To Become A Nation, Afghanistan Has to Fight Blind Spots of Leadership

By Nasrat Esmaty 

29 Mar 2020 

To become a nation, Afghanistan has three core blind spots, and as long as these three problems are not covered, it is impossible for us to become a nation, have a meaningful government and enjoy our political and social rights like other countries. 

1. Majority Ignorant, Minority Treacherous: 

A handful of people run Afghanistan while the average public always finds themselves oppressed. However, to get out of this situation, they do nothing or their actions are always arisen out of ethnic, sectarian, religious or linguistic affiliations and dependence. One notable example is the Wolesi Jirga and the Meshrano Jirga representatives, who do not represent their constituents in real terms. Most of the Upper and Lower House representatives work as Afghans call commission workers, who the ministers have to bribe to get the vote of approval or confidence. These representatives have failed their constituents several times, but the latter still supports them. The elections of 2014 and 2019 are no exception. Such a situation implies that we have a “majority ignorant, minority treacherous” problem. Ignorance does not mean that our people do not know or are unaware, but that they are so engrossed in dependency chains that they neglect prosperity as a nation. Until we do not sacrifice the I’s and the We’s for the nation, the minority treacherous will always rule us. 

2.  The Rule of 10: One Weak Follower Leads Nine Strong Leaders: 

Japan gained its freedom along with Afghanistan. The atomic bombing of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki not only destroyed the infrastructure and killed a large number of human resources but also resulted in a generation of slow learners. To tackle the problems, the country appointed an intelligent kid to help train every nine slow learners, and work as the Niners’ teacher and leader. The teachers worked voluntarily for a long time, too. 

Today, Japan is one of the developed countries of the world and Afghanistan cannot be compared to Japan. Unfortunately, Afghanistan uses the reverse case. In our country, nine smart leaders are led by someone who has failed as a follower. This weak follower or “slow learner” in all areas of life reduces the speed, efficiency and effectiveness of the nine smart leaders. You must have noticed that our young Fulbrighters and Cheveners working under such “slow learners” in civilian, military, non-profit and non-profit institutions  

I find it extremely funny that young leaders with good educational and working backgrounds are hired and later told what to do instead of being asked what needs to be done. Both the leaders and followers are happy in such an arrangement while no positive change is observed in anyone’s life including the country. It is high time that we permanently distance these weak followers from the political, social, and economic scenes and make way for mainstream leaders or obligate the “slow learners” to learn from smart leaders. 

3. Blind Faith, Limited Knowledge: 

According to a recent study, Afghanistan is one of the countries that top the list of Islamic countries in performing prayer. But does such an achievement represent the knowledge of Islam amongst Afghans? If the Afghan practices are properly studied, we will realize that our knowledge of Islam is minimal. Most of our government leaders take an oath of serving the people on the Qur’an, but we are still one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Islam requires that we treat women well in our family and community, but we use them as tools and we do not consider them more than cooks, cleaners, concubines and incubines. Islam entitles women to their father’s heritage, but most Afghans deprive them of their heritage, including the very fathers. Unfortunately, in an almost 100 percent Muslim state, women do not have physical and mental safety. The teachers and Mullahs, who should carry on the Prophet’s legacy, (sexually) abuse children. Islam says suicide and killing of innocent are forbidden. However, a group of people sees it as a means of warfare and achievement of their goals, marking divine prohibition null and void and … the list is long, but we will suffice with these examples. 

Our religious naiveté has been the by-product of little knowledge of Islam. You can literally do anything by using an Afghan’s religious naiveté. Tens of Afghans can flock to a mosque in a crowded place and storm an unknown lady to death because she has allegedly burned the Qur’an. This is amongst very dangerous character traits that blind an Afghan of the fact that s/he is not a judge, the Supreme Court, a Mufti, etc. Like it has always happened, a shrewd religious scholar can misuse the teachings of the Qur’an and Hadith however he wants to carry out his own agenda. Since conflict has been the recipe so far, Afghans’ religious naivety has caused several conflicts throughout history. The abdication of King Amanullah Khan by Habibullah Kalakani and the Taliban regime as a whole are two examples. Arabic, Qur’anic interpretation, Tajweed, Hadith, Siret-ul-Nabi and a host of other important religious subjects need to be taught more comprehensively at school levels so that Afghan children are equipped with proper religious education upon graduation and not fall prey to extremism. 

Original Headline:   The Three Blind Spots of Leadership in Afghanistan 

Source: The Khaama Press 

URL: https://www.newageislam.com/current-affairs/to-become-nation-afghanistan-fight/d/121829