Afghan Commentary Post

  The Tyranny of Fusion: Why Mosque and State Must Separate From Taliban Decrees to Ibn Khaldun’s Warning — How the Coercion of Faith Corrupts Both Religion and Freedom By Wahab Raofi The Taliban rule Afghanistan by decree, enforcing a rigid and highly selective interpretation of Sharia law. By claiming divine authority, they govern without accountability to the people. Under this framework, dissent is not treated as a political disagreement but as an act of apostasy — an offense against Islam itself — punishable by imprisonment, torture, or death.7A recent Taliban decree illustrates the dangers of fusing mosque and state. It formally divides society into a four-tier hierarchy: religious scholars ( ulama ), elites ( ashraf ), the middle class, and the lower class. Justice under this system is not blind. The severity of punishment depends not on the crime committed, but on the social status of the accused. A religious scholar may receive a verbal warning for an offense th...

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    By Wahab Raofi Mass demonstrations in solidarity with Muslims have taken place across the United States and Europe in support of Gaza’s residents. People exercised their right to protest — and rightly so. But a troubling question follows. As Gerard Baker of The Wall Street Journal asks: “Where are the protests in the West for other persecuted Muslims? Where are the defenders of the downtrodden victims of brutally repressive states? Where are the crowds in New York, London, Sydney and Rome demanding justice and freedom for Muslims imprisoned, beaten or silenced in Iran, Afghanistan, China and elsewhere?” As one who was born into a Muslim family, I believe that many of us who left our homelands because of cultural, religious and political tyranny still carry within us a relic of what we were taught. In our subconscious there remains a reflex we struggle to unlearn: to excuse any wrongdoing committed by “our side,” and to condemn others even when they are right. We ...

      Could Venezuela Stumble into War Like Afghanistan? Here Is Why That Outcome Is Not Very Probable   By Wahab Raofi Unlike the tribal and religious landscape that sustained decades of jihad against foreign occupiers in Afghanistan, Venezuela presents a markedly different social and political terrain — one that lacks the same mechanisms for mass religious mobilization against external intervention. During his campaign, Donald Trump embraced “No More Wars” as a slogan and pledged to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan , promising to end what he called the nation’s “forever war.” That was then. Following the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Trump has once again startled allies and adversaries alike. Writing in The Wall Street Journal , Gerald Baker observes that Trump has never been adept at articulating a coherent strategic rationale, and that his idiosyncratic foreign policy style invites maximalist interpretati...

  Who Does Afghanistan Belong To? It’s an Unsolved Struggle By Wahab Raofi   Forty-five years ago this Christmas Eve, Soviet tanks crossed into Afghanistan, launching a decade-long occupation and a cataclysm that would shape the country for generations. Since then, Afghanistan has been portrayed as a land condemned to perpetual bloodshed — a so-called “graveyard of empires,” trapped in endless conflict.   This belief in the country’s intractability has hardened not only a war-weary population, but also the minds of global leaders.   After two decades of Western military and political engagement, the verdict echoed that of the Soviet Union when it spent time and treasure on a war deemed unsolvable. American presidents have been unusually candid in expressing this view, with one dismissing Afghanistan one of “ Hellholes ” Yet this fatalism — born of repeated intervention and failure — rests on a profound misdiagnosis.   Afghanistan’s confli...

To Solve Afghan–Pakistan Conflict, Kabul’s Regime Must Change The conflict between the Taliban and Pakistan will keep escalating if the Taliban remains in power. Only a democratically elected government in Kabul can lead to peace.   By Wahab Raofi The conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan is not new. The two neighbors have long viewed each other through a distorted lens, projecting historical fears and grievances that obscure reality. This has led to a damaging state of mutual suspicion, deepened by decades of each harboring the other's opponents. Pakistan's security establishment, seeking “strategic depth” against India, provided crucial sanctuary and support to the Afghan Taliban for years. This policy fostered deep resentment among many Afghans who blame Pakistan for the destruction of their state and society and view the Taliban's rise as a direct result of foreign interference. Now the tables have turned, with Afghanistan harboring Pakistan's milita...