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Yvonne Ridley, Taliban Captive Speaks national |
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news report
 Monday September 02, 2002 15:20 by http://www.islam-online.net
 British journalist Yvonne Ridley made international headlines last year when she entered Afghanistan and was held captive by the Taliban. She was eventually released and went on to write about her experiences in a book entitled In the Hands of the Taliban published by Robson Books in the U.K. British journalist Yvonne Ridley made international headlines last year when she entered Afghanistan and was held captive by the Taliban. She was eventually released and went on to write about her experiences in a book entitled In the Hands of the Taliban published by Robson Books in the U.K. She is again in the news after announcing that she plans to convert to Islam. In this revealing interview, conducted August 26th, 2002, with IslamOnline’s Mohammed Ayub Khan she talks about her religious background, her encounters with the Taliban and her decision to convert to Islam. Interviewed by Mohammed Ayub Khan * IslamOnline: First of all I would ask you to tell us a little about your religious background? - Yvonne Ridley: I was brought up a protestant, in the Church of England. I sang in the church choir and was the Sunday school teacher in my village in the north of England. * Did you have any knowledge about Islam before your encounter with the Taliban? - Nothing more factual than would fill the back of a postage stamp. Of course I’d subscribed to all the myths about women being subjugated and how it was an evil and violent religion full of fanatics. * Are you planning to convert to Islam or have you done so already? - I am on the road to conversion. Reports that I have already converted are premature. * What led to your conversion to Islam? - I made a promise to a Taliban cleric that I would study Islam - if I was released. He had just asked me if I wanted to convert and I was terrified to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ because either response could have drawn accusations that I was fickle or insulting and therefore be stoned! * If there is one thing you find most attractive in Islam, what would that be? - The real inspiration has been meeting and getting to know all the sisters. Without exception I have found them to be highly intelligent, opinionated, vocal, motivated, switched on to international and political affairs and be highly supportive. Of course this blows the myth that Muslim women are shy, retiring, timid creatures who are rarely seen and heard. * Tell us a little about your days in Taliban captivity? - I was terrified. Not only had I been captured by the most brutal, evil regime in the world [President Bush’s words, not mine] but they hated women as well! I never thought I would see the sun set that first day. There were several other times when I thought I would be flogged or executed. There was one occasion when I lost my temper and spat and swore at my captors while being held in Kabul Prison. I thought that might provoke a hostile reaction but they looked hurt and told me I was their “guest” and their “sister”! After several days of interrogation at the Jalalabad Intelligence HQ, I was told that they believed I was an American spy and that was quite unnerving. They also gave me a wedding dress before a cleric asked me if I wanted to convert to Islam and that was scary. All I can say is that some man in Afghanistan has had a pretty lucky escape! On the whole, they treated me with great courtesy and respect despite my adverse reaction to being locked up. I had entered their country illegally without a passport and visa so, yes, I was totally in the wrong and could easily have been charged and put on trial. My treatment by the most brutal, evil regime in the world, is a total contrast to the treatment of those men being held in Camp X-Ray. * Were you able to meet any of their women? - The only women I met while I was in captivity were six Christian charity workers, three female prison officers and two Afghan women who were locked up for trying to sell a carpet to strange men. Apart from the Christians, two Americans, three Germans and an Australian, none of the others spoke in English so I never really got a chance to communicate with any native women. However, the prison governor, a fearsome-looking man, used to refer to his wife as “the boss”. * If you were to meet your Taliban captors again, what would you tell them? - I have! I took my daughter Daisy, aged nine, on a holiday to Afghanistan in May and we traveled all over. We walked in to an eating place four hours drive from Kabul and there I saw some Taliban and al-Qaeda people. I recognized three of my captors and was horrified. However, one came over and talked to my translator and asked what I was doing returning to Afghanistan. He asked if I recognized anyone and I said only if they cared to be recognized, otherwise it was none of my business. We were all nervous as he walked away and then he returned some minutes later and said: “We liked what you said about us when you returned to London. Thank you for telling the truth.” I nodded nervously and couldn’t wait to leave, but I was later told that my safety is assured if I happen to bump into them again. The person I would really like to sit down and talk to is Mullah Omar, the Taliban’s one-eyed spiritual leader who ordered my release on humanitarian grounds. I would want to know why they treated their women so badly. * What are your views on women’s rights in Islam as compared to secular Western society? - The first thing I scrutinized when I read the Qur’an was property and divorce laws. I was amazed. I thought it could have been written by a Hollywood divorce lawyer! In fact, that’s probably from where they got their inspiration. I was also pleased to see that women are equal with regards to education and spirituality, but the Qur’an does acknowledge we have the extra burdens of childbirth, breast-feeding and periods. I like to think we are the deluxe model of the human form since we have so many additional functions! * How is your family coping with your conversion? - Initially my family was shocked. You’d think I’d applied to become the grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. * Any message you would like us to deliver to the Muslim World? - September 11 was the best and worst thing that happened to Islam. I know that the confidence of many brothers and sisters has been shattered, but be proud of who you are and what you stand for. Do not be browbeaten into diluting your beliefs in the hope of ingratiating yourself with those in power. Beware of false prophets, especially those who hang round the gates of power pretending to espouse views on your behalf that they say are in your interest. The Christians have a good saying: “The nearer the pulpit, the bigger the sinner!” The wonderful thing about Islam is you have a direct link with God. You don’t need a conduit or a middle person. Peace and love to all.
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Comments (20 of 20)
Jump To Comment: 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1I posted the Red Herrings and Applesauce piece but as I said in the original message I didn't know that it was already on the web.
-are you of the impression that 'whoever' and 'irony is dead'is the same person? please differenciate.
My mistake. Its not clear that these are permanent poster-specific 'tags', rather than message specific comments.
-i said the 'Open'letter can found discussed elsewhere.read the body of the text again ray.
It doesn't matter if there are other discussion fora talking about the 'open letter'. What is important (to me, at least) is whether or not the articles that are posted here are posted anywhere else. If they are available elsewhere, then they should not be posted in full here. Of course if they're not relevant to indymedia then they shouldn't be posted here _at all_.
-why are you using a google search?
Because it usually works for me. Its only a poor way of searching for low hit pages if you aren't specific enough with your search details.
-remember! i am not the one objecting to the content nature of postings-you are.
Even if you aren't objecting, you should be aware of the content of posting. This is only one small section of the web. It is pointless to expect everything to be found here, and its destructive to try to fit everything in.
-i still wonder bout your irish content stance. where does internationalism of the struggle fit into that stance.
I'm saying that there should be an Irish angle. West Papua is very far away, the Irish West Papua solidarity campaign is very close. If a demonstration happens in Uruguay, for example, and it isn't clearly related to something happening in Ireland, and there isn't a clear way for Irish activists to get involved somehow, then it shouldn't be posted here.
There are demonstrations and struggles going on everywhere, all of the time. They can't all be mentioned here. There is a need to filter information, and since this is the IMC Ireland 'Irish content' is an obvious filter.
-is islam a non-issue for irish activists
'Islam' is a broad subject.
Is this the place for analysis of the Koran? For planning a pilgrimage to Mecca? For discussing the theological differences between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslems? I think the answer to these questions is pretty clearly 'No'.
On the other hand, if Irish Muslims were being discriminated against because of their religion, that could be mentioned here.
The fact that a journalist has converted to Islam has no real impact on Irish life or politics. Why should it be posted here?
Indymedia was created for a pretty specific purpose. Sometimes in their rush to participate people lose sight of that purpose, and think that reposting articles they find interesting is 'helping'. I don't think it is.
-sorry for the 'hello again'.hit the wrong key.
-are you of the impression that 'whoever' and 'irony is dead'is the same person? please differenciate.
-i said the 'Open'letter can found discussed elsewhere.read the body of the text again ray.
-why are you using a google search???is that not a poor way of searching for low hit pages? as it is a web master based directory?? maybe 'Andrew' could give us some advice on this.
-remember! i am not the one objecting to the content nature of postings-you are.i never stated an objection with posting of 'red herrings'. i look at the fact that this site gets such various postings, remembering if it can been done, it will be done.
-i still wonder bout your irish content stance. where does internationalism of the struggle fit into that stance. does 'Islam' not warrent discussion in indymedia.ie? is islam a non-issue for irish activists. makes me wonder who defines the issues for the 'activist'.
-what impressed me, with is the result of your relentless objecting to postings, you've started a (much needed i feel) discussion about the structure and content of indymedia.ie. well done (honestly).
I tell you that I didn't criticise the posting of 'red herrings and applesauce' because I didn't find it on the web. I post the results of a google search as evidence. Its a distinctive title, I think its a fair assumption to think that, if the article was on the web, it would show up under that title. If you found it on the web, good for you. You have just as much power as I do to add a comment to that effect after the post. I have to say I find it funny that you accuse me of being anal about posting in one breath, and next complain that I didn't search hard enough for another post.
Are you suggesting that I should have searched under different terms? That I searched under different terms, found the article, and then lied about it? Or what?
And what bias are you accusing me of? Am I selectively discriminating against the SWP? Against Islamic posts? What? When people criticise the things you like its easy to accuse them of bias. You seem to be short of evidence.
Ray are you a couple of sandwiches short of a full picnic. I wasn't complaining about a document but your inconsistency - based on your political leanings.
I didn't post the link for the obvious reason that I don't have the anal retentive obsession with links, postings & space.
PS I only use 'Irony is dead' (for obvious reasons in your case)
My google search for the title didn't turn up any hits.
If you knew the document was available on the web you should have pointed that out when the document was posted here - pointing it out a week later is pretty pointless.
(BTW, I'm glad you managed to decide which document you were complaining about)
Don't tell porkies Ray. C'mon it isn't hard to find - it took me a good minute to google search it.
OK
Try
http://www.geocities.com/isireland/documents/applesauce.html
Now apologise inserely and get back to your political, apolitical censoring calls.
'i was referring to the 'Open' letter'
That's not what you said. You said my contention that 'Red herrings' wasn't available on the web wasn't true. Its right there on the page, where everyone can see it.
The open letter is available elsewhere on the web, but that hasn't been posted here. The articles that have been posted here are replies to that letter. Neither 'Red herrings' nor Andrew's reply are available elsewhere on the web, so there is nothing wrong with them being posted here in full.
I've had another quick look for 'red herrings and applesauce' on the net and couldn't see it anywhere. If you have seen it on the web, post a link.
Ray's point was that the article is available elsewhere on the Internet and, therefore, a link should have been posted instead of the full article. The majority of people who use Indymedia seem to agree with this guideline and Ray is simply calling for it to be adhered to. If the link was posted, you could still have read the article at its original source.
There are thousands of interesting, left-wing articles written by thousands of people every day. If all of these were reposted on Indymedia Ireland, the newswire would be full of shit. There has to be agreed guidelines (which there are) and Ray is perfectly correct to object when people abuse these guidelines.
Also, Indymedia Ireland cannot cover every unreported aspect of every interesting news story worldwide. That is why there are Indymedias throughout the world. The Irish site should focus on Irish news and original news that is not reported by the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Examiner, RTE, Today FM, etc, etc...
There are countless independent Internet sites that cover news from around the world. Counterpunch.org and Commondreams.org are good ones for US news, while narconews.com provides good coverage of the Colombian situation and electronicintifada.net provides an extensive series of articles about Palestine from outlets throughout the world. There is no need to repost articles from these sites to Indymedia Ireland. Anybody who's interested in alternative views on world news can easily find these websites.
I just read that article in total and thought it was a brilliant piece to have on the newswire - as a matter of fact it's one of the only stories of that length that I have bothered to read on this newswire, most others are full of shit and conspiricy theorys.
I was hoping that people would have posted their comments and opinions on the story but this seems to have been hijacked by Ray. Ray you are a nob. The newletters (of which I am an unfortunate subscriber) has also been hijacked by people argueing over the silliest little points instead of circulating NEWS.
Is there any positions of authority within indymedia, anyone to take responsibility? It would be great if 1 person could moderate and clean up indymedia to turn it into the resource it could be.
I appeal to people that if they want to argue over stupid uninteresting points unrelated to the topic started - then do it by email or telephone, cause I doubt that I'm the only one who doesn't want to read it.
'Red herrings' isn't avalable elsewhere on the internet '
Says PC Ray. Plainly this is not true. It shows Rays postings are motivated by his political leanings rather than concern about how IMC is being spammed. But then again most of us knew that anyway...
-is an article on 'yvonne ripley' turning to islam more or less 'NEWS' than 'red herring'.since when is the inner debate between various leftie organisations and individuals deemed as 'news'.-
Indymedia is an alternative news source, and one of the major things it covers is political campaigns. many of the people who post to this site and read this site are very interested in the Nice treaty, and many will be campaigning against it. That makes the discussion about a single campaign newsworthy. A British journalist converting to Islam is not newsworthy.
- when has indymedia become a 'antiwar movement'site -
It isn't, but its one where there is a lot of information about the anti-war campaigns.
- plus who said 'NEWS' had to be irish -
This is the IRISH indymedia. If its posted here, it should have an Irish angle.
- having read the 'yvoonne ripley' i have been given a link to further my interest in islam.is that at least not informative. it seems to me that you think indymedia is meant to be an activist site. -
No single site can cover everything. Its my opinion (and I think the indymedia committee will back me up on this) that 'activist news' is within this site's remit, while 'islam news' isn't.
If you want to suggest changes, argue with my interpretation, or come up with improvements to indymedia, join the mailing list and come to meetings.
question?
is an article on 'yvonne ripley' turning to islam more or less 'NEWS' than 'red herring'.since when is the inner debate between various leftie organisations and individuals deemed as 'news'.further.when has indymedia become a 'antiwar movement'site,plus who said 'NEWS' had to be irish. the 'red herring' article is in response to the 'open' letter.This letter i can find discussed elsewhere on the net too! having read the 'yvoonne ripley' i have been given a link to further my interest in islam.is that at least not informative. it seems to me that you think indymedia is meant to be an activist site.
thats wishfull thinking im afraid plus technically incorrect. the funny thing is no one is coming up with practicle ways in which to make this site better (shame on the collective).Q?why do all the postings have to be put in the one area,the NEWSWIRE. what about debate,news,specific topic areas (depending on demand?) i say shame on the collective cause i feel this site has been left as a 'boat without oars'. and thats a big pity.personally i dont have the technical know how yet to help retify this.arggggh. ever try and find a posting from a few days ago?? u know what i mean. plus u (ray) wouldnt be required to spend the last 3/4 hours policing the site for 'spam'. maybe?? whats the crack with the clock?
Atta boy Ray!!!
You tell him!!!
This article is about a British journalist converting to Islam.
'Red herrings' is a response to an open letter sent by an Irish organisation.
'Red herrings' relates to the upcoming Nice treaty, and campaigns for a No vote, which have been the subject of many posts (and so much interest) in the users of indymedia.
This article doesn't even relate to the anti-war movement.
'Red herrings' isn't avalable elsewhere on the internet (AFAIK)
This post is just a copy of an interview from Islam-online.
It doesn't take a genius to see that one post belongs here and the other is useless spam. I'll continue to point out abuses of the newswire wherever I see them.
hello ray.
who made you judge of what news is to be considered spam.you've spent some time responding to various news postings this afternoon.is this not spammin?
actually i find this article to bit of more news orientation than 'red herrings...' post. you wouldnt agree? 'red herring..' is not news. its just wanking.better saved for a chat room????
This has little or nothing to do with Ireland, has no news value, and is not even original. Stop spamming the newswire.