daily basis, Amir plots other lies that leads to Hassan and Ali leaving the house. Following several events Amir and Baba also leave Afghanistan and come to America. After Amir gets married and Baba dies, Baba’s friend Rahim Khan tells Amir that Hassan has died and asks Amir to go back to Afghanistan to look for Hassan’s son who was taken by the Taliban. After major hardships, Amir finds Hassan’s son and adopts him. This leads to Amir feeling that he has finally made peace with the guilt he has felt all of his life for betraying his best friend Hassan.
Even though the book had a somewhat happy ending, the horrible things that happened throughout the book because of the Taliban’s dictatorship and ideology leaves a sad feeling in the readers mind. One of these situations was during the soccer game that Amir attends. During the game half- time the Taliban drive in a man and a woman that committed adultery and put them in holes on the field. The Taliban then face the crowd and state, “ We are here today to carry out Shari‘a... God says that every sinner must be punished in a manner befitting his sin… How shall we punish those who throw stones at the windows of God’s house? WE SHALL THROW THE STONES BACK!” (Hosseini, 270). The Taliban then proceeds to kill both of them by stoning them. This type of violence is still going on in that country. In a New York Times article, “Afghans Rage at Young Lovers” by Jack Healy, a diverse couple named Mr. Mohammed and Ms. Mohammedi are hated, because they are with each other outside marriage and their families’ approval. This is against the Shariah law since a couple cannot have sexual relations