Why are Afghans (Pashtuns) one of the most backward peoples in the world?
Author: Dr. Farid Yunus, Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology and Islamic Philosophy, Founder and Initiator of Islamic Democracy (California, USA), Member of the Advisory Board of “Sangar”
These questions (Afghan, Afghanism, and Afghanistani) were raised after the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, as the people of Afghanistan no longer accepted the old social narratives. Before the jihad, they were accustomed to the words as “Afghan”, “Afghanism”, “Afghan honor”, etc., and did not react much, but after the jihad, this trend changed dramatically.
People migrated, saw the world, and no longer wanted to accept their old and unfair social status. Institutions were created, new ideas emerged, people woke up and asked themselves: Why should I be a minority in the 21st century? I asked myself, what does my wife, Fawzia Yunus, lack that I would consider her inferior or that she would always obey my orders?
In these forty years, studies have been conducted on Afghanistan: from history to sociology and linguistics, even Islam, etc. Even errors in the interpretation of the Koran have been identified that no one thought about before the jihad.
Now, let us look at the issue of the disputes that arise every day about Afghanism from the perspective of linguistics, international law, and anthropology of Afghanistan, about how some judge others for not considering themselves Afghans and should be cursed.
First, about the name and map of Afghanistan. From history, we know that the name Afghanistan and the map of Afghanistan were given by the colonial powers, especially the British, and not by the people. Do you accept the colonial name of “Afghanistan”? Why not, but let those who do not accept it have a choice if you believe in freedom and human dignity.
From an anthropological point of view, we have twenty-three ethnic groups, all of whom are noble citizens of a country called Afghanistan. Shouldn't all these ethnicities have equal rights in the 21st century?
We have three main languages: Persian, which is a language of the region, not just Afghanistan, Pashto, and Uzbek. Why aren't these three languages treated equally? Is this fair? We have twenty-three ethnic groups, so why is the national anthem in Pashto? How are other ethnic groups inferior to the Pashtuns? Is this fair? Why can't Afghanistan have three official languages, like Switzerland, which has three official languages?
From an international law perspective, when Afghanistan citizens migrated, they subsequently acquired citizenship in each country where they settled. This means that they no longer have Afghanistan citizenship and have gone to court to pledge allegiance to the new state. And those who want dual citizenship, why not? But we have no right to put pressure on an Afghanistan citizen who has accepted a new citizenship and say to him: "No, be an Afghan". From the point of view of international law, I no longer have Afghanistan citizenship. What is your problem?
Dr. Mofed, who is fluent in Afghanistan linguistics and terminology, has proven in a detailed study that "Afghan" is a synonym for "Pashtun". We need to examine this issue scientifically. If an Afghanistan citizen has renounced his citizenship and is not a Pashtun, do we have the right to impose on him that he is an Afghan, although he is either an Uzbek or a Hazara?
Citizens of a country are identified by the name of their country. For example, Iranian, Pakistani, Spaniard... and Afghanistani. So why do some people go crazy when they hear the word "Afghanistani"?
Demographically, no ethnic group is a majority in Afghanistan. There are no accurate statistics for the country today. Scientific research contradicts 100 years of brainwashing that Pashtuns are the majority. Now, let's say Pashtuns are the majority, but Afghanistan is 99 percent Muslim, and when 99 percent are People of the Book, the question of absolute majority and minority disappears, because the Quran distinguishes people by piety, not by ethnicity.
Those who do not call themselves "Afghans" do so because Afghan culture is truly ethnic and tribal. For example, a woman whose husband dies is immediately married to the deceased's brother without her permission. Is this the justice of Islam? Or, under the slogans of tribal culture (gold, women, and land), they forcibly seize people's lands. I wish they would protect their land: they keep women at home! In the name of the anti-cultural and immoral word "honor," women cannot raise their voices! And a woman is not a man's honor, because if she is not happy, she has the right to divorce and marry another man in a few days.
Today, the world is a world of science and knowledge, a world of equal civil rights, and a world of cultural harmony, but in Afghanistan, there should be one culture - Afghanism, which is nothing but prejudice, discrimination, and narrow-mindedness.
In a word:
Afghans (Pashtuns) are an ethnic and tribal people;
Afghans never want to be civilized;
Afghans always resort to force and aggression, rather than reconciliation and negotiation;
Afghans are not interested in science;
Afghans put “Afghan honor and dignity”, which are tribal views, above Islam and human civilization;
Afghans do not believe in equal rights among members of society;
Afghans are against ancient history and for this reason destroyed a large statue of Buddha with a cannon;
Afghans do not consider other ethnic groups in the country as equals, and for this reason, we have a majority and a minority;
By international standards, Afghans are among the most backward peoples in the world.
