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Understanding the Reasons for Talibān Defiance
By Amir Butler
The refusal of the Talibān regime in Afghanistan to capitulate to US demands to hand over Osama Bin Laden is seen in the West as proof that it is complicit with him in the terrorist attacks on the United States.
To ask the question as to why the Talibān are refusing to hand over Bin Laden, is almost as treasonous as to ask whether US foreign policy may have contributed a little bit to creating the anger that led people to sacrifice their lives by flying planes into buildings.
However, if there was ever a time to question the accepted reality, it is now. Australia has made a military commitment to join this war against "evil". No one knows where this war will end. All that is known is that the first "evil" to be fought is in Afghanistan.
There is a strong likelihood that there will be casualties. If Australian soldiers end up lying in body bags on the potholed tarmac of some airfield in Central Asia, it will be too late to ask what this war was all about. Whilst we all hope it doesn't happen, the Wild West bravado ("Wanted dead or live") and talk of a never-ending war against evil will be of little comfort to widows and orphans.
If we ask the question as to why the Talibān has refused to hand over Bin Laden, we find the answer is far more complex than the standard "Talibān are evil" retort.
It is highly unlikely that the Talibān are protecting Bin Laden because they agree with or hold tacit approval for the crimes that Bin Laden is alleged to have committed. Neither the Talibān nor the Afghan people have any history of terrorist attacks on foreign soil. There is not a single Afghan amongst those accused of the September 11 atrocities. The Talibān have never formally uttered the types of extremist pronouncements commonly attributed to Bin Laden. On the contrary, they have made numerous public statements opposing terrorism and have consistently reiterated that they want peace with the West.
To understand why the Talibān are not handing over Bin Laden, requires some understanding of the cultural context of the Talibān regime. The Talibān are primarily made up of people belonging to Afghanistan's majority Pashtun ethnic group. The defining feature of Pashtun culture is an ancient code of honour known as Pashtunwali.
Pashtunwali consists of three inviolable principles. They are named, in Pashtu: Melmastia, Badal, and Nanawatey. Melmastia means to show hospitality to all visitors without any hope of remuneration. Badal literally means revenge, but means specifically to avenge a wrong. Nanawatey is derived from the verb meaning to "go in" and means to offer sanctuary to one who seeks it.
To illustrate nanawatey, there is a famous story from history. Mahmud Shah Ghaznawi, the 11th century sultan, was hunting for a deer in the region known as Ghazna. Whilst chasing the deer, it ran into the tent of a Pashtun nomad. Mahmud Shah approached the tent, with his soldiers, and asked the nomad to give him the deer. The Pashtun replied, "This deer has come to me for 'nanawatey'. You can kill me, but I will never give her up." Mahmud Shah was amazed at the reaction, and left the man a bag of gold.
Bin Laden has taken nanawatey with the Talibān, thus the constant Talibān reference to him as their "guest". As a guest, they cannot give him up without violating every ideal of honour that they were raised with. It is difficult for Westerners to understand, but for a Pashtun, death would be preferable and more dignified to breaking this code of honour.
As can now be seen, it is preferable to most Pashtuns to fight the most powerful military machine in the world, than to surrender someone they view as their guest.
However, the Talibān and Pashtun people are also extremely religious. As such, the only thing which can overrule Pashtunwali is the Sharī'ah (Islamic law). Yet the Sharī'ah demands proof.
The solution to the current problem lies in the provision of the proof to the Talibān. There are already religious rulings from the highest authorities in the Muslim world, such as the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, condemning the terrorist attacks and calling for the perpetrators to be punished. All that remains is the proof linking these crimes to Bin Laden.
To make demands on Afghanistan without showing proof is just bullying. To put Afghanistan in the cross hairs without showing proof is vigilantism. To pull the trigger is murder.
Australian Muslim Public Affairs Committee (AMPAC)
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