So said Taliban commander Maulvi Faqir Mohammad at a mosque. Why didn’t the Vast Majority of Peaceful, Modern, Moderate Muslims rise up and denounce his threat as un-Islamic?
“Pakistan Taliban leader gives beard warning: residents,” from AFP, May 5 (thanks to Morgaan Sinclair):
KHAR, Pakistan (AFP) “” A Pakistani Taliban leader has warned local tribesmen to grow beards within the next two months in accordance with Islamic teachings or face harsh punishment, residents said Monday.
The threat came amid an apparent increase in incidents of militants trying to enforce Islamic Sharia law in Pakistan’s tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, where the new government is trying to make peace with hardliners.
“Men must grow beards and stop shaving within the next two months,” residents quoted senior Taliban commander Maulvi Faqir Mohammad as telling dozens of people at a mosque in Khar, the main town in Bajaur tribal district. […]
“It is un-Islamic to shave beards. Harsh punishments will be awarded to all violators,” added Mohammad, the central vice chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (Pakistan Taliban Movement) and also a Muslim cleric.
The group is an umbrella organisation of Taliban factions in Pakistan’s tribal belt. Its leader, Baitullah Mehsud, has been accused of masterminding the slaying of former premier Benazir Bhutto in December….