There comes a point where news of yet another murderous attack by fundamentalist bigots is so appalling, so disgusting, that over and above further anger and huge sympathy for the victims, the main feeling is of bitter pity for the assailants' pathetic stupidity. That point has surely been reached in Pakistan with the Taliban. The question has to be asked: What sort of a world can a man live in where he thinks it is right to open up on a school bus with a Kalashnikov in an attempt to murder a 14-year-old girl who disagrees with him? How did that man feel when he returned to his lair and sat down to eat with his fellow terrorists? Did he feel triumphant? Did his comrades congratulate him? Did he enjoy a sense of pride in what he had tried to do? And if he did, is he remotely aware that in the eyes of decent people throughout the Muslim world his odious actions show him up to be either a complete idiot or someone who hardly deserves to be a member of the human race? It seems that thanks to the prompt work of surgeons in Peshawar, who removed a bullet from her neck, ninth-grader Malala Yousafzai will survive, although it is still feared that she may have sustained crippling injuries. The two other schoolgirls who were also hit have only minor physical injuries though, as can be well imagined, they are both in a state of deep shock. Malala began writing a diary about the Taliban, who controlled the Swat Valley where she lived, when she was just 11. She protested their violent and inflexible reign in the valley during which they closed all girls' schools, forbade music and reportedly executed a truck driver whom they found listening to a CD of songs in his cab. After the Pakistan army took back control of Swat, Malala, who under a pseudonym, had had her diary broadcast on the BBC, revealed her identity and was wisely praised for her courage and her wisdom. Even though still at school, this clever and articulate girl has continued to champion the cause of women in Pakistani society. Though she did not suspect it, her actions incensed the Taliban and led to Tuesday's attack. What is more, the Taliban's chief spokesman in Pakistan, Ihsanullah Ihsan, busily contacted all the media he knew to say that Malala had been targeted because she “generated negative propaganda” about Muslims. The reaction of most people who read that statement will surely have been: “Excuse me?” In what possible way does this spokesman imagine that gunning down a 14-year-old girl is going to generate a positive message about the Muslim world? Does he not appreciate that such barbarity actually besmirches the name of Islam and brings a feeling of shame on all good Muslims? If he and the organization for which he speaks do not understand this, then it demonstrates their insanity and disconnection with the real world. It also shows their utter lack of moral scruple. A journalist asked Malala's father why he had not sought police protection for his daughter. His reply was telling. He said that he could never have believed that the Taliban “would stoop so low”.
