Comments on: Save Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh

By: Joshua Foust

Joshua Foust — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:37:53 +0000

Well, a gurl’s gotta be good at something.

By: Christian

Christian — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:13:44 +0000

“where perhaps some”

You’re right, you did front load that sentence. As an occasional practitioner of Edward Said style weasel-wording myself I salute your skillful use of an ambiguous quasi-disowning qualifier.

By: Joshua Foust

Joshua Foust — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:41:15 +0000

Christian,

I actually agree — Dostum’s realm was never known for a murderous conservatism. But that’s why I front-loaded that statement with all the weasel-wording. It’s not right, but some could at least try to write it off that way.

By: Christian

Christian — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:25:24 +0000

I agree with everything except the comment about “…in Balkh, where perhaps some could have written off the verdict as the relic of a hyper-conservative rural area.”

The rural areas of Balkh are not known for being hyper-conservative. I don’t think people in rural areas of the north would be this nuts. They are very pragmatic and would not waste their time on something as irrelevant to their lives as this.

By: Michael Hancock

Michael Hancock — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:07:50 +0000

This reminds me of the recent case in Saudi Arabia where a rape victim was sentenced to lashes, and the international outcry was so great that the King pardoned her. As in, she was still guilty, but he forgave her for being raped. It’s certainly more complicated than that, but the cases seem similar. Just as we in the West get angry when Muslim fundamentalists punish us for not living according to their morals and standards, so do we get upset when they do the same. The question is, who is going to win in the long run?

Journalism is a respected, if not loved or trusted, occupation in the West. It’s hardly comparable with journalism as it exists among the Afghan population.