Islam , which means 'submission' in Arabic, is one of the world's great religions. The Koran or Qu'ran, is the holy book of Islam and well worth a read. NATO , the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is an alliance between several European nations and the United States. Actions led by NATO in recent years include military intervention in Iraq and the former Yugoslavia. The Taliban is a nationalist, Islamic fundamentalist paramilitary group that controls about 95 percent of Afghanistan.
Some Islamic countries are no-goes for all but the most intrepid travelers.
Afghanistan's Taliban gets trigger-happy just at the thought of cleavage, while Algeria's fundamentalist contingent has proposed killing all tourists. Iraq is still subject to NATO's severe embargo and air raids, so stay away. Coping with Groping As in any male population, there are a few assholes in the Islamic world. Western women are generally stereotyped as women with loose morals, and you've got to realize that these guys are probably pirating Sex in the City and Baywatch to educate themselves. Only go inside if a female relative is present.