(Part 11)
Causes of the Unity of Afghan Nation
The protection of Afghanistan from the calamities in the contemporary era has been made as a result of unity and solidarity within the Nation. The people of this land have been proud of this borderland for centuries and have had the feeling of motherhood toward it. This matter has been proven when a person travels to one of the neighboring countries based on necessity. On the way back home, a large number of people are willing to prostrate the soil and then enter the country with undescriptive happiness. This is the love for homeland.
Zalmai Khalilzad explained the Afghan national identity to Gorge W. Bush, the ex-President of the United States during the September 11, 2001 attack, when he served as an adviser to the Bush Administration: “the CIA Report is not correct to that extend” he said. He further explained to him that during Afghanistan civil war, it was CIA which threatened Afghanistan to disintegration, but hopefully, it was the strong sense of Afghan national identity which had brought various ethnic groups together. This is (Afghanistan) not Yugoslavia where communities want to live in separate countries. “This Nationalism and Afghan identity is powerful.” ( khlilzad, 1395, No. 114)
This national identity that Zalmai Khalilzad defines is the result of the common beliefs of all Afghans in Islam. At the top of this pyramid there is the Afghan National Identity and Islamic beliefs, that despite all problems have brought the people together. The people of this land fought against lots of aggressors throughout their history and never allowed this country remained occupied, forever.
The Common Religion
One of the reasons for the unity of the nation is having a common culture in all areas. The first thing that bring people together is the (Islam Religion) which has impressed the whole nation to itself during the course of 14oo years history, and all the people have accepted it wholeheartedly. A religion in which unity, justice, avoidance of discrimination, the growth of good morals, the protection of the oppressed are among its fundamental issues. The devastating Mongol invasion, the British aggression, the Soviet invasion and NATO led by the United States did not cause the nation to give up their pure beliefs, but in contrast, the domination of the Eastern communist or Western secular communist government, united the Muslim nation and increased the growth of religious beliefs among the people. More than 90 percent of this nation is Muslim and follows the religious values and accepts its orders wholeheartedly. Undoubtedly, the Almighty Allah protects his religion and supports the Muslims.
The xenophobiasm
The deprived and oppressed people of Afghanistan throughout their history has always combated against the aggressor foreigners and expelled them by sacrificing thousands of martyrs and wounded. In the contemporary history of the country, we can refer to the brave and powerful defense of Mirwais Nikeh against the Safavid aggressors, in which Mahmoud Khan Houtak finally wiped the roots of that cruel government off even from Iran. Our nation taught a lesson to the aggressor Britain. This poor nation revolted against the Siberian giant, the Soviet Union aggressor and drove them out of this land disgracefully. After twenty years of US aggression in the form of NATO forces, along with more than forty countries which were equipped with modern facilities, the United States could not comply the nation with its sinister plans and was forced to retreat from the heroic country hastily forever with shame and embarrassment. All the Muslim people of the country are involved in xenophobia and jihad against foreigners.
Patriotism
Afghanistan is the home for all the tribes in which they live or are immigrants and they all belong to this soil. All the inhabitants of this land consider their country as the mother and respect and defend it in any circumstances. It has been observed that the border clashes from the neighboring countries on Afghanistan, which are mostly carried out by aggression and pressure, responded heroically and bravely. Those powerful responses of the government against foreign attackers have always been approved by all ethnic groups living in this country and the immigrants abroad. The Afghan people living abroad love this homeland and have never forgotten it, meanwhile, they constantly take a trip to the country so that their children do not forget their main homeland and national culture.
The Boundless Common Points
The people of this land, with their language diversity, appreciate each other’s dialects respectfully, and everyone is familiar with a common language that can connect them to one another. Dari is the common language of all ethnic groups through which they can express love and affection for each other and develop their relationships. All people, women, men and children, use the same covering, which is the symbol of unity and solidarity among the people. In recent years, nomadic clothes for men and women have become more popular. Despite the secular government’s efforts to spread the culture of Western clothes and fashion, people still love their culture, simple veil and humble covering.
Afghans all consider themselves brothers and equals and they avoid indiscrimination and prejudice in terms of equality, but they do believe that based on Holy Quran the criteria which make some people superior over others is piety and Taghwa. Muslim people are all equal and brothers. They are together in joy and sorrow. The officials of the democratic government tried hard to get votes from the people in order to draw a line between the tribes and separate the tribes, which fortunately, they did not reach their heinous targets. Our people have been kind and friendly together and the family relationships have been going on among all tribes in the course of history. In big cities of the country no one considers the terms of tribe or ethnic matters. People in big cities care more about economic, cultural issues, social matters, and educational growth, rather than ethnicity or dialect matters.
Government corruption was one of the problems that everyone suffered and became an important factor that agonized all people equally in the ex-Republic Government administration corruption. Efforts to remove corruption or eradicate it from the government was the aspirations of all people and the cause of the unity among the sections of people in the society. The people had many common sufferings; naming war, diverse and widespread corruption, foreign domination, increasing hypocrisy, poor quality of education, economic problems, spreading foreign culture, and some other factors which put the whole nation together to take actions so as to bring reform to the country.