Donald Wilber | Islam in Afghanistan

8/6/2019 Donald Wilber | Islam in Afghanistan

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The Structure and Position of Islam in AfghanistanAuthor(s): Donald N. WilberSource: Middle East Journal, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Winter, 1952), pp. 41-48Published by: Middle East InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4322355 .

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THE STRUCTURE AND POSITIONOF ISLAM IN AFGHANISTANDonald N. Wilber

XHE VISITOR who comesto Afghanistanwith someexperience in the Muslim lands situated to its west isstruck by the apparent zeal with which the Afghanscarry out the rites, precepts, andtraditional customs of Islam. Theaspects of this devotion are many. Prayer is an important featureof daily life. Buses and trucks halt along the road at times ofprayer; and the sunset prayer, when all the passengers alignthemselves in rows, with a leader chosen from their number,offers an impressive spectacle. The manufacture, sale, and use

of alcohol is forbidden: violators are severely punished by law,and in a country famed for its countless varieties of grapes nowine is made. Opium - the affliction of Asia - and hashish arebut little used: in an entire series of halts at tea houses and toursthrough villages the writer never once smelled the acrid, sick-ening odor of burning opium.The privacy of Muslim family life continues. Women remainheavily veiled and play no public role. Public entertainments,except for sports, are few in number. Each large town does havea theater at which both serious and light plays are given, andKabul has two cinemas. The newest and largest of these, justopened in August 1951, has special boxes for women. Opencriticism of Islam or of the Sunni sect is extremely unlikely;missionaries for other religions are not allowed in Afghanistanand the government controls all printing facilities in the country.Along with these specific reflections of the creed, others of amore general nature appear to have survived in stronger forcethan they have in some of the other Muslim lands. One of these

` DONALD N. WILBER, author of Iran: Past and Present, spent two months in Afghanis-tan in the summer of I951 collecting material for a book on that country. The presentarticle is based on interviews and observations made at that time.4'


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THE STRUCTURE AND POSITION OF ISLAM IN AFGHANISTAN 43courts are civil servants of the Ministry of Justice and advancein position according to length of service. Attached to the courtsare mufti and moltasib. The mufti acts as counselor to the judgeand as prosecuting attorney and may suggest the fatwa, or re-ligious precedent, upon which the case may be decided. Themohtasib is an attendant of the court empowered to check uponobservances of religious precepts and duties. These individualsnow have only a nominal authority; in older times they roamedabout armed with whips and took direct action against gambling,violation of Ramadan, and simliar breaches of faith.

The Muslim clerics appear to be members of a very flexibleand loosely-knit organization. At the top of the hierarchy is thejamiyyat-i-'ulema, or council of the learned, which was broughtinto being by the government about 193 I Its members, composedof the most revered religious teachers, may choose individualsfrom any part of the country to fill gaps in its ranks, and it prob-ably supervises the activities of provincial religious councils. Itacts to determine appointments within grade for posts in manymosques and it passes on the conformity with religious principlesof pending legislation. Although not specifically connected withthe Ministry of Justice, it may be called upon by the governmentto establish the official attitude and conduct of the state withregard to basic religious questions within or without Afghanistan.No titled individuals dominate the council or the hierarchy.In former days the post of khan 'alim, or head of religion, washeld by a single individual and one important family furnishedthe principal judges. Today a very few of the most respectedleaders employ the term hazrat, inadequately translated by "ex-cellency" or "highness," in their names, while all individuals ofsound religious learning and long practice employ the termmaulavi as a prefix to their names.Most of the body of clerics are connected with the mosques,which may number I5,000 throughoutthe country.These mos-ques are of five grades. The heads of the three highest gradesareknown as imams. The highest grade of mosque is the masjid-i-jami', or "Friday" or "congregational" mosque and this gradeis always headed by an imam jomeh, who may also be called kha-tib after his function of preaching the khutba, or Friday sermon.


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44 THE MIDDLE EAST JOURNALIn earlier Islam there could be only a single masjid-i-jami' in acommunity, but this distinction broke down long ago and Kabulnow has twenty mosques of this rank and some ioo less importantones. Three of the masjid-i-frnmi' at Kabul follow the plan andstyle of the Sunni mosques of Egypt, but the others reflect localmaterials and design. Essentially the Afghan mosque is com-prised of a long open porch with wood columns, with portalsleading into a rectangular room, and with a mihrab, or prayerniche, opposite the entrances.Mosques which do not rate the appointment of an imam maybe in charge of muezzins. Lowest in rank within the hierarchyare the mullahs, who may number ioo,ooo and who serve thesmall village mosques in addition to their other duties. One othertype of cleric is active, the murshid, or spiritual adviser, alsoknown as the rahnama, or guide, who has no official status butadvises the public on their personal and religious problems atthe family level.

After the stress that has been placed upon the influence andimportance of the clergy in Afghanistan, it may surprise somereaders to learn that secularism invaded religion at an earlierdate in this country than in Turkey or Iran. Thus, the rulerAbdur Rahman Khan (d. I90I) wrote in his memoirs that hehad transferred all the land, property, and money which hadformerly supported the clerics to the government treasury andthat the treasury paid fixed monthly salaries to the qazis, mo/ta-sibs, muezzins, and mullahs. So far as the writer can learn thissituation still prevails and there is no important vaqf, or cleric-ally controlled administration of church properties and theirincome. Under this system the government in power can dependupon the loyal support of the clergy as long as it takes no actiondamaging to the prestige of the religious leaders or to Miuslimprecepts and customs. As is well known, King Amanullah tookboth these steps and the clerics played an important role in hisdownfall.Muslim shrines play a vital part in propagating the faith andin maintaining the stability and consistency of belief. In Af-ghanistan the shrine at Mazar-i-Sharif, believed by the AfghanSunnis to be the site of the tomb of Ali ibn-abi-Talib, is by


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THE STRUCTURE AND POSITION OF ISLAM IN AFGHANISTAN 45far the most important spiritual center. The shrine, clad withenameled tiles in which blue predominates, is an extensive andimposing complex. Within the vast open court is centered theprincipal structure, parts of which date back to 1426 A.D. Theshrine has an independent administration, operates a higherreligious school, and makes its strongest impact on the faithfulat the time of the annual Red Tulip festival, the forty days afterthe beginning of the New Year - coinciding with the firstday ofspring -when some so,ooo pilgrims flock to Mazar-i-Sharif.Within Afghanistan religious education is given at the ele-mentary, intermediate, secondary, and college levels, with thesecond and fourth of these levels found only in schools operatedby the Ministry of Education. The traditional type of elementaryeducation is conducted by mullahs living in thousandsof farmingvillages or among the tribes. With the tribesmen their efforts arelimited to teaching the obligations of Islam and the ability towrite one's name. In the villages the school (maktab) is held inthe mosque. In a period of four years boys from five to nine reciteand memorize passages from the Qur'an and learn reading, writ-ing, and arithmetic. The mullah receives contributions from theparents of his pupils and the Ministry of Education may providereaders, writing materials, and desks, but neither the Ministrynor the jamiyyat-i-'ulema controls the curriculum. The total num-ber of these maktabs is not known. Within the ever expandingsystem of government schools the 78,000 pupils in the six elemen-tary grades spend four hours a week on the Qur'an and religiouseducation, and this instruction continues on a somewhat reducedscale through the eleventh grade.All but one of the special religious schools remain outside ofthe framework of the Ministry of Education, although they doreceive financial aid from this ministry. Long established schoolson the secondary level exist-at Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat,Maimana, and Jalalabad and have a total of some Soo students.There are also special schools, called Darul Hefaz, at Herat,Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif, Maimana, and Andakhoi where theblind memorize the Qur'an and learn to recite it in the tradi-tional fashion. In addition, the Ministry of Education directlyoperates the largest and most modern religious school, the


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46 THE MIDDLE EAST JOURNALMadrasa Ulum-i-Shar'ia. Located at Paghman, some sixteenmiles from Kabul, this eight-year-old institution now has 375students. Boys enter at the age of fourteen and after six yearsreceive a degree equivalent to Bachelor of Religion. They arethen qualified as religious teachers, although at present all therecent graduates are continuing their religious studies at KabulUniversity. All students receive board, lodging, and clothes atgovernment expense. The curriculum includes religious dogma,principles of Islam, history of Islam, Islamic law, and a fullschedule of such general courses as physics, chemistry, geology,geography, history, and mathematics. Arabic is taught by teachersimported from Egypt. The stated purpose of the school is "toestablish an equilibrium between the spiritual and material sidesof life and to give birth to a modern and broad-minded class ofpriests which will be able to help the general reform of thecountry. Its aim is to preserve the strength of religious andmoral forces of the nation with their adoption to the principlesof the modern life of the world." Finally, Kabul University hasits Theology School, or Fakultah Elahiyyat, which was broughtinto being a year ago. This faculty plans to train three classes ofreligious leaders: judges, propagators of the faith, or tablighat,and teachers. The course comprises four years of general studyand two years of specialization in one of the above fields: degrees,but no religious titles, will be awarded.It is now time to return to the questions relating to the futurerole of Islam in Afghanistan. As a broad expression of faithin the unalterable continuity of religion we may begin with astatement made to the writer by Maulavi Abdul Jalil Khan, acounselor to the High Court of Appeal at Kabul. He said: "Re-ligion guides every phase of our life and we all -young andold, learned and illiterate -have a love for and a need forIslam. Our religious leaders are confident that Islam answersall the inner demands of man so that no 'isms' can find a place inAfghan hearts. Our clerics and our people consider Islam andcivilization as identical and parallel and that material progressis not contrary to the faith. Nor are the sound moral principlescalled for by Islam in conflict with this same material progress."A more specific statement of the role of religion comes from


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THE STRUCTURE AND POSITION OF ISLAM IN AFGHANISTAN 47Salahuddin Seljuqi, respected member of Parliament, admirer ofAristotle, and now engaged in a reconciliation of the theories ofEinstein with the principles of Islam. Speaking to the writer hestated: "Afghanistan is now exposed to social, intellectual, andpolitical influences from the West -the first two are welcomeas bringing in a certain social polish that all peoples acquire intime, but the third is not. . . . The continued independence of ourcountry demands the propagation and strength of Islam, togetherwith active steps to foster national unity and better the standardof living. Operating together these constructive features willstand firm against the intrusion of foreign ideologies, such as thegerms of imperialism or the scourge of Bolshevism." TIheleadersof Afghanistan do realize that Islam must be prepared to takeup a positive position in a world of conflicting ideologies. HisMajesty Mohammad Zahir Shah, in an audience with the writer,pointed out that the strength of the Muslim faith in Afghanistandid not necessarily guarantee stability and national unity. Stat-ing that religious force and fervor could be suborned to un-worthy purposes, he made specific references to trends and eventsthroughout the Muslim world from North Africa to India.These statements underline the force of Islam in Afghanistanand state the purpose it should serve, but suggest no course ofaction. It is fair to say that there is no real program for com-batting foreign influences and ideologies. Public officials recog-nize that the problem exists. The religious school at Paghmanhopes to train teachers to counterattack any antireligious threats,but the students are not told what these threats may be, nor whatthe Muslim stand toward them should be, nor how to preparethe minds of the faithful to resist these threats. While the govern-ment believes that the extension of elementary education is afundamental need, many of the clerics - especially the mullahs-feel that secular education will undermine the religious faithof the pupils. In this attitude they have a considerable followingin the population, for the older people feel that education willmake their children dissatisfied, disoriented, and disrespectful.The so-called educational reforms of Amanullah alarmed thepopulace, while as late as 1939 the people of the Helmand val-ley strongly opposed the extension of secular education, Thus,


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48 THE MIDDLE EAST JOURNALeducation in itself is not a means of maintaining Islam inAfghanistan.Two forces may threaten the present political life and socialstructure of the country: democracy, with all its appendages, andcommunism. The Western version of democracy includes thedrive toward material progress and the competitive spirit in pub-lic and private life. Such factors are already having their affectin that the government leaders are considering permitting theformation of political parties and allowing greater freedom ofexpression. Religion might be influenced by these factors, but itis more likely that public freedoms will provide opportunitiesfor the enemies of democracy.We have been told by many authorities that Soviet propagandawill not make headway in Muslim lands because Islam andcommunism are incompatible. However, it may be time to dis-card this reassuring platitude. Communism reaches these landsnot as-an elaborate doctrine, supported by the sayings of its ownsaints, but disguised as a series of appealing premises concernedwith the betterment of the peasant farmer's way of life.The Afghans cannot help knowvingthat the USSR is theirneighbor, but they seem to prefer not to dwell upon this nearnesssince then they might have to regard it as a potential threat totheir institutions and social structure. Up to the present theauthorities have been able to keep communist literature out ofthe country and to suppress any open expressions of this nature.However, no such measures can ever be permanent and no at-tempt has been made to strike at the heart of the matter - to buildup public resistance to Soviet propaganda in any form by tellingthe people in precise terms what has happened to the Muslimfaith and their ethnic coreligionists within the borders of theSoviet Union. In the opinion of this writer the governtnent mightwell instruct the jamiyyat-i-'ulema to study the entire problemof the future of the faith and to come up with a program of re-ligious training designed to bring traditional beliefs in realconformity with the changing times, and to alert the generalpublic to the destructive nature of Soviet propaganda and ideaswhich set family against fam]ilyand class against class and as suclmenace the admirable dignity and social equality of the Afghans.

Donald Wilber | Islam in Afghanistan

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