Following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in late August 2021 and the Taliban's return to power there, Ahmad 'Abd Al-Tawwab, a columnist for the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram, warned that the Western media is downplaying the danger posed by the Taliban by focusing on its human rights violations while ignoring the reason for them, namely the Taliban's religious ideology.

This ideology, he says, regards women as the source of all temptation and sin and opposes culture and science, and thus poses a threat to modern civilization and its values. He called on countries that plan to maintain diplomatic relations with the Taliban not to defend this decision by projecting a false image of the movement.

The following is a translated excerpt from his column:

"Some countries may have to maintain ties with the Taliban, because it is now the one that decides whether to heed the interests of others in [Afghanistan], or thwart them. But these ties are no excuse for these countries to promote a false image of the Taliban, or fail to warn about the danger it poses to mankind and to civilization, or hinder those who do voice such warnings."  

Photo: Reuters