Taliban claims victory near Islamabad - thoughts on the "cultural" war the West is Fighting

This CNN headline caught my attention this morning. It will be truly a frightening situation for nations around the world if the Taliban can increase its influence in a nuclear-armed nation.  

One thing I've found frustrating about our news is its inability to accurately present theological, cultural, and political ideologies of Islam along a spectrum.  I believe winning the cultural war requires convincing mainstream practitioners of Islam in the Middle East that their values more closely align with the West than they do with the repressive brands of Islam they often find ruling their governments.

In developing my own perspective on Muslim extremism, I've tried to understand the more mainstream versions of the culture and theology that they preach. The Islam For Today site has provided me with lots of interesting information about Muslim theology and culture.  While in the past I've been more sympathetic to the view that relgious rules shouldn't impose on freedom, I did find this account from a site on wearing the Hijab quite interesting:

One of the major misconceptions about the hijab (covering of the body except the face and hands) is that young women are forced to wear it by their parents or by male family members.

Sumayya Syed, 16, says that what parents or men want have nothing to do with it. In fact, she astounds people who ask by saying that every woman should have this form of liberation.

Syed maintains that when a woman is covered, men cannot judge her by her appearance but are forced to evaluate her by her personality, character, and morals. "I tell them that the hijab is not a responsibility, it's a right given to me by my Creator who knows us best. It's a benefit to me, so why not? It's something every woman should strive to get and should want."

There are several mainstream books I've found helpful in crafting my own perspective on Muslim extremism, among them:

• Carmen Bin Laden's memoir Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia highlights the stark contrast for women living in modern Western culture versus the traditional Saudi lifestyle
  
• Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns chronicles the lives of two woman living through political and cultural turmoil in Afghanistan from the early 70s to the fall of the Taliban after 2001. 

Extremism has always been something I've sought to understand, and contrary to the focus of much of our media, it is not only found in far off nations with unfamiliar religions, but is also present right here at home.  Just last week, the administration issued a report suggesting right-wing extremism in the US is on the rise.  While there was a lot of outcry on the Right about this as an attempt to create a "witch-hunt", I would have a hard time believing that the opposite phenomenon (eg. left-wing extremism) didn't occur 8 years ago.