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Iran's war on Afghan Refugees

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    Iran’s War on Afghan Refugees: An Unfair Scapegoating Strategy By Wahab Raofi   Human beings are members of a whole In creation of one essence and soul If one member is afflicted with pain Other members uneasy will remain If you have no sympathy for human pain The name of human you cannot retain n   Saadi Shirazi, Iranian poet   In the aftermath of the 12-day Iran-Israel war, Iranian authorities have launched a quiet campaign of terror — not against an external enemy, but against their own people,” Karen Kramer wrote in The New York Times . What remains largely untold, however, is that the regime’s crackdown falls disproportionately on Afghans residing in Iran. Much like Nazi Germany, which scapegoated Jews to deflect blame for its own internal failures, the Iranian regime targets the most vulnerable — poor and defenseless Afghans — whether they live legally in Iran or seek refuge from turmoil. This form of collective punishment no...
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Taliban's Illusion of Exceptions

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  The Taliban’s Illusion of Exception. On August 16, the Taliban mark their so-called “victory day” in Afghanistan. They present themselves as an exception to Afghan history, claiming permanence where others failed. Yet the history of this land tells a different story — one in which rulers, no matter how powerful, are ultimately forced to flee. Nearly two centuries ago, on August 3, 1839, Amir Dost Mohammad Khan abandoned Kabul and fled north toward Bukhara. His flight came after the British, fearing his growing ties with Russia, backed his rival Shah Shuja and marched him into Afghanistan with British forces. Kabul fell, and Dost Mohammad had no choice but to escape. His downfall was not only a matter of battlefield defeat but also the result of great-power politics and internal weakness — forces that have toppled Afghan rulers again and again. Shah Shuja himself did not escape this fate. On April 5, 1842, he was killed while trying to flee the country by supporters of Wazir Akb...
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"Freedom of Speech Under Assault

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    Arrest of Mohamoud Khalil is a Warning to Free Speech By Wahab Raofi The latest arrest of Mahmoud Khalil for political reasons silences critics, undermines justice and threatens our own freedom of speech. A Syrian-born Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent, Khalil had been a leader of pro-Palestine protests that consumed Columbia University’s campus life. His arrest by ICE for organizing protests and spreading hate speech against the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza — actions that resulted in civilian casualties — has ignited a heated debate on the issue of free speech as protected by the First Amendment. Many Americans believe expelling individuals for political speech sets a dangerous precedent, and outright political expulsions are rare. Instead, the U.S. government typically justifies such actions under legal violations, immigration laws or national security concerns. A statement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said that Khali...
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