c. 1997 Religion News Service

(Aslam Abdullah is the editor-in-chief of The Minaret, a monthly Muslim magazine published in Los Angeles.)

(UNDATED) _ After 20 years, I’ve shaved off my beard.

I still remember the moment I decided to grow it. It was Oct. 19, 1977 when I resolved to be more strict in my observance of Islam and follow more closely the example of my spiritual leader, the prophet Muhammad.

Since he had a beard, I also had to have one. But my wife was not very happy with my choice. Nevertheless, I was adamant. My father, a religious man himself, commended me for my action.

Why should this matter to others? Who cares whether I am clean shaven or wear a beard? Why should I write about it? After all, when I decided to grow my beard it was hardly a public event.

However, while cruising the Internet recently, I came across a news item about Afghanistan that shocked me: the Taliban, the nation’s militantly Islamic rulers, had gone after men who shave or even trim their beards.

Even more shocking was the news that a resident of Pakistan, who had gone to the Afghan capital of Kabul to celebrate the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha with his family, had been beaten with an electrical cable for not having a beard. Taliban religious police, who roam the city in search of violators, caught him as he arrived at the Kabul bus station.

According to the Taliban view of Islamic law, it is a crime for a man to trim his beard _ an act they view as contradicting the practice of the prophet. The Taliban have dismissed several government officials for trimming their beards.

I was filled with rage and shame. How can the Taliban act like this? Who gave them the authority to decide who should grow a beard and how it should be worn? How can they be so insane they would literally beat a decent civilian for his personal appearance?

Innocent women have also been beaten on the streets for not adhering to the Taliban’s rigidly enforced style of head-to-toe dress.

For a moment I agreed with those who call Muslims a totalitarian people with little regard for individual freedom. Who will accept the claim of American Muslims that they are a people who seek to make a positive contribution to American society?

Certainly, after watching the Taliban beat men and women _ young and old _ for not confirming to their religious standards, no decent person can take the Muslim claim of freedom and peace seriously.

I was angry. I called some Muslim clerics and asked them to say or do something. Some said it is an internal matter for Afghans. Others said this is what Afghanistan needed, that stricter adherence to religion was required. Some were opposed to the Taliban’s style of government, but felt helpless to do anything.

None of this satisfied me.

My whole religious foundation began to shake. I questioned intensely the logic of interpreting the will of God according to the personal whims of a ruling class or an elite.

How can the Taliban distort Islam so? The Koran clearly states there should be no coercion in religion, that individuals _ not others _ are responsible for their actions, and that people should be dealt with gently, not harshly.

I concluded the Taliban were making a mockery of religion _ my religion! They were ignorant of the true form and content of Islam.

So I decided to respond by shaving off my beard to protest the insanity of the Taliban _ or anyone else who thinks they can coerce others to adhere to a particular religious interpretation.

My children had never seen me without a beard and when my wife saw me she was shocked by my appearance.

I explained that I was acting in defense of personal liberty and religious decency.

But you grew the beard to demonstrate your desire to be more religiously observant. Are you not now contradicting your original intent?, she asked.

No, I replied. I am, in fact, defending my religion and following my prophet. He stood against religious bigotry and arrogance. He championed the cause of individual freedom. He spoke against the state’s interference in the private affairs of the individual. During his time no man was beaten for shaving his beard and no woman was harassed for not covering her hair.

My personal protest against what can only be termed religious profanity left me feeling as good as I have ever felt. But why is this important?

It is because the Taliban represent more than a government. They represent a school of thought present in several Muslim societies _ including that of the United States. This school believes it is perfectly legitimate _ and even divinely mandated _ to coerce people in matters of religion, even if force is required.

This interpretation has to be rejected completely if Muslims want Islam to take root in the hearts of men and women. If shaving off a beard makes this clear at least to my children and my colleagues, than I am living up to the ideals of my religion and the prophet Muhammad.

END ABDULLAH