A mustache to die for

The things that worry religious fundamentalists never fail to amaze and amuse me. For example, Muslim fundamentalists have threatened to kill Malik Afridi because of his mustache. Admittedly, Mr. Afridi's version of the handlebar is rather extravagant, but considering that the fundamentalists are big on facial hair themselves, you might think they would be more tolerant.

Malik Afridi and friends

On one occasion, Lashkar-e-Islam, an ally of the Taliban, declared his impressive display to be "un-Islamic" and demanded protection money. When he refused to pay, they kidnapped him and held him hostage until he shaved off the hairy outrage. But he has regrown it and is now being subjected to death threats, forcing him to leave his wife and ten children and take to life on the road.

His family wants him home but, ever faithful to his mustachios, he declares, "I can leave my family, I can leave Pakistan, but I can never cut my mustache again." Placing your facial adornment above family and country is a curious sense of values indeed, but killing a man because you don't like his mustache is just downright weird. But then religion has no shortage of weird.