The Swallows of Kabul Chapter 8

Mohsen is sitting in the mosque listening to the speaker, Mullah Bashir, talk about how the muslim population is going to take over the world and that the western world as they know it is over. He says that there are too many starving people who are underprivledged in the west for them to be powerful anymore, but this is basically what is happening to the people in Kabul too, isn't it? As the service keeps going on, Mohsen keeps turning around to make sure Zunaira is still on the steps across the street. I thought that maybe one of the times he turned around, she would not have been sitting there and the Taliban would have taken her somewhere. Mohsen talks about how the only people really listening to the speaker were in the front rows, and the rest of the people just don't care. One man was even sleeping. I thought it was awful that the taliban patroled the mosque and whipped those who were not paying attention, like Mohsen when his head was turned. It sounds like they are running a cult, or trying to brainwash these people into believing what they should, even though the people don't really have a choice because they would be tortured if they didn't follow all the rules.