Yeah, I think this is one thing we can do if we clearly separate groups like this from Islam. It’s not that their actions are completely unprecedented, but what attracts people to these groups is not so much deep knowledge and belief in Islam, but current events that are interpreted in the light of a specific version of Islam. There are many Protestants who respect Martin Luther, but they manage to separate parts of thinking that they admire from On the Jews and their Lies, or from many of the objectionable parts of the Bible. Many Americans are evangelical, but they don’t burn witches. It’s not that the ingredients for extremism don’t exist outside of the context of modern day events, but there are good reasons why modern day Afghanistan, Syria, Iran and Egypt have more extreme versions of Islam now, while a few decades ago they had women walking around like this (n.b. I’m not disagreeing with you, it’s just good to remember that these photos exist):
(University of Kabul, 1980s)
(University of Tehran, 1970s)
(This magazine cover of Egyptian actress Shadia in 1961 after a trip to Tokyo has her boldly declaring that Japan does not respect women.)
(Egyptian women at a political rally in Assiut, Egypt.)
(Cairo swimsuit competition, 1948)
(Baghdad, 1970s)
(University of Beerzeit in Palestine,1967)
(In the early ‘70’s, Homs native Silvana Shaheen scored the Syrian national prize for both 400m and 100m hurdles multiple times.)
(Iraqi students in the 1970s)
(Khadija al Jaahmey leads women on a protest in Tripoli to support a Royal Declaration in 1963, which gave women the right to not only vote but to also run for political office.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQKoyJ8KRh4(Mujahideen, not Taliban. Notice that the Mujahideen brought a woman to the White House wearing a headscarf that was not covering the front of her hair)
Incidentally, Reagan also dedicated the March 22, 1985 launch of space shuttle Colombia to the Afghan people, saying that “the struggle of the Afghan people represents man’s highest aspirations for freedom”.
