May 10, 2009: "They call everyone else a kaafir", said a typically conservative looking young man at an anti-Taliban protest in Islamabad the other day. Sporting a skull cap, a beard and ankle-high shalwaar — he spoke confidently, "They are the state, the Constitution and the judiciary and what’s worse is that they use guns to achieve their goals".
Contrary to what many urban dwellers think about the "religiously" attired people, there are numerous religious schools and organisations that stand against the philosophy of the Taliban.
The word "Taliban" has both an academic and political connotation. The academic stands for students of madrasas and the political describes those who are militant jihadists. The political Taliban predominantly hold Deobandi views. Among these are the banned Lashkari-i-Jhangvi, Harkat-ul Ansar and Jaish-e-Muhammad. However, the Taliban do not represent the entire range of the Deobandi school.
Taliban are not Deobandis
"You know even though these groups say they are Deobandis, using violence to propagate the faith is completely against our school of thought. It is very wrong and we do not agree with their killings; I don’t think Taliban are Muslims; they are enemies of this country and are trying to tarnish the image of Islam; the government should have given these people more attention and recognised their talent; the common people are mistreated and the country is not functioning according to the laws of Islam", said Ms Zebunnisa, the vice-principal of Ashraful Uloom, a girls madrasa in Islamabad.
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