Salams, While I am suspicious whenever Westerners and their lackeys talk about 'women's education' (what exactly does that mean?) I am appalled every time some hot head goes and fires his gun off in the Muslim World or sets off a bomb, killing or injuring others, thinking that violence will solve the situation. I'm sure this supposed project to 'educate women in the Muslim World' is nothing more than a plan to corrupt the women of the Ummah (having already corrupted so many of the men of the Muslim Ummah). However, instead of resorting to violence, how about these communities try and provide an alternative...as in, an education that fuses the moral and spiritual teachings of Islam with the study of secular subjects such as math and the sciences? Also, can one be so surprised that there are Muslims (men and women) going around bashing the faith they were brought up in, when they're given such an extreme black-and-white picture of things, while living under the rule of extremists such as the Taliban? Such an experience would make anyone a prime target for the brainwashing the of the godless Western imperialists, to be honest. Besides, such a knee-jerk reaction is bound to serve only as a means for said imperialists to morally prop up their invasion and subjugation of such countries as Afghanistan, etc. We need to show more compassion towards our fellow Muslims in cases such as this and provide a more nuanced, intellectually rigorous defense of our principles and present them to those who have been misguided or are confused. As a Muslim living in the West and a convert at that, I know many things that so many of the naive ones who fall for the lie that the Western/non-Muslim/hedonistic way is liberating or better than Islam...things which, if presented to those willing to listen, would probably change their minds (though there might be others who could convey the message better than I). All in all, instead of a violent response, we need to provide an alternative to both zealotry (as practiced by groups such as the Taliban) and imitation (as practiced by many modernist Muslims, who think that being exactly like a non-Muslim is the way to go, if you want a better quality of life). We need to recognize that there is a problem with the state of the Muslim World (many have talked of such a thing, but it seems like no one wants to really present an actual, viable solution that isn't out of line with people's day-to-day realities, etc.). Ultimately, if women's education in particular and the education of the Muslim World in general were handled far better, I'm sure (due to the resulting LACK of ignorance concerning morals, faith, and other practical knowledge), there would be a lot less of these kinds of stories (or at least the material to give birth to them) or more success stories about the Muslims rising up out of the mess they are currently in. I'm sure things are far more complex than just this, but we need to start somewhere...Just my two cents... Wa Salams, Tempest Desh