In February 2008 a CFSOT delegation visited Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The third stop was Afghanistan where the CFSOT team conducted field research in Jalalabad and Kabul. The CFSOT team spoke to a wide range of people, including old Mujahideen leaders, new Islamic revivalist leaders, government officials and civil society activists. A series of unique interviews were conducted some of which appear in this edition of Islamism Digest.
AFGHANISTAN: A NEW ISLAMIC REVIVAL
In the 20th century Afghanistan was the site of some of the most conservative – some would say reactionary – Islamic revivalist movements. While these movements were forced to the margins by the American-led intervention in October 2001, they are still far more influential than many Western analysts and observers realise. However, these old groups are facing some friendly competition by a new generation of Islamic revivalists in Afghanistan. The new generation deliberately eschews politics and has resisted concerted co-optation attempts by the old Islamist elites. Broadly speaking, the new generation of Afghan Islamic revivalists sees the route to success through the creation of an Islamic civil society. As such they are concentrating on slow but steady capacity building in the educational and social fields.
SURVEYING AFGHANISTAN’S PAST AND PRESENT CONFLICTS: INTERVIEW WITH BURHANUDDIN RABBANI
In this unique and wide-ranging interview, the former Afghan president and leader of the Jamiat-e-Eslami, revisits the past and sheds new light on the fratricidal conflict that gripped Mujahideen ranks after the liberation of Kabul in April 1992. Rabbani also discusses events since the toppling of the Taliban in late 2001 and predicts the demise of the new Afghan regime headed by Hamid Karzai.
A NEW AFGHAN CIVIL SOCIETY: INTERVIEW WITH MOHAMMED ATEF
Mohammed Atef belongs to the new generation of Afghan Islamic revivalists. He is the head of the Afghan Society for Social Reform and Development, a large NGO with educational and training functions throughout the country. Atef discusses the work of his organization and explains how Afghan activists can develop a viable Islamic civil society.
MAKING PEACE WITH THE TALIBAN: AHMAD SHAH AHMADZAI EXPLAINS
In this frank interview, the former Afghan Prime Minister (in the 1990s) explains the changes within the Taliban in the context of national reconciliation. Ahmadzai fiercely criticizes the failures of the new Afghan regime and calls for the immediate withdrawal of all foreign forces. According to Ahmadzai this will not lead to a return of fratricidal conflict due to the hegemonic strength of the Taliban and the political maturity of all Afghan factions.
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