Where Are the Men?

Saw more news this morning about the 276 schoolgirls who are still being held hostage in Nigeria, now for more than three weeks. 

I keep seeing pictures and videos in the media interviewing the mothers – but what about the fathers and brothers?  Aren't they enraged also?  Or is the media just not giving equal voice to the men? 

Where are the men?

The terrorist organization which has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, named Boko Harem, translated into English means “Western Education is Sinful.”  They are angry because these girls are seeking an education.  They want to keep them uneducated – probably because they are illiterate themselves, and this is the only way they can be in control and feel powerful.

How twisted is that?

But where are the brothers and fathers of these young women?  They are hardly ever shown in images of the parents and families, and even then appearing to take a bystander’s stance.  Where is their outrage that their sisters and daughters have been kidnapped and possibly sold into slavery?

Am I angry?  You bet I am! 

Remember what I said last week, about wanting to get to the bottom of every issue?  I always want to discover the underlying cause so that it can be corrected to allow for natural healing.

So what is the underlying cause of this kidnapping?

It appears that this group of terrorists may be loosely affiliated with Al Qaeda.  They are Islamic extremists, and as their name implies, they are against education.  I’m assuming that means that the young men who are involved with this group are also kept ignorant so that they are easily controlled by the leaders.  It stands to reason that they would feel threatened by anyone who was educated.

Let me state here for those who do not know, that the Qur'an does not prohibit education – just the opposite in fact – it very clearly states that those who are educated are greater than those who are not, and higher in God’s eyes.  An educated person is holier, because that person would understand the ways of God.  There is also nothing that stipulates that women should not be educated.  In fact, the wife of the Prophet Mohammed, Khadijah, was an educated business woman who traveled where she wanted and conducted business with men.  Mohammed actually worked for her! 

What I think has happened with these terrorist groups is that the uneducated leaders recruit young men who are also uneducated or underprivileged and promise them a better life.  Because they are illiterate and uneducated, they are subject to being misled.  If you didn't know better, you could easily be led to believe that “western” education was against the ways of God.

Are the brothers and fathers of these abducted girls being enticed into joining the very group(s) that are propagating this mess?  Or have those who have refused joining been killed in the numerous terrorist attacks in that area?  Why else would we not see images of the brothers and fathers of these girls standing alongside the mothers?  

Is there some societal standard that relegates them to a back-seat, or are they embarrassed by their wives activism?  Are they expected to control the women and are shamed that they cannot?

Where are the real men?  

Is it not possible to educate all people, boys and girls, men and women, so that young men won’t be enticed by gangs of thugs who steal off in the night to kidnap young women to make themselves feel powerful? 

There is a saying in many places that if you educate girls, when they become mothers, they will educate their children.  Anyone who is against education therefore, would be especially against educating girls!

If you want to keep the population ignorant and subject to control and manipulation, prohibit education.  Make it unholy. Make it against God.  And in my opinion, that is exactly what the leaders of these terrorist organizations are doing.  This is the agenda of the Taliban, of Al Qaeda, and of Boko Haram.

We've been trying to combat terrorism with violence.  It isn't working.  Killing a handful of terrorists is only temporarily masking the problem.  It stands to reason that in order to eradicate terrorism, we must first get to the root of the problem and insist on education for ALL people.  Create an environment where everyone is educated.  Children absolutely, but adults as well.  Only through education will we raise people up to be able to make a better life for themselves, and eliminate the conditions that make terrorist organizations possible.  

Let it be known that these terrorists and those who promote terrorism are nothing more than uneducated bullies who exert control over people who are underprivileged, and fight against the very thing that would reveal them to be the ignorant, self-aggrandizing infidels they really are.  They are not Muslim, and their actions are against the very God they claim to follow.

Men of the world, take a stand for your own education!  Take a stand for educating everyone.  There is no such thing as “western education.”  Education is education.  And that absolutely includes education of the Qur'an and other holy books.  Read them.  Study them.  And then live them.  Take a stand for releasing these beautiful, courageous young women who are actively trying to make this world a better place, and join them in that effort.  Real men would never subject others to ignorance and slavery, any more than they would wish that for themselves.  Take a stand for true faith and love of God!  For as the Prophet Mohammed said, “Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself.”  It’s time to take a stand!

Where are the real men?