This week I had the opportunity to meet with a group of influential leaders from tribal and other parts of Pakistan. There were surprises on both sides - surprises that I think are worth sharing, even important to share.
Background
The US Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program arranged for the group from Pakistan to meet with various American groups around the country to gain insight into how we get along in an ethnically and religiously diverse society. Here they were meeting with members of the Interfaith Council of Thanksgiving Square. The visitors included tribal chiefs from areas near the Afghan border, professors, political and interfaith activists, security officials, attorneys and authors and a TV anchor. Other members of their delegation were police officials and they met with local police. Five of the male members of the delegation met with us. They are all Muslim. The Interfaith Council was represented by a small group consisting of two Jews, a Sikh, a Muslim, a Christian Scientist, and an Orthodox Christian. All of the visitors were multi-lingual, all speaking at least Urdu and English. There were two translators present, but very little of their services were needed.
First impressions
Knowing ahead of time where they are from and having seen their bio's, I had an expectation for their general appearance. I was wrong.
The visitors have light complexions, what we would call a Caucasian appearance. They were clean shaven. They wore Western business-casual attire. Their English was excellent.
There were three discussion topics that I would like to share. I hope I am summarizing accurately.
Militants
Their view is that the people in the tribal areas want to lead peaceful lives building on the lives and culture they've had for generations and practice the peaceful Islam that they believe in. When the Afghans were fighting the Russians, mercenaries were brought in to fight the Russians. Many of these were brought in from Arab countries. They have an expression that "The jails in Arabia must be empty, because all their bad guys are here." Remote areas of Pakistan were used as training areas before the mercenaries went into Afghanistan to fight (funded and trained by the US and other Western countries).
These remote tribal areas are relatively independent of the central government of Pakistan, although the national government has good control of about 60% of them. The law establishing the tribal areas was put in place by he British and goes back to 1901. It has not been changed. The tribal areas are very poor and very little aid flows from the government to them. Illiteracy is very high.
When the war with the Russians ended the fighters remained, and continue to use their new power to retain their positions, During this process 2/3 of the schools in Pakistan were destroyed maintaining, and even growing, the rate of illiteracy. About 1,000 new schools have been built, but they are religious schools financed by outside religious groups, not secular schools.
What about the "religion of peace"
Our local Muslim participant asked why the people didn't follow the teachings of Islam and resist the call to arms and militancy.
It was easy for the mercenaries (encouraged by their backers, the US and others) to persuade poor, illiterate rural people that they should fight the Russian infidels - especially when those fighting were given weapons and money and went from being at the bottom of the social pyramid to suddenly having the trappings of power. Literature to promote the militants, Arabs and their local recruits, in the fight against the Russians was published - in Nebraska!
Visitors expressed the opinion that as long as foreign forces remain in Afghanistan there will be propaganda reasons that the militants will use to exploit people and to recruit.
In the name of Islam mosques are being blown up and Muslims are being killed indiscriminately. This is a perversion of Islam which shouldn't be killing anyone. These acts are motivated by outside political forces and they are the suffering pawns.
What can we share that will help the visitors?
Rather than answer that question, our visitors told us what they are learning.
They have learned that Americans have values. That we care about people and want to help. That we are not bad people. And that that is information that they can take home and share.
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A Muslim friend, originally from Pakistan, sent these comments:
ReplyDeleteBernie, thanks for sharing the information. Your comments and impression after meeting with the visitors are correct, to a great extent. However, they should have expressed the cultural and traditional background of that area too. Which, in my opinion, is the basis of some of their problems. They are extremely suspicious of outsiders. But fanatically hospitable and independent minded to deal with those, once accepted among them. This is what happened with the Arabs and other outsiders. The Mullahs and religion played a very important role in this culture and still does.
They will only kick them out when there are no body, Russian, American or even Pakistani Govt there to tell them what do so.
I am sure if the Americans and the coalition forces leave today, next day they will kick out all the foreigners including Pakistani sympathizers, and go back to fighting among themselves as they have been doing for centuries and will not bother anyone else.