How should Shah Amanullah be understood?
Author: Dr. Fazlmanullah Mumtaz, especially for "Sangar"
Everyone knows that dozens of books have been written about the history of Amanullah Khan, his reforms, and vulgarities, various opinions and conflicting opinions have been expressed, which is beyond the scope of this article.
We know very few writers who have judged him fairly. These authors fall into several categories in terms of the study of thought:
1 - A number of authors wrote history in accordance with everyday politics or for the sake of existing systems and the requirements of their time;
2 - A number of authors wrote from an ethnic and linguistic point of view in accordance with their intellectual inclinations and satisfaction, either against or for;
3 - Another group of people told stories and tales without taking into account scientific criteria and without documenting historical events and evidence;
4 - A very small number of people have written objective facts about the history of Amanullah Khan;
As a result, it must be said that Amanullahan was a prince and was influenced by the upbringing of the same family. At the same time, he was influenced by the world situation, as well as his relationship with Mahmud Tarzi, who spent many years in exile abroad. In addition, his long and six-month trip abroad had a significant negative and positive impact on him. Upon his return, not considering the country's cultural conditions, he hastily embarked on hasty reforms.
He was also influenced by the apparent and hidden contradiction between the deeds and words of his father and great-grandfather, that is, as usual, the Afghan rulers said one thing and did the opposite. They claimed to apply Sharia and Islam, but in practice, they did everything against them.
This political hypocrisy in speech and behavior provoked a reaction against Amanullah Khan. He erroneously leaned towards anti-religious views but acted comprehensively. He considered religion to be the cause of backwardness. This was the reason why he hastily issued arbitrary and hasty decrees, most of which were contrary to Islamic principles and values. Those who call these actions the reforms of Amanullah, in the slightest interpretation, can be called ignorant in religion.
At the same time, there are some points in Amanullah's decrees that can really be called reforms. For example, Amanullah's desire for independence and his efforts in this direction are commendable. Everyone must acknowledge this. There is no need to ignore this feat under the influence of his negative actions. In addition, his desire for independence and meritorious deeds should not be "clouded" by his anti-religiousness and inappropriate actions, as happened.
There is no doubt about the confrontation with Britain. Amanullah Khan himself set the stage for a plot for British intervention. Of course, the enemy does not sleep. It should also be understood that the integration of interests does not mean slavery, as they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Some important points should be mentioned at the end of this article. It is said that in order to discredit Amanullah, the British circulated and published fake photographs of the half-naked Queen Soraya. The photographs of Queen Soraya, now kept in the archives of the Ministry of Information and Culture, in the family albums of the Amanullah and Tarzi families, look worse than half-naked. I don't know how many fake photos the British have published that are more vulgar than these. Maybe she's completely naked in them? I showed these photographs to Amanullah's daughters and asked: Is this the original or a fake? They said that these were original pictures and with a single voice confirmed their authenticity. In our time, these photos are considered negative and obscene, what can we say about a hundred years ago?
In a word, Amanullakhan's desire for independence is his great and undeniable achievement. This should be appreciated, not ignored. And his anti-religious actions must be condemned.
After all, Amanullah was a prince and was influenced by his family environment. Their grandfather was killed by his father, his father his uncle were killed by himself and his mother.
There is a famous saying of his that he said every time he did something: "I am the grandson of Amir Abdurahmankhan."