Radicals subdue voice of restraint

Sayed Karim, Foreign Correspondent

• Last Updated: November 05. 2009 11:52PM UAE / November 5. 2009 7:52PM GMT

GARDEZ, AFGHANISTAN // Mawlawi Yar Mohammed cuts an increasingly lonely figure here in Paktia province. A voice of relative moderation in a land of violence and chaos, his interpretation of Islam is under growing threat from Taliban-inspired militancy.

“The foreigners who have come to this country should have their property protected, their lives protected and their blood protected. They are here with the permission of our government, not by their own decision. What they do against their enemies is up to them, but the Afghan people should respect them,” he said.

Mr Mohammed is the provincial director of the Supreme Court and a religious scholar. His views about the occupation and the acts of resistance his faith permits are beginning to put him at odds with the prevailing mood among large sections of the population.

The Taliban-led insurgency has grown in strength across Paktia this year, feeding off the anger and disillusionment many Afghans feel towards the government and its foreign allies.

People do not go out after dark and firefights between rebels and the security forces are a regular feature of life outside the local capital, Gardez. The province also acts as a crossing point for militants trained in neighbouring Pakistan.

Mr Mohammed is against suicide attacks, which have become a common feature of this war after being unheard of during Soviet times. He opposes them, he says, because suicide is forbidden in Islam and innocent civilians are often killed when the bombers detonate themselves.

But, even as a scholar who supports the US and Nato, many of his views do not chime with the notion of democracy and freedom the West thought it was bringing to Afghanistan. He is a moderate only in relative terms and some of his beliefs hint at the massive struggle the government and the occupation face to win the public over.

“In Islam it says if someone is a robber their hand should be cut off and if someone is a murderer they should be executed. Now they are just putting these kinds of people in jail, which is not in the Shariat,” he complained.

Many residents in Paktia distrust the international troops and the government, and are scared of the rebels. That, though, usually translates into nostalgia for the old regime of Mullah Mohammed Omar, when life was at least safer and criminals were severely punished.

Adam Khan, a 40-year-old shopkeeper, lost a son fighting for the Taliban in their civil war against the Northern Alliance. He claims security now exists only in the district centres of Paktia.

“The people don’t like the foreign soldiers because when they are around they can’t leave the house. They are also afraid of suicide attacks,” he said.

“During the Taliban there was good security. If we wanted to go out at 2 o’clock at night no one would try to stop us. If there were women or old people with us, no one could say anything to them.”

The commander of US troops and the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan has painted a dire picture of the situation in the country, describing it as “serious”, although “success is still achievable”.

“The weakness of state institutions, malign actions of power-brokers, widespread corruption and abuse of power by various officials, and ISAF’s own errors, have given Afghans little reason to support their government,” said General Stanley McChrystal in a leaked report on the conflict.

He has asked for the deployment of tens of thousands more soldiers – a request the White House is now considering. But if the views of Paktia’s residents are anything to go by, the war may already be a lost cause.

While even the moderates recall the Taliban regime and capital punishment fondly, others are openly calling for armed resistance. Islam is central to Afghan life and clerics are among the most respected members of society here, so their opinions have huge influence.

One madrasa teacher, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that suicide bombings are permissible, as long as they do not kill innocent Muslims. “But if he had a plan to kill unbelievers, it is OK,” he added.

“Now all the Muslims have started jihad. Some have started with guns, some with sticks and some are doing suicide attacks,” he said, before going on to express his admiration for rebels from Chechnya, Pakistan and Arab countries who have come to join the struggle.

An imam in a local mosque shared similar beliefs, claiming the insurgents here had learned from the tactics of rebels in Iraq and were only doing their religious duty. “The people who are doing suicide attacks are right,” he said.

“If innocent people die, they are martyrs. Did you see any suicide bombers’ vests before the Americans came? They came here, then the suicide bombers also came,” he added.

skarim@thenational.ae