I wish we had a leader who would speak these words to us and save our society from the danger of superstition and fundamentalism.
Author: Yaqub Yasna, writer and researcher, member of the Sangar Advisory Council.
Honorable Emomali Rahman, President of Tajikistan, gave a very important and influential speech at the beginning of the fast (Ramadan). He spoke about such important issues as moderation in religion, the danger of terrorism and fundamentalism, scientism, foresight, and a worldly view of the governance and development of Tajikistan.
In my opinion, His Excellency's words were very useful for the citizens of Tajikistan and the citizens of the region, especially for Persian speakers and Tajiks. Every Persian speaker and Tajik should pay attention to the words of the President of Tajikistan so that his children and family members do not fall into fundamentalism and superstition. If we look closely, we can unfortunately say that the Persian-speaking peoples and Tajiks of the world are more threatened by superstition and fundamentalism.
Arab countries with a worldly outlook on politics and governance strive for the development of their countries, but in the Persian and Tajik societies, superstition and religious fundamentalism flourish more. Families are motivated to send their children to fundamentalist religious schools where their children are brainwashed into extremists and suicidal individuals.
Among Tajiks in Afghanistan, we see this trend: families send their children to religious schools in Pakistan, where they are educated in fundamentalist and extremist schools. His Excellency the President of Tajikistan very well noted that religious schools do not care about the life and fate of our children, they teach our children to commit suicide and encourage society towards fanaticism and superstition, and this poses a danger to Tajikistan.
If you pay attention, currently the society of Afghanistan is immersed in religious fundamentalism. We must look at Afghanistan and realize the dangers of fundamentalism and religious superstition, where girls are not allowed to study, women are not allowed to work, and citizens are not given freedom.
Citizens of Tajikistan are lucky that girls study and women work, security is maintained throughout the country, and there are individual freedoms for men and women. This happiness and prosperity in Tajikistan is maintained thanks to the wisdom and management of His Excellency President Emomali Rahmon and the leadership of the Government of Tajikistan. Citizens of Tajikistan should be grateful for this happiness and prosperity.
In the book “Gulestan” by Saadi, there is a story that says that happiness is understood and felt by those who were faced with problems and misfortunes. We, Afghanistanis, who have become victims of religious fundamentalism and seen misfortunes, can feel and understand the happiness and prosperity of the citizens of Tajikistan.
His Excellency the President of Tajikistan noted a very important thing: a country cannot be prosperous only by conducting religious rituals, prayers, and worship. The prosperity of a country is possible with knowledge and a worldly outlook on life and governance. All of us need to pay close attention to the president's words because the politicization of religion and the formation of a religious government make a society superstitious and fundamentalist.
Religion and politics should be separated from each other; religion should not be brought into the public arena or interfere in the individual lives of citizens and in government affairs. Religion is an individual matter and it is related to the personal opinion of people, and no person can propagate his religious opinion among members of society and force others to have the same religious opinion with him and follow him.
The respected President of Tajikistan examined the distance from fundamentalism and religious extremism in scientism and foresight and emphasized that in the third millennium, governments can remain strong and authoritative if young people in governments are encouraged to study science, natural, and humanitarian knowledge. Society thrives on people who have the knowledge and experience to solve problems in society.
The reality is that if we do not turn to science and do not look forward, no problem will be solved by superstition and religious fundamentalism, but the problems of society will increase due to superstition and fundamentalism and society will drown in suffering and unrest.
As a foreign citizen hearing the words of His Excellency Emomali Rahmon, President of Tajikistan, I told myself that the Tajik people in Tajikistan are lucky to have their leader leading the nation realistically and aware of the fate of his people and the dangers that threaten people's lives. People are warned to be aware of these dangers. I said to myself: I wish we had a leader who could tell us these words and save our society from the danger of superstition and fundamentalism.
