Is it coincidental that Islam is going through a reformation 1400 years after its birth just like Christianity whose reformation started in the early 1500A.D? Different Christian sects such as the Protestants and Catholics fought with themselves until they learnt to live with their differences (relatively).
Afghanistan, the battlefield of world's most conflicts – first a buffer state between the British Empire and USSR, then the Russian Invasion and US supported war against them, then Al-Qaida’s training camp - is once again being used, not to decide on a new super-power but to decide on which sect is the true recreation of the values that were once in place during the reign of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Wahabi, a Saudi backed sect has been penetrating the South and East of Afghanistan for quite a while now. Shia, an Iranian backed sect has now joined in the race from the North. It is a war of ideology that is working on a grass roots level to gain strength and support in the country. It hasn't resorted to violence yet, but one that will create chaos in the next decade to come. Educational institutes, a place for unbiased and progressive education to flourish, are now at the centre of this divide.
It won’t be the first time religion is used as a reason to make Afghans go to war. The only difference this round will be that the enemy will not be a foreign invader, at least not physically. Both opponents will be Muslims, both believing their chosen sect is the right one and their key to heaven.
Those who have a religion carry a great amount of love and respect for it – some consider it personal while others believe it is their duty to spread it far and wide. There are different methods used by religious preachers to spread their selected religion and the one they believe is the right one. A religious missionary in his or her truest form will never harm, but only try to raise awareness about the path he/she believes is the right one and will make the world a better place. Fundamentalism, on the other hand is largely politically motivated – using the less informed to turn them in to extremists.
When thinking about religious fundamentalism the first thing that comes to mind implied is Islam - a misleading idea promoted by the Western media to justify the shameful war in Afghanistan and Iraq. There are Christian and Jewish fundamentalists, certainly more (some are) discrete in their operations and with more control of the situation to keep their work low profile. The dispute on ID and evolution is a good example of the existence of fundamentalism in the American politics.
Fundamentalism doesn’t have quick fixes; it cannot be resolved by war. Those who are fighting the war know this – a clear indication that the current war has other political/financial reasons than abolishing fundamentalism. It is a widely known fact that prevention is better than cure. It is too late for prevention in some cases. To undo that damage will require strategic work and time. Where it is not too late, staying vigilant and protecting the society from the things that would cause harm is important, such as in the case of preventing a future sectarian war.
Looking back at history, when the Christians were busy fighting the inter-religious war and while there was still religious persecution in place from the 1300AD to 1600AD they stayed confined to Europe and made no significant scientific progress. The current state of the Muslim world explains why that was the case. On the contrary, this (between 8th and 16th century) was a peaceful time for the Muslims; they made significant scientific discoveries and were at the peak of their cultural and intellectual progress – known as the Islamic Golden Age. Ibne-Sina (Avicenna), Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (Rumi), Alzheimer, Algebra, chemistry (then Alchemy) are well known contributors and contributions to scientific and intellectual progress. (Wikipedia article - Science in medieval Islam is a good starting point to find out more for those interested)
Moreover, the Muslim empire was spread over three continents, Africa, Asia and Europe. (See Map of the Islamic Empire) Its downfall started when Muslims diverted their focus to nationalism, power and greed. It coincides with the rise of the Christian's progress in both scientific and intellectual fields.
Afghanistan is not the only country in the region with a Muslim population of different religious groups (sects). However, what makes this country more vulnerable to its devastating effect is the high level illiteracy and religious ignorance. In addition to this it is an already divided nation on many fronts widely known such as ethnicity, language, and now religion. The attitude of divide has grown so much that it is in everything we do. If there is no reason for a divide, we create one. The latest one that came with the American invasion was the gender divide. Every Afghan woman I meet with the potential of making a real difference in the life of all Afghans work for the progress of women alone and every man is against it. What about the nation? What about integration? Without noticing it, we have formed an imbalanced society which is vulnerable and incomplete. Afghans’ good majority, who will soon be on the front line of this sectarian war, cannot differentiate religious obligations to cultural. Some widely known examples are:
• Divorce is an acceptable but not favoured practice in Islam; however it is over ruled by the Afghan culture. In most cases, no matter how unhappy the couples are in a marriage, they are not allowed to divorce.
• Racism and slavery were forbidden by Islam 1400 years ago. In the famous farewell pilgrimage speech by the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), he said ‘There is only one God, and no Arab is superior to a Non-Arab; nor is a Non-Arab superior to an Arab; a White is not superior to a Black, nor a Black over the White. The only criterion for superiority is Taqwa – i.e. righteousness, piety, and God-consciousness'. Yet the first question an Afghan asks you will pertain to if you are an Afghan: “Where in Afghanistan are you from?” The answer to this question decides whether you qualify to be human or not, in his/her eyes. Most Afghans seem to think every other ethnicity should be wiped off the face of the earth or at least suppressed because their own tribe/ethnicity is the best. All the other ethnicities are a curse God sent upon them. This is fascism in its clearest form obviously banned by Islam.
• Islam has mentioned men and women exactly the same number of times in the Quran (24 times each), explicitly gave them an equal status, and made education a must on both of them. The culture only favours men. Culture over rules Islam yet again.
It is probably weaknesses in religious practices, as above, and the lack of understanding of the religion Islam itself amongst the general public that is fuelling religious conflicts. Whatever the reason is, it is going to set Afghanistan and possibly the region back in to chaos for many decades. The flames of this conflict will most certainly burn whatever is left of Afghanistan if preventative measures are not taken immediately.
Afghanistan, the battlefield of world's most conflicts – first a buffer state between the British Empire and USSR, then the Russian Invasion and US supported war against them, then Al-Qaida’s training camp - is once again being used, not to decide on a new super-power but to decide on which sect is the true recreation of the values that were once in place during the reign of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Wahabi, a Saudi backed sect has been penetrating the South and East of Afghanistan for quite a while now. Shia, an Iranian backed sect has now joined in the race from the North. It is a war of ideology that is working on a grass roots level to gain strength and support in the country. It hasn't resorted to violence yet, but one that will create chaos in the next decade to come. Educational institutes, a place for unbiased and progressive education to flourish, are now at the centre of this divide.
It won’t be the first time religion is used as a reason to make Afghans go to war. The only difference this round will be that the enemy will not be a foreign invader, at least not physically. Both opponents will be Muslims, both believing their chosen sect is the right one and their key to heaven.
Those who have a religion carry a great amount of love and respect for it – some consider it personal while others believe it is their duty to spread it far and wide. There are different methods used by religious preachers to spread their selected religion and the one they believe is the right one. A religious missionary in his or her truest form will never harm, but only try to raise awareness about the path he/she believes is the right one and will make the world a better place. Fundamentalism, on the other hand is largely politically motivated – using the less informed to turn them in to extremists.
When thinking about religious fundamentalism the first thing that comes to mind implied is Islam - a misleading idea promoted by the Western media to justify the shameful war in Afghanistan and Iraq. There are Christian and Jewish fundamentalists, certainly more (some are) discrete in their operations and with more control of the situation to keep their work low profile. The dispute on ID and evolution is a good example of the existence of fundamentalism in the American politics.
Fundamentalism doesn’t have quick fixes; it cannot be resolved by war. Those who are fighting the war know this – a clear indication that the current war has other political/financial reasons than abolishing fundamentalism. It is a widely known fact that prevention is better than cure. It is too late for prevention in some cases. To undo that damage will require strategic work and time. Where it is not too late, staying vigilant and protecting the society from the things that would cause harm is important, such as in the case of preventing a future sectarian war.
Looking back at history, when the Christians were busy fighting the inter-religious war and while there was still religious persecution in place from the 1300AD to 1600AD they stayed confined to Europe and made no significant scientific progress. The current state of the Muslim world explains why that was the case. On the contrary, this (between 8th and 16th century) was a peaceful time for the Muslims; they made significant scientific discoveries and were at the peak of their cultural and intellectual progress – known as the Islamic Golden Age. Ibne-Sina (Avicenna), Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (Rumi), Alzheimer, Algebra, chemistry (then Alchemy) are well known contributors and contributions to scientific and intellectual progress. (Wikipedia article - Science in medieval Islam is a good starting point to find out more for those interested)
Moreover, the Muslim empire was spread over three continents, Africa, Asia and Europe. (See Map of the Islamic Empire) Its downfall started when Muslims diverted their focus to nationalism, power and greed. It coincides with the rise of the Christian's progress in both scientific and intellectual fields.
Afghanistan is not the only country in the region with a Muslim population of different religious groups (sects). However, what makes this country more vulnerable to its devastating effect is the high level illiteracy and religious ignorance. In addition to this it is an already divided nation on many fronts widely known such as ethnicity, language, and now religion. The attitude of divide has grown so much that it is in everything we do. If there is no reason for a divide, we create one. The latest one that came with the American invasion was the gender divide. Every Afghan woman I meet with the potential of making a real difference in the life of all Afghans work for the progress of women alone and every man is against it. What about the nation? What about integration? Without noticing it, we have formed an imbalanced society which is vulnerable and incomplete. Afghans’ good majority, who will soon be on the front line of this sectarian war, cannot differentiate religious obligations to cultural. Some widely known examples are:
• Divorce is an acceptable but not favoured practice in Islam; however it is over ruled by the Afghan culture. In most cases, no matter how unhappy the couples are in a marriage, they are not allowed to divorce.
• Racism and slavery were forbidden by Islam 1400 years ago. In the famous farewell pilgrimage speech by the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), he said ‘There is only one God, and no Arab is superior to a Non-Arab; nor is a Non-Arab superior to an Arab; a White is not superior to a Black, nor a Black over the White. The only criterion for superiority is Taqwa – i.e. righteousness, piety, and God-consciousness'. Yet the first question an Afghan asks you will pertain to if you are an Afghan: “Where in Afghanistan are you from?” The answer to this question decides whether you qualify to be human or not, in his/her eyes. Most Afghans seem to think every other ethnicity should be wiped off the face of the earth or at least suppressed because their own tribe/ethnicity is the best. All the other ethnicities are a curse God sent upon them. This is fascism in its clearest form obviously banned by Islam.
• Islam has mentioned men and women exactly the same number of times in the Quran (24 times each), explicitly gave them an equal status, and made education a must on both of them. The culture only favours men. Culture over rules Islam yet again.
It is probably weaknesses in religious practices, as above, and the lack of understanding of the religion Islam itself amongst the general public that is fuelling religious conflicts. Whatever the reason is, it is going to set Afghanistan and possibly the region back in to chaos for many decades. The flames of this conflict will most certainly burn whatever is left of Afghanistan if preventative measures are not taken immediately.
