My Islam, Your Islam, their Islam... How many Islams are there?

Islam has given right of property to women when girls were buried alive on their birth, Islam gave woman the right to testify when they were not considered the entity of any value; Islam even gave her the rights either she wants to give birth and feed her own child or not. This is where Islam has put “aurat” (woman) over 1400 years back.

Islam gave her voice and status to speak up for herself. Iqbal once said, if Muslim women knew the rights given to them by Islam, their husband would ask their permission first before even leaving home. And now where we stand today? In confusion, either to portray us as moderates for western world or fundamentalists for Islamic world.

Islam was and is a progressive religion; just compare teachings of Muhammad (PBUH) which were introduced almost 1400 years back with Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Judaism. Islam was way ahead in terms of giving rights to woman, labor, deprived, prisoners and pagans even. Now we live in a society were Muslims are killing other Muslims in name of Islam and jihad (holy war).

Today, a disturbing video showing a teenage girl being flogged by Taliban fighters has emerged from the Swat Valley, offering a shocking glimpse of militant brutality in the once-peaceful district, and a sign of Taliban influence spreading deeper into the country.

The two-minute video, shot using a mobile phone, shows a burka-clad woman face down on the ground. Two men (one who might be her brother) holding her arms and feet while a third, a black-turbaned fighter with a flowing beard, whips her repeatedly.

"Please stop it," she begs, alternately whimpering or screaming in pain with each blow to the backside. "Either kill me or stop it now."

A crowd of men stands by, watching silently. Off camera a voice issues instructions. "Hold her legs tightly," he says as she squirms and yelps.

Reached by phone, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan claimed responsibility for the flogging. "She came out of her house with another guy who was not her husband, so we must punish her. There are boundaries you cannot cross," he said. He defended the Taliban's right to thrash women shoppers who were inappropriately dressed, saying it was permitted under Islamic law. Later he said, the Swat girl would have been stoned to death if the Qazi had been present.

He claimed that girl had the illicit relationship and that’s why she was awarded punishment of less than 40 whips and both the man and the girl confessed their sin prior to the awarding of the punishment.

No matter whatever the case was, publicly humiliating the girl (female) in front of “na-marams” is totally unacceptable and non-Islamic. Don’t forget, in our society woman is given/offered more respect than in western countries, we respect and honor all relations associated with females whether that is mother, sister, sister-in-law, mother-in-law, and daughter.