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February 9, 2003
REVIEWS: Another dimension
The events of 9/11 and the subsequent US bombardment of Afghanistan heightened the already existing tensions between America and the Muslim world. While other international events (such as Washington’s continuing punitive measures against Iraq and its support to Israel in the latter’s conflict with the Palestinians) have only reinforced this view, it was the American-led war against the erstwhile Taliban regime in Afghanistan that brought this disharmony into sharp focus.
During the days of the Taliban rule and after the rout of the student militia, the debate centred largely on the practice of an ultra purist form of Islam in Afghanistan. Bans were imposed on virtually every form of entertainment, and a rigid segregation of the sexes and the curtailing of women’s rights stifled the population. Besides, the inhumane punishments meted out to those violating the laws laid down by the clergy also formed part of the extreme criticism hurled at the Taliban. The stress on this aspect of Taliban rule has tended to overshadow another equally important factor in the rise and the fall of the erstwhile militia: ethnicity.
The book under review attempts to illustrate the ethnic forces at work in the war-ravaged country — though not solely in the context of the Taliban. The historical narrative of the more prominent ethnic groups, and their politicization over the course of the years, lends a greater understanding to Afghan politics today.
The book also furnishes the readers with details pertaining to various ethno-religious Afghan outfits, and gives other tabulated information regarding the country’s minorities. This is useful, as at a glance, it is possible to assess the level of political activism in the country.
However, the drawback here is that there is no way of ascertaining the accuracy of much of the information since the sources for several statistics are not specified. For instance, considering that there has been no comprehensive census in Afghanistan since the 1970s, it is difficult to depend on the reliability of the figures given for the breakdown of the ethnic groups. Moreover, there are discrepancies in statistics at various points in the book.
While some communities, like the Hazaras, have been covered more extensively than others, the role of the minorities has by and large been discussed enough to give the reader a working knowledge of how Afghan society came to be rent apart by ethnic divisions. What is missing, however, is a systematic collation of information. This has resulted in a haphazard arrangement of the chapters, which are further categorized into sections that in some cases have nothing to do with the main argument.
The fact that many of the articles/chapters have been written even before the events of September 11, (and there has been no attempt to update these) does not help. Certainly, we are provided with the text of the Bonn Accords that led to the establishment of the Karzai administration, but shouldn’t Larry Goodson’s article, dividing the Afghan war into eight stages, have contained one more phase — the American attack on Afghanistan post- September 11?
Also, interesting though they may be on their own, some of the chapters bear no relevance to the subject, and appear to have been inserted without any reason. A case in point is John F. Mearsbeimer’s essay on “The future of the American pacifier”. The essay deals largely with American dealings with Europe and Northeast Asia. There is a small section on Afghanistan (again prior to 9/11) which is followed by the author’s strictures on Buddhism in South Asia. Why his defence of the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas should be followed by an analysis of the religion is confusing. Neither is it clear why Shahid Javed Burki’s views on the economic fallout of September 11 are defined when there is no reference to Afghanistan in his essay.
Finally, the quality of subbing is exceedingly poor. Typographical errors are sprinkled liberally throughout the book, and sometimes it is difficult to gather the meaning of a phrase. For somebody not familiar with Afghan locations it might not be easy to grasp that “Heart” (printed in several places), is in fact, Herat.
Although the topic is relevant to our times, there should have been a greater effort to justify the high price of Rs. 495 — a rip-off if one takes into account the poor presentation.
Afghanistan’s internal security threats: the dynamics of ethnic and sectarian violence
By Musa Khan Jalalzai
Dua Publications, 25-C Lower Mall, Lahore Tel: 042-7325418
Email:
wasishah786@hotmail.com
396pp. Rs495 US$50
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