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Religion, Conflict and Cultural Genocide in Afghanistan by Mustafa Popal, MALD '01 Afghanistan has once again made headlines for the wrong reasons with the recent destruction of the Buddha statues. For many observers of the region, the plight of that country's ongoing years of conflict seems endless. After nearly 22 years of war, Afghanistan has emerged in a form promising only to those extremist elements seeking ideological and physical sanctuary in a country that has seen its social fabric torn to shreds; and now is wracked by the forces of death, destruction and most recently, cultural genocide.
The decade-long war against the Soviet Red Army (1979-1989) pitted one of the world's poorest and most-underdeveloped countries against a global superpower; a modern-day "David and Goliath" depiction. The war took the lives of over a million Afghans, not to mention the lives of thousands of Russian soldiers. For the Afghan freedom fighters (mujahideen) and their supporters, the war was a holy struggle (jihad) for freedom and independence against the forces of atheism as embodied in communism. The Soviet defeat served as an added catalyst to the demise of communism in Eastern Europe and Central Asia culminating with the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the end of the USSR in 1991. The Soviet withdrawal in 1989 left in place a fractured communist Afghan government under the leadership of President Najibullah. By 1992, ensuing internal divisions among the Afghan communists and the onslaught of Mujahideen attacks on Kabul forced Najibullah to step down as President. The removal of Najibullah ushered forth a period of continuous civil war, first between the seven warring Mujahideen factions and now between the Taliban and the United Front opposition representing a fractured coalition of former Mujahideen groups.
Today, seven years after its inception, the Taliban movement remains isolated from the world community of states with limited chance for improvement anytime soon. Their religious ideology, while garnering great support among the more radical elements of Islam, in such countries as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, has failed to advance their cause among the international community. In light of the ongoing conflict, it is important to realize that the civil war in Afghanistan remains a war by proxy. Competing regional interests between Afghanistan's neighbors (i.e. Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China) continue to fuel the flames of conflict. Far into the distant future, war in Afghanistan will remain a part of the psychological and physical reality of the country. The warring factions continue to receive substantial financial and military support from their respective benefactors in the region. Continued war in the region entails grave consequences for global peace and stability. Many of the social malaises plaguing Afghanistan strike at the core of humanity's concerns. Environmentally, the Afghan landscape remains one of the most heavily mined areas in the world. Narcotics cultivation has quickly replaced wheat as the country's viable crop of choice. Demographically, Afghans form the largest refugee group in the world with over six million living abroad. Of these six million, over a third reside in refugee camps scattered across the borders of Pakistan and Iran. In addition, the three-year drought coupled with an equally devastating winter has forced many Afghans to flee their homes, often times dying as a result of starvation or cold. Politically, the country is ruled by fear and repression. Terrorism has found a safe-haven in the anarchy of Afghanistan. Socially, another generation of Afghan widows and orphans has come to define itself in terms of solitude, poverty and war. In many ways, Afghanistan forces us to confront the extremes of humanity's perversions as they are implemented in the name of misguided religious, social and political ideologies. At the same time, however, the horrific images of death and destruction force us to question our own sensibilities as members of a global community. As much as some of our members would like to, the world community cannot and must not forget the suffering of the Afghan people. International indifference will only invite escalated regional interference and greater extremist actions at the cost of innocent lives. We must avoid appearing more outraged by the destruction of artifacts than by the suffering of humans. Nothing would provide greater ammunition for extremist rhetoric than a global response that can be labeled as insensitive to human suffering. We can avoid such measures by urging greater and more consistent avenues of assistance for the people of Afghanistan. Peace and stability can return to Afghanistan, but the realization of this goal requires a collective effort on the part of humanity worldwide.
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The Taliban decree ordering the destruction of all pre-Islamic artifacts came
as a shock to the conscience of humanity worldwide. To understand the motives for such an
action, it is necessary to address our own understanding of the ongoing conflict and to
reconnect the historical occurrences that have brought Afghanistan to where it is today.
The Taliban's emergence from southern
Afghanistan in 1994 represented a potential force for peace and stability in the war-torn
country for many Afghans and international observers. By effectively disarming a majority
of the warlords and, in effect, marching on Kabul in the name of Islam and peace, the
Taliban's consolidation of power throughout the country marked a turning point in the
civil war. In 1996 the Taliban seized Kabul and the imposed harsh social restrictions for
the sake of religious piety. What had appeared to be a benevolent movement for peace,
quickly came to be recast as one of the world's most repressive religious regimes.