The Freshman - New York Times

This very interesting article chronicles the life of Rhamatullah, an Afghani male who was admitted to Yale's "special student" program via a connection with an independent film maker he met while the latter was doing a project in Afghanistan. Yale has defended their choice to admit Rhamatullah, as adding a unique element of diversity. However, Rhamatullah has been pilloried in the conservative press such as the Wall Street Journal, "Jihadi turns Bulldog" (http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110008020) (subscription required). He has rubbed some people the wrong way with his defense of the Taliban, specifically, his nonchalance regarding the blowing up of the archaeologically priceless,1500 year old Buddhas and his sexist attitudes toward women. To top things off he often expresses himself with an abrupt plainness common to the Arabic world, that can easily be interpreted as arrogance.

He reminds me of many of the Saudi males I met in Riyadh. They had a dogged self-confidence in their selves and their views, which are often concretely defined through the prism of Islam they have studied, since childhood.
As the NY Times says of Rahmtullah,"Five times a day he broke for prayer. He tried dutifully to comply with the precepts of Islam: respecting elders, honoring parents, speaking truthfully. "Religion was a part of your life," he said. "You never thought about it."

The Saudi males I know can be charming in their simplicity and religiosity, even as they brag, e.g., that their better educated wife still knows to walk 10 steps behind the husband in public. They have an Arabic machismo that they don't mind expressing. Like Rhamtullah, they truly value their family life, including their wife, children, and extended family. However, their concept of marriage and indivdual roles are completely different than ours. Their extended family connections are also different, though often stronger than what we have in the West. The culture is so different than ours that in my opinion it is really impossible for even a well-educated Westerner who is not personally, intimately familiar with Arabic Muslim culture to understand the nuances of family and gender relationships. There is no question that woman's rights are not anywhere close to where they should be compared to the West, yet like many households in any culture, women may have tremendous power within the family. This latter fact is rarely mentioned in the Western press.


Regarding the blowing up of the Bamiyan Buddhas, of course there is no excuse in this day and age for such actions. However, if the Talibans are of the belief that history really only has significance after the Prophet Mohammed, the importance of such historical shrines becomes negligible. In other words, their actions are consistent with their faith. I could easily see myself in conversation with a Saudi friend whose lines of thought would be consistent with the relative valuelessness of such shrines. Of course many Muslims do not subscribe to this absolutism and were shocked at the destruction of these Buddhist shrines.

So what about his admission to Yale? Though be belonged to a regime that most people, including many Afghanis found abhorrent, he himself, from what we know, committed no crime. From the article, one sees that their are many shades of grey in terms of his involvement with the Taliban, from his initial enthusiasm at the order they brought to Afghanistan to his later disillusionment with certain aspects, like the lack of concern with education for girls. So applying the label "Jihadi" or "Talibani" obscures much truth as labels often do.

Should his unique background gain him admission to Yale? Does his presence add diversity that is beneficial to the student body? In a sense the answer to the latter question is "Yes," However, I am sure that there are many others, including Americans, who have very interesting life experiences and who don't come from a morally ambiguous background that should be given the chance to compete for such "special student" spots. For example, go to kiva.org and read the story of Jennifer Flannery who started a very cool microfinance company for small business in the developing world....
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Rhamatullah quotes:


comment re The Freshman - New York Times: "'You have to be reasonable to live in America,' he said. 'Everything here is based on reason. Even the essays you write for class. Back home you have to talk about religion and culture, and you can win any argument if you bring up the Islamic argument. You can't reason against religion. But you cannot change Afghanistan overnight. You can't bring the Enlightenment overnight.'"

But sometimes his humor really backfired. At a speech for the Atlantic Council, Mr. Rahmatullah was confronted by a woman in the audience who lifted the burkha she was wearing and chastised him for the Taliban's infamous treatment of women. "You have imprisoned the women--it's a horror, let me tell you," she cried. Mr. Rahmatullah responded with a sneer: "I'm really sorry to your husband. He might have a very difficult time with you."

"In some ways," Mr. Rahmatullah told the New York Times. "I'm the luckiest person in the world. I could have ended up in Guantanamo Bay. Instead I ended up at Yale."