Tea with the Taliban
In the cover story of this month’s issue of Illume Magazine, Naeem Randhawa recollects his travels in Afghanistan, which included an exclusive interview with a band of Taliban fighters:
Shah, who is videotaping the interview, tells me the tape is full. I tell them we will take a five minute break, they remove their scarves from their faces. I work on getting a new tape out. A boy comes to the yard and brings water and fresh apricots and places it in front of us. The leaders grab a few and offers them to Shah and myself. I grab some, and eat the fresh fruit. We’re less nervous now, the scarves are off the faces, we’re eating fruit and there is light banter about. As I relax a little, I think to myself - a Pakistani born Canadian, living in Bush country, sitting in the middle of a courtyard of a village in the middle of nowhere, eating apricots and sipping tea with the Taliban. This was not on the tourist map.
Assalamu Alaikum WrWb,
Masha’Allah. I enjoyed reading this. I like the last lines, “As I relax a little, I think to myself - a Pakistani born Canadian, living in Bush country, sitting in the middle of a courtyard of a village in the middle of nowhere, eating apricots and sipping tea with the Taliban. This was not on the tourist map.” And of course it is not on the tourist map because that is NOT what “they” want the world to see/know. The beauty is hidden by a hideous mask; and this is exactly what we see in many parts of the world, including the Islamic countries and some African countries as well.
Jazzak’Allah kair for sharing this, may Allah reward you. Ameen.
Wassalam,
A.R.D