Islam

Mazar-i-Sharif – Orang Pashtun

Pashtun guys having fun in Mazar Kantor Pajhwok Afghan News dipenuhi orang Pashtun. Selain Zabiullah Ehsas dan adiknya yang tinggal di sini, hari ini mereka kedatangan serombonan tamu dari Kabul. Sebagian dari tamu ini saya kenal sebelumnya, karena kami pernah bekerja di kantor yang sama di ibu kota. Suasana lantai atas hotel ini semakin ramai oleh kedatangan tamu-tamu ini. Dalam sekejap, saya menjadi sangat kikuk. “Jangan sekali-sekali kau bicara bahasa Persia di sini,” kata Israr, seorang pemuda Pashtun dari Kunar yang pernah memperoleh gelar juara dalam lomba programing internasional, memperingatkan dengan tegas, “di sini cuma boleh ada bahasa Pashtu!” “Orang Tajik itu brengsek,” kata yang lain, “mereka sama sekali tidak taat dan banyak melakukan dosa. Bahasa mereka sama sekali tidak terhormat.” Saya merasa tidak enak dengan Naqeeb yang mengantar saya ke sini, karena Naqeeb adalah orang Tajik. Tetapi Naqeeb bisa berbahasa Pashtu dan para pemuda Pashtun ini sama sekali tidak tahu ke-Tajik-an Naqeeb. Primordialisme etnik adalah fenomena yang sangat kuat di Afghanistan. Semua suku punya kebanggaan kesukuan yang luar biasa, jauh melebihi segala-galanya. Identitas Islam tidak cukup kuat untuk mengikat semua suku ini bersatu. Dalam sejarah Afghanistan kita teringat bagaimana semua suku Afghan bersatu padu melawan invasi Rusia tetapi kemudian [...]

March 19, 2008 // 5 Comments

Kabul – Eid Mobarak

Afghan guards offer prayers in the Presidential Palace People were waiting with anxiety yesterday: whether they had finished their Ramadan fasting or they had to keep fasting one another day. Not until 10 p.m. Kabul time the decision was announced: Eid to be on Friday. President Hamid Karzai offers his Eid prayers in the mosque inside presidential palace compound. These years, as the security situation in Kabul is worsened, it is not wise if the President prays in public place. Two years ago the President still had his Eid prayers in Pul-i Khisthi mosque together with his people. But now any ceremony attended by the President will mean the arrival of armed bodyguards, area sterilization with the security dogs (it was introduced by the Americans to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan), some helicopters patrolling around, and tightened security on all main roads. Letting the President to pray in public mosque under current situation is too much risky. This resource and energy wasting, image gambling, and non-beneficial idea is a no-way choice. The cameramen and photographers are requested to arrive in the Palace at 7:15 a.m. for security clearance. It seems that the program is not so much attractive to photographers. [...]

October 12, 2007 // 0 Comments

Shakhimardan – An Uzbek Island Surrounded by Kyrgyz Mountains

Shakhimardan, an Uzbek “island” surrounded by Kyrgyzstan As artificial as any other thing in Central Asia was the border lines between the countries. The nations created by the Soviet rulers now had to be provided their homeland. Stalin might say, land populated by most Uzbek should be Uzbekistan, those inhabited by mostly Mongoloid Kyrgyz then became Kazakhstan (the Kazakh was called as Kyrgyz) and Kyrgyzstan (of which people was called as Black Kyrgyz). But the matter was not simple in the Ferghana Valley. Ferghana Valley was always a boiling pot in Central Asia. The people were renowned as deeply religious Muslim, if not fundamentalist. It was more than necessary for the Russian to divide this huge mass with the highest population density all over Central Asia. Then, besides the division of ethnics (who were Uzbek, who were Kyrgyz, and who were Tajik), there was a clever intrigue by dividing the border lands to divide the people. Then, the identity in Ferghana Valley was not single ‘Islam’ anymore, but new artificial entities of Kyrgyz, Uzbek, and Tajik. But this was not something special if it was just borderlines. Borderlines created by Stalin were so complicated, zigzagging, and nobody understood the reason. [...]

April 7, 2007 // 1 Comment

Esfahan – Arbain

20 Safar in Islamic lunar calendar is remembered by the Shiite Muslims as Arbain. In Arabic, Arbain means 40. Arbain marks the 40th day after the death of Imam Hossain (10 Muharram, known as Ashura) in the holy war of Qarbala against Muawiyyah dynasty led by Yazid. When I was in Pakistan, I followed the Shiite’s 40 days of mourning, since Ashura (10 Muharram) until Chehlum (20 Safar). In Pakistan, Arbain is known as Chehlum, a Farsi word which means ‘the fortieth’. Interestingly in Iran, the country where Farsi is spoken, they chose to use Arabic word to name the day. Chehlum in Pakistan is a bloody procession. Young boys paraded on streets of earthquake-torn town of Muzaffarabad, while whipping themselves with sharp knives known as zanjir. Check Chehlum Gallery and Chehlum in Muzaffarabad At that time I didn’t speak Farsi and I was unaware that the Shiites in Pakistan used huge amount of terms taken from Farsi language. Interestingly when I attended the procession in Iran, they preferred to use Arabic terms. In Esfahan I experienced a very different way of commemorating Arbain, the end of the mourning period. I went to the Imam Square. Most shops were closed. [...]

March 10, 2007 // 0 Comments

Turkistan – A Journey to Turkistan

A pilgrimage to the holy land of Trkistanrkistan The holy journey to the holy land The train departed from Almaty 1 train station after I had a little incident with station police. I was just informed that taking photos in a train station was extremely prohibited. I was taking photos of the train, passengers, and security officers, and then suddenly a man called me to follow him to a special room. Here I was interrogated by the woman who was the head of the police. I explained that I was just a tourist and I was interested by the Russian train. They let me go after I deleted the photos. Many passengers of the train were students. The way going to Turkistan passes Shymkent, the important southern town bordering with Uzbekistan. Most of the passengers, compared to northbound train routes, were mostly Asians. Southern part of Kazakhstan was dominated by native Kazakh and Uzbek. The holy man The train journey was long. But as here, most passengers were Kazakh and Uzbek, comparatively they were much friendlier compared to passengers of train to Astana or Karaganda. Maybe it was also the weather which defined people characteristics. In northern cities, where the [...]

December 12, 2006 // 0 Comments

Tokmok – The Dungan

A Dungan family “Хуэйзу либянди щинфу” – Happiness Among the Dungan Hueimin Bo 26.01.2006 My first interaction with the Dungans was with its food. There is a busy, crowded, small restaurant near the Iranian embassy in Bishkek offering Dungan food. When I entered the underground room, I felt I was thrown again to China. It is Chinese, and only Chinese language, spoken among the cook and servants. The food also resembles Chinese food you eat in mainland China, with slight variation of Central Asia touch. That second I immediately decide: I want to know who the Dungans are. Tokmok is a little town 70 km east of Bishkek. This town is located nearby to Chuy River which now separates Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Tokmok is a kaleidoscope of ethnics: Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Uzbek, Russian, Uyghur, and Dungan traders stuff its busy Sunday bazaar. Tokmok is home of most Kyrgyzstan’s Dungan population. Not far from the bazaar there is a little Dungan mosque. Here, in Central Asia, as countries are split into ethnic-nation idea (e.g. Kyrgyzstan – the country of the Kyrgyz, Uzbekistan – the country of the Uzbeks, etc) even the mosques are now ethnic-based. The Dungans only go to their own [...]

November 26, 2006 // 1 Comment

Karakul – the Giant Death Lake

The giant death lake of Kara Kul. Karakul in Kyrgyz language means ‘black lake’. The lake itself is not black. In fact, this huge water body was deep blue when the sky is friendly, and turns to be grey when the sun chooses to hide behind the clouds. But the life is as dark as its name. There is no life at all in this huge lake. The lake has high concentration of salt. But despite of the salt, the lake also freezes in winter. The village next to the lake, bears the same name, is a Kyrgyz settlement with only one Tajik man inhabitant – a policeman. I was supposed to stay with the Tajik policeman, as it’s the only chance for me to communicate with my Persian knowledge. But when I arrived there, the Tajik man had left to Khorog. I stayed with a Kyrgyz family, an Acted-arranged guest house. They don’t speak Tajik, but the husband know little bit and can sing the national anthem proudly, “Zindabosh e vatan Tajikistan e azadi man (Long Live o Fatherland, My Free Tajikistan!)” He didn’t understand the meaning of the proud anthem though. Tildahan, the wife, is a young woman, [...]

November 2, 2006 // 0 Comments

Ishkashim – Peeping into Afghanistan

Afghanistan, seen from Tajikistan It is just separated by a river. But the live over there is a world away. Khorog and Ishkashim are connected by a stretch of a 106 km long asphalted road. It is a 3 hour journey with public jeep, but cost as much as 20 Somoni ($6). Despite of lack of money that people earn, everything in Tajikistan is very expensive as the country produces almost nothing remarkable but water and electricity. The road to Ishkashim as along the Panj river, with Afghanistan Badakhshan province at the other side. The river itself had not strong stream (as the temperature is already quite low at this moment) and was not wide at all. Afghanistan is just less than 20 m from here, but the life there is a world away. While we are traversing smooth road of Tajikistan with a jeep, the road over there is complete dirt road and you may observe Afghan travellers wandering the world on donkeys. When women passengers in our jeep in Tajikistan side sit aside the other male passengers, talk and sing freely during the journey, an Afghan woman completely covered by blue veil, wears long loose trousers, and passes [...]

October 20, 2006 // 1 Comment

Istraravshan – The 2500 Years of History

The 2500 years of history, Istaravshan Tajikistan has to dig up very deep into its glorious past to emphasize its identity. Tajikistan had to leave behind its historical luggages, as the Persian Tajik civilization centres, Samarkand and Bukhara, were handed to Uzbekistan by the Soviet government. Among what was left now, it was Istaravshan to testify to glory of this tiny country’s past. Istaravshan is located about 280 km north of Dushanbe, after passing two high passes of Anzob and Ainy (Shakhristan), both are higher than 3700 m. The passes are covered by snow in winter, making it’s impossible during the period to travel overland from Dushanbe to Khojand – the second city of the country. The only possible transport by that time is by flying. Along the way there were many Chinese workers on road and tunnel construction projects. They navigated the tractors, measured the parameters, and broke the stones. I did really wonder why it was so necessary to have all Chinese workers to do the projects. “Tajikistan doesn’t have sufficient technology,” said fellow passenger in my taxi. But is that essential to have international workers just to break the stones with hammers? Maybe the Chinese contractors didn’t [...]

October 14, 2006 // 1 Comment

Dushanbe – Lost Money (Again, Again, Again… Aaaargh…)

The beautiful Tajik money, Somoni, with picture of a Persian Sufi poet, Mir Said Ali Hamadani These last few days, I stayed in a hotel named Vakhsh Hotel. It is the cheapest choice I can find in the town, and it cost 10 $ per night in a room with four beds. Of course with such high price, I expected that the room was exclusively for me alone. I always locked the door and kept the key for myself. After staying a night in Bakhriddin’s dormitory, I went to my room in Vakhsh. I was surprised to see that there was a young man sleeping on one of the beds. I just put my small bag in the room, went shower, and then Internet to check the news from my embassy concerning my Kyrgyz visa application. I didn’t come back until evening, when I saw another man taking another bed. I just realized that this is a shared room, and I just left my luggage unattended for the whole day. I saw my small bag, and just at glance I knew someone had opened it. I suddenly realized what can be stolen: my money collection. And I was right. A [...]

October 10, 2006 // 1 Comment

Dushanbe – A Night in Student Dormitory

Rainbow in Tajikistan I went early to the Kyrgyz embassy just to find that the embassy only opened one day in a week, that is on Tuesdays. The embassy itself is well hidden in the alley, long way from the city center. It is next to a medicalcampus of the university Teby. When I was asking direction here and there, I met this boy. His name is Alyourov Bakhriddin. He is a medical student in the second year. He is an Uzbek boy from the northern town of Istaravshan, about 200 km away from Dushanbe. Bakhriddin has a Russified Islamic name. The names of Uzbek and Tajik were following the same pattern as those of the same ethnics in Afghanistan, but since the Russian occupation, the names of the people also consist of 3 parts: imya (name), otchestva (fatherly name) and familia (family name). The father’s name (otchestva) has ending –ovich for males and –ovicha for females, and the family name or grandfatherly name has ending –ov for men and –ova for women. Thus the Tajik president, Imamali Rakhmanov Sharifovich, hasname Imamali, is the son of Sharif and grandson of Rakhman. The Russians follow the pattern: imya – ochestva – [...]

October 9, 2006 // 0 Comments

Dushanbe – Tajikistan, First Impression

Just across the river border, even the grilled meat looks very different, despite of the same name, kabab. Oh, it also gets a Russian name here, sashlik. Before actually physically stepped on the country, I had heard, and seen Tajikistan when I was still in Afghanistan. It is the country idolized by many people in the Badakhshan province. It is the country of freedom, flourished by goods, electricity, and public services. It is the country where women can walk on the streets freely without fear of not covering properly. Now, I am in Tajikistan, seeing and experiencing what man of the northern rural Afghans dreaming about. But for me, Tajikistan is not about dream. According to a reference, the average salary of the people in the country was only 61.81 Somoni (US$ 19.93/month, 2005) and average pension was as low as 16.92 Somoni (US$ 5.23/month, 2005). Life cost is not cheap at all, at least in Dushanbe, compared to the low income statistics. Long distance transport was incredibly expensive, comparable to Afghanistan, as oil costs almost 1 US$ per litre. 93% of Tajikistan’s land is mountains, making it only 7% inhabited and potential for agriculture. It has distinctive four seasons [...]

October 8, 2006 // 0 Comments

Kabul – The First Day of Ramazan

Fantastic breakfast: big bread and bean soup Yesterday people were not sure yet whether the fasting month of Ramazan would start today or the day after. “We are waiting for the announcement,” said Abdullah, a driver from Bamiyan. But today, it was clear that the Ramazan started officially. It is one day earlier than in Indonesia, as Afghanistan was following the trend in the Middle East. For travellers, fasting is not obligatory. Kebab restaurants still prepared their meat and actually you still can eat anything as usual, just not in open way. The restaurant owner made the kebab indoor so that the smell would not invite people who were fasting. The Hazaras are Shiite. Abdullah said that for Shiite it was OK not to fast when travelling, but the Sunni Afghans were very strict about religion and still maintained fasting even when travelling long distance. As Ramazan started, suddenly the number of travellers dropped dramatically. Usually it was easy to collect passengers to go to Kabul from the bazaar of Bamiyan. But today I had to wait up till two hours until the car filled up. It was a 10 hour journey to Kabul, and when the car reached Maidan [...]

September 23, 2006 // 0 Comments

Band-e-Amir – A Pilgrimage

The cliff near the magical lake of Band-e-Haibat, one of the crystal blue Band-e-Amir lakes. “Bacha bazi, Khuda razi,” – a Hazara restaurant boy. Band-e-Amir is always a highlight of any visits to Afghanistan. The crystal blue lakes are simply miracle among the barren hills. The locals also believe it as a miracle. Legend says that Hazrat Ali, or Caliph Ali bin Abi Thalib, came to Bamiyan, killed a dragon and created the 6 lakes of Band-e-Amir with his magical power. Considering that the Hazara people are Shiite, the Imam Ali (or Hazrat Ali) was always the reason of all miracles. I argued with a man from Chekhcheran, that it was doubted that Hazrat Ali even had come to Bamiyan. Hazrat Ali died after some years being the fouth Caliph in Iraq, and he spent most of his time in the Middle East. The Chekhcheran man said that according to a travel writing of a Chinese adventurer (possibly a Buddhist monk) visiting Bamiyan 2000 years ago, the dragon of Bamiyan was still alive. The dragon is now believed to turn to be a hill with mineral spring, the Darya Ajdahar. You need a high degree of imagination to see that [...]

September 21, 2006 // 0 Comments

Lal o Sar Jangal – Coach Day

They promised to take me along with their trucks Cheragh was his nickname, literally means ‘lamp’. I don’t really know why he was called like that. He was a fat Hazara truck driver whom I talked with yesterday. He was agree to give me a lift up till Panjao, in Bamiyan province. Cheragh had interesting history. He spent 2 weeks in an island near Jakarta, of which he ever didn’t know the name. North of Jakarta, there are hundreds of small islands which are called as ‘thousand islands’. He, together with other 400 Afghans, was in a ship to Australia from Malaysia, their adventure for getting a better life, a dream from their warring country, 6 years ago. “The Indonesian government didn’t give us permission. Australia also didn’t give us permission,” They failed to get refugee visas even from Indonesia, and the archipelago government just allowed them to stay in an isolated island for two months. The government provided them food anyway, and the Indonesians they saw were only army who sent the food to the island. Thus Cheragh had not much other impression of Indonesia but its good weather and abundant water. Cheragh was a truck driver, who got [...]

September 18, 2006 // 0 Comments

Chekhcheran – The Capital of Ghor Province

A boy from Chekhcheran selling bushes for fire. “We are the center of Afghanistan. But why we are so poor?” – a villager from Chekhcheran The capital of Ghor province was a famous arena in Afghan history pages. It was mentioned many times by Babur, the great Moghul emperor. It was also expecting to prosper much further in 1970’s when there was a plan to build road through the Central Route of Afghanistan, thus connecting the Europe as far as to New Delhi. But Chekhcheran today was an isolated town, far from both Herat and Kabul, suffering Taliban attacks in few years back, and now was desperate for further development. The road in the whole province was unpaved, and it was not lit by electricity at all. The whole province had to rely on private generators to produce local electricity to watch TV (no radio signal in the whole province), light the rooms, listen to Indian songs, and run businesses. At night, it was a complete dark. “We are the center of Afghanistan,” said a local man, “but why we are so poor? Why our life is so difficult?” Chekhcheran, geographically, located exactly at the center of Afghanistan. The man [...]

September 17, 2006 // 0 Comments

Herat – Massoud Day

Everybody is talking about Massoud “Massoud is our hero. He is, of course, Musliman!” – a Herati man Five years ago, just two days before the September 11 incident, the Afghan great leader, Ahmad Shah Massoud, was murdered. It was suicide bombers posing as a journalist and a photographer pretended to interview Massoud and then blasted themselves. Since then, the security officers in Afghanistan became very touchy with cameras. All TV stations in Afghanistan during these days played documentaries about Massoud, mostly made by French filmmakers. It was interesting to see how the image of Massoud among Afghan different ethnics. Massoud was a Tajik, and for the Tajiks he was a great hero. The Uzbeks in a Maimana restaurant in Herat were also enthusiastic when follwing documentary programs about life of the great hero in TV. Some of them even cried exactly on the part when Massoud was murdered and Massoud’s brother was recounting the tragedy. For the Pashtuns, some of them liked and some disliked Massoud. Almost all of Hazara didn’t like him. Massoud once had did slaughtering action on this Mongoloid minority. Being Muslim is vital sign of goodness How about people in Herat? Herat is located at [...]

September 9, 2006 // 0 Comments

Mazhar e Sharif – The Holy City

The holy shrine The skyline is dominated by the blue domes of fantasy-like architecture of the mausoleum, along with hundreds of white pigeons flying around to seek fortune. Mazhar e Sharif, once a small village overshadowed by the nearby Balkh, now is the biggest city in northern Afghanistan. Mazhar-e-Sharif, literally means Tomb of the Exalted, had passed different path of history Kabul had experienced. It was Russian stronghold area and it was under the occupation of communist general Rashed Dostum, an uneducated warlord who once the big ruler of Northern Afghanistan. Dostum had published his own money, what was known as Junbeshi money (Peace money), and he had his own airlines. Taliban failed to conquer Mazhar at its first attack, but succeeded in 1992 when Mazhar turned to be a city of blood. The Hazara ethnic were slaughtered. The fantasyish holy building is believed to be site where the body of Ali bin Abi Thalib lies Huge poster of the national hero, a Tajik man by ethnicity, Ahmad Shah Massoud Dostum is Uzbek. But not all Mazhar Uzbek like him. “He is a terrorist. I prefer Taliban as they are more Islamic,” said Kamran, a 20 year old man from [...]

August 12, 2006 // 1 Comment

Balkh – The Passed Past

The ancient civilization of Balkh “I am not a communist. I am a Muslim” – Khan Agha Arvin The present day tiny town of Balkh, 30 minutes away from Mazhar e Sharif connected by high speed highway, was before a glorious capital of the Bactrian empire. Today, for the locals, the name Balkh maybe more better translated as pilgrimage sites, where hundreds of holy saints’ mausoleums are located and pilgrims came for blessing and prayers everyday. One among the pilgrims was Khan Agha Arvin, currently worked as vice director of one of Afghanistan’s most famous high schools, Lycee Istiqlal in Kabul. I met him accidentally in the pilgrimage site of Rabia Balkhi, a great Persian woman poet who died in name of love. Arvin, now 47, offered me to go with him and his colleagues around the old town. Offering prayers in holy sites which populate the whole city of Balkh The city walls of Balkh, once walls which protected the great capital of the great empire, now was rubble of history. But for Arvin, the history was still alive. It was here, 12 years ago, when he struggled to defend the truth. 12 years ago, when he was a [...]

August 11, 2006 // 0 Comments

Kabul – Understanding Islam from the Eyes of a Pashtun

With enveloping burqa, a woman sees the world through the little holes in front of her eyes “In Islam there is a circle. And we cannot get out the circle” — Amin It was not easy to meet and interview people who praised a lot the Taliban regime in recent day Kabul, at least in my one month here, it was the first time I got the chance. The discussion was not political, instead it was more cultural and religious. Amin, a man of 33 years old from Pashtun ethnic, had spent his 29 years of life in Pakistan. He was a refugee. He speaks very good English, and he expressed his idea very well in the language. He used to live in a tribal area in the NWFP (North West Frontier Province) of Pakistan, the area that the Afghans preferred to refer as Pashtunistan. The tribal areas are the areas of the Pashtuns which are not under the Pakistani law. The tribal area where he lived was Mohmand Agency. His ancestors came from a village called Kandari, both existed in Pakistan and Afghanistan side. In fact he holds two passports: Pakistan and Afghanistan. He agreed to shelter me in [...]

July 18, 2006 // 2 Comments

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