Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0000/00009.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 43KB | 668 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00009}
$Pretitle{265}
$Title{Afghanistan
Chapter 2B.   Religion}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Laurie Krieger}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{islam
religious
muslim
shia
god
ali
community
muhammad
political
afghanistan}
$Date{1986}
$Log{}
Country:     Afghanistan
Book:        Afghanistan, A Country Study
Author:      Laurie Krieger
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1986

Chapter 2B.   Religion

     The population is fragmented into myriad ethnic, linguistic, religious,
kin-based, and regional groupings. One of the few commonalities in this
diverse country is Islam. Even in the matter of religion, however, sectarian
differences and differences over Quranic and legal interpretations divide
Afghans. In addition, minorities of Hindus and Sikhs (originally traders
from India) and Jews have lived in the country for generations. Islam,
however, appears to be one of the few factors crosscutting virtually all other
groups.

     In late 1985 all resistance groups striving for a pan-Afghan constituency
appealed to Afghans on the basis of their common Muslim identity. Indeed, the
term used for the resistance fighters, mujahidiin, translates as "those waging
jihad." Jihad is a duty of Muslims and refers to the struggle for the
predominance of God's will, both within oneself and between people. As of 1985
Islam had been a most effective rallying point.

     Afghan society, with its fragmented groupings, has often been composed of
a congeries of warring factions. Although themes common to the many groups
resident in the country (such as honor or family loyalty) ramify throughout
the country, these more easily serve to divide than to unite Afghans into
multitribal and multiethnic groups. Islam, however, represents a common and
potentially unifying symbolic system. The potency of Islam as a unifying
factor lies partly in the essence of Islam itself, partly in the meaning of
Islam to Afghans, and partly in the fact that religion is one of the few
shared symbolic systems in the society. Before proceeding to a discussion of
what Islam means in Afghanistan in the mid-1980s, it is necessary first to
understand Islam as a religion and then to comprehend how Islam is practiced
in Afghanistan.

Tenets of Islam

     In A.D. 610 Muhammad (later known as the Prophet), a merchant belonging
to the Hashimite branch of the ruling Quraysh tribe in the Arabian town of
Mecca, began to preach the first of a series of revelations granted him by God
through the angel Gabriel. A fervent monotheist, Muhammad denounced the
polytheism of his fellow Meccans. Because, however, the town's economy was
based largely on the thriving pilgrimage business to the Kaabah shrine and
numerous polytheist religious sites located there, this vigorous and
continuing censure eventually earned him the bitter enmity of the town's
leaders. On September 24, 622, he and a group of followers were invited to the
town of Yathrib, which came to be known as Medina (from Madinah al Nabi-The
Prophet's City) because it became the center of his activities. The move, or
hijra, known in the West as the hegira, marks the beginning of the Islamic era
and of Islam as a force on the stage of history; the Muslim calendar, based on
a 354-day lunar year, begins in 622. In Medina, Muhammad continued to preach,
eventually defeated his detractors in battle, and consolidated both the
temporal and the spiritual leadership of all Arabia in his person. He entered
Mecca in triumph in 630 and returned there to make the pilgrimage shortly
before his death in 632.

     After Muhammad's death his followers compiled those of his words regarded
as coming directly and literally from God as the Quran, the holy scripture of
Islam; others of his sayings and teachings and precedents of his personal
behavior, recalled by those who had known him during his lifetime, became the
hadith. Together they form the Sunna, a comprehensive guide to the spiritual,
ethical, and social life of the orthodox Muslim.

     The majority of Afghan Muslims are Sunnis and adhere to the tenets of the
Sunna. The Shia, however, differ in some respects. The shahada (literally,
testimony or creed) succintly states the central belief of Islam: "There is
no god but God (Allah), and Muhammad is his Prophet." This simple profession
of faith is repeated on many ritual occasions, and its recital in full and
unquestioning sincerity designates one a Muslim. The God preached by Muhammad
was not one previously unknown to his countrymen, for Allah is Arabic for God
rather than a particular name. Instead of introducing a new deity, Muhammad
denied the existence of the many minor tribal gods and spirits worshiped
before his ministry and declared the omnipotence of the unique creator. God
exists on a plane of power and sanctity above any other being and to associate
anything with him in any visual symbol is a sin; events in the world flow
ineluctably from his will, and to resist it is both futile and sinful.

     Islam means submission (to God), and one who submits is a Muslim.
Muhammad is the "seal of the prophets"; his revelation is said to complete for
all time the series of biblical revelations received by the Jews and the
Christians. God is believed to have remained one and the same throughout time,
but humans had strayed from his true teachings until they were set aright by
Muhammad. True monotheists who preceded Islam are known in Quranic tradition
as hanifs; prophets and sages of the biblical traditions, such as Abraham,
Moses, and Jesus (known in Arabic as Ibrahim, Musa, and Isa), are recognized
as inspired vehicles of God's will. Islam, however, reveres as sacred only the
message, rejecting Christianity's deification of the messenger. It accepts the
concept of guardian angels, the existence of jinn, the Day of Judgment (last
day), general resurrection, heaven and hell, and eternal life of the soul.

     The duties of the Muslim form the five pillars of the faith. These are
the recitation of the creed (shahada), daily prayer (salat), almsgiving
(zakat), fasting (sawm), and pilgrimage (haj). The believer is to pray in a
prescribed manner after purification through ritual ablutions each day at
dawn, midday, midafternoon, sunset, and nightfall. Prescribed body movements,
including genuflections and prostrations, accompany the prayers, which the
worshiper recites while facing toward Mecca. Whenever possible, men pray in
congregation at the mosque under a prayer leader and on Fridays are obliged to
do so. The Friday noon prayers provide the occasion for weekly sermons by
religious leaders. Women may also attend public worship at the mosque, where
they are segregated from the men, although most frequently those who pray do
so at home. A special functionary, the muadhdhin, intones a call to prayer to
the entire community at the appropriate hour; those out of earshot determine
the proper time from the sun. Daily prayer consists of specified
glorifications of God. Prayers seeking aid or guidance in personal
difficulties must be offered separately.

     In the early days of Islam, the authorities imposed zakat as a tax on
personal property proportionate to one's wealth; this was distributed to the
mosques and to the needy. In addition, freewill gifts (sadaka) were made.
Many properties contributed by pious individuals to support religious and
charitable activities or institutions have traditionally been administered
as inalienable religious foundations (waqfs). Such endowments support various
charitable activities.

     The ninth month of the Muslim calendar is Ramadan, a period of obligatory
fasting in commemoration of Muhammad's receipt of God's revelation, the Quran.
Throughout the month all but the sick; the weak; soldiers on duty;
menstruating, pregnant, or lactating women; travelers on necessary journeys;
and young children are enjoined from eating, drinking, smoking, and having
sexual intercourse during daylight hours. Those adults excused are obliged to
endure an equivalent fast a