Not All Cultures Are The Same

For John, BLUF:  So, how much cultural diversity is OK?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Here is what I see as the next big scandal.  From The International New York Times, Reporter Joseph Goldstein, "U.S. Soldiers Told to Ignore Afghan Allies’ Abuse of Boys".

This is a nasty tale and may blow up on DoD.

KABUL, Afghanistan — In his last phone call home, Lance Cpl. Gregory Buckley Jr. told his father what was troubling him:  From his bunk in southern Afghanistan, he could hear Afghan police officers sexually abusing boys they had brought to the base.

“At night we can hear them screaming, but we’re not allowed to do anything about it,” the Marine’s father, Gregory Buckley Sr., recalled his son telling him before he was shot to death at the base in 2012.  He urged his son to tell his superiors.  “My son said that his officers told him to look the other way because it’s their culture.”

Rampant sexual abuse of children has long been a problem in Afghanistan, particularly among armed commanders who dominate much of the rural landscape and can bully the population.  The practice is called bacha bazi, literally “boy play,” and American soldiers and Marines have been instructed not to intervene — in some cases, not even when their Afghan allies have abused boys on military bases, according to interviews and court records.

If you wish to read more, go to the link above.

in the mean time, while this custom can be found in various nations, it is cultural and not part of Islam.  For example, it is not found in Indonesia, the largest Muslim nation.  Nor in India.  Nor in Turkey, that I know of.  A nation not named here does not mean it engages in this custom.  Afghanistan, yes, at least in parts of the country.

Regards  —  Cliff