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“The whole experience had taught me a very valuable lesson, and that is not to believe propaganda that powerful people in powerful places want us to believe,” said Ridleyf
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CAIRO,
December 5 (IslamOnline.net) - Yvonne Ridley, the British journalist
who made international headlines three years ago after her dramatic
capture and release by the ousted Taliban regime in Afghanistan,
believes her life completely changed to the better, thanks to Islam.
What
started out purely as a research about Islam following her release
turned into a soul-searching trip that culminated with the firm
conviction that Islam is not about oppression or violence, but rather
peace, tolerance and understanding, she recently told Malaysia’s
English-language The Star newspaper.
Embracing
Islam in August 2003, the Sunday Express journalist admitted
that she used to “work hard and play hard” and was a “prolific
drinker”, but found herself now healthier, happier, and more
content.
“And
my girlfriends can see this, and they ask: ‘What is this that has
changed your life so much?’ And I say it’s Islam. And they say:
‘No, really, what is it?’”
Ridley
was in Malaysia last week to raise funds for the UK-based Islamic
social service organization Al-Khaaem.
“The
whole experience had taught me a very valuable lesson, and that is not
to believe propaganda that powerful people in powerful places want us
to believe.”
On
Sept 28, 2001, Ridley, then 43, was trying to cross illegally into
Afghanistan from Pakistan.
She
was held captive by the Taliban. She was
eventually released in October and went on to write
about her unique experiences in a book entitled “In The Hands of
the Taliban.”
In
the book, she spoke about how she was treated
with great respect and
courtesy by Taliban members, who used to call her “guest” and
“sister.”
Thank
God It Was Taliban
Ridley
told the Star that she really thanked God that here captors
were the Taliban and not the Americans.
“When
I look back at my experience now, and I see the shocking images of Guantanamo
Bay , and the horrendous images and stories emerging from the
Abu Ghraib prison , I thank Allah I was captured by the
most evil and brutal regime in the world and not by the Americans.”
Ridley,
as an anti-war activist at the time, recalled how the US intelligence
sent a dossier to Taliban alleging that she was a spy to silence her
anti-war movement.
“Had
I been shot or executed, this would have helped justify the bombing of
Afghanistan. It would have further demonized the Taliban. I was told
by one intelligence officer: ‘Don’t take this personally. It
wasn’t against you,’” she said laughingly.
In
an interview with IslamOnline.net before accepting Islam, Ridley said
that the
wonderful thing about Islam was that “you have a
direct link with God. You don’t need a conduit or a middle person.
Peace and love to all.”
Ridley
has become a fervent anti-war campaigner since her release.
She
has supported the Stop the War Coalition and traveled around the world
addressing anti-war gatherings.
She
is a founding member of Women in Journalism and the patron of British organization
Stop Political Terror, which looks into the welfare of
Muslims in Britain, especially those being held in the notorious
Belmarsh and Woodhill prisons.
Ridley
still writes for the Sunday Express and also for Muslims
Weekly in New York.
She
is currently involved with the Islam Channel, a satellite broadcast
that started about a year ago in Britain.
Hijab
in Parliament
An
active member of the nascent Respect
political party in Britain, Ridley hopes to be the first female
Muslim politician wearing a hijab in the parliament.
“I
stood as a candidate in the European elections and we got a quarter of
a million votes nationally,” she told the paper.
She
continued: “It didn’t translate into a seat but we are going to be
fielding candidates in the general elections which may be held in May
next year.
“What
is particularly significant is if I am successful, I would become the
first female Muslim politician to sit in Westminster and probably the
first woman wearing a hijab to sit in the houses of parliament.”
But
Ridley knows that there is still a long way to go, though encouraged
by the support of many Britons, who believe that Prime Minister Tony
Blair has let them down.
“There
is a ground swell of support from people who feel as though they no
longer have a voice in the party headed by a British prime minister
who appears to prefer to take his orders from Washington rather than
from the people who elected him.”
