Iran-Afghanistan relations with emphasis on Afghan political thought

Virtual Meeting “The Purgatory of Power in Afghanistan; An Analysis of the Return of the Taliban was held in the presence of Ahmad Reza Taheri, a faculty member of the Department of Political Science at the Islamic Azad University of Zahedan, Jilani Farhad, an expert on Afghanistan and former spokesman for the Herat Governorate, and Saeed Bagheri Kharvani, a PhD student in international relations at Allameh Tabatabai University. . The following is the text of the speeches of Jilani Farhad and Saeed Bagheri Kharvani:

The text of Jilani Farhad’s speech

Iran-Afghanistan relations in the Taliban interim government

Jilani Farhad on Iran-Afghanistan relations and Iran’s role in rebuilding and how relations in the past three decades said: Iran and Afghanistan throughout history, given the commonalities in the field of civilization and their relations with ups and downs, although obvious factors And the secret that has figured out these ups and downs and is clear to everyone, but in no way have these ups and downs caused the friendship and brotherhood between the two nations to decrease, but on the contrary, it has expanded and strengthened, so that relations Between the peoples of the two countries so that no power will be able to undermine this friendship and brotherhood, and although there is internal and internal interference in the affairs of Afghanistan, but this cooperation and these relations and ties instead of weakening, on the contrary, stronger Becomes.

Iran and Afghanistan and the role of media in news coverage

A former spokesman for the governor of Herat said: “Iran has been hosting millions of Afghans for many years and the Afghan people appreciate this and expect that cooperation will expand further and the existing commonalities should be used as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation.” And even links are done. The people of Afghanistan in Iran never feel alienated and appreciate the hospitality of the Iranian people. But unfortunately, sometimes in the field of media, we see in the publications of two countries, Iranophobia and anti-Afghanism, that it is the duty of these two great nations to work seriously in the field of culture. For example, Iran, which in the early days of the new situation in Afghanistan, had a strong and serious presence in various fields that less media paid attention to this issue, but if the slightest sign or criticism was directed at Iran, it was the media that exaggerated. And if an Afghan immigrant in Iran was violated, they would write this to a large number of our compatriots, and this would cause anti-Afghanism to grow. One should not think that it is normal for the media to cover such issues, but we, as the agents of the issues in Afghanistan, know that there were very serious factors behind these events that did not allow the relations between the two countries to improve and vice versa. These stirred up controversy.

Expansion of economic relations between the two countries

The expert on Afghanistan issues explained about the economic relations between Iran and Afghanistan: In the beginning of 1380, the level of economic cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan was $ 100 million per year, while a year before the fall of the new system of these relations and this cooperation to three It had reached $ 1 billion a year, a dramatic increase. Thus, the powers that be in the region see that such relations are increasing, and especially if they see them economically or politically, they are naturally not pleased with them. So they will try to disrupt such relations, and they did. For example, when Iran was involved in rebuilding Afghanistan, an Iranian company won under a bill to build a road and highway, but regional powers intervened and used sanctions as an excuse not to allow Iran to participate in rebuilding that road. . Such interventions naturally caused Iran to become a little discouraged.

Jilani Farhad further added: “In some cases, when the field and participation of Iranian friends in reconstruction and development affairs was favorable, unfortunately, delays were made due to economic interests in private companies.” For example, when the Herat Cement Factory was handed over for reconstruction to Iran, there was a delay of about 20 years and no investment was made to revive this important factory. This created a sense of pessimism among the people. Or, for example, the Herat railway, which was being built inside Afghanistan with the cooperation of Iran, was stopped for years and this caused the cooperation to stop.

Iran’s exports to Afghanistan

A former spokesman for the Herat governorate said about Iran’s exports to Afghanistan: “In the economic field, if 90% of the needs of the Herat market and the western part of Afghanistan are met through Iran, it can be profitable to export all kinds of goods or Iranian investment in Herat.” It can have a good effect on investments. The people of Afghanistan consume Iranian products without any worries. They may be worried about consuming similar foreign products at the moment because they are Muslims and adhere to their beliefs, and the types of food products are halal and haram, as well as because Iranian products are cheaper. It is good that the Iranians also pay attention in this regard.

Political developments in Afghanistan and Iran’s performance

“After the recent developments in the geography of Afghanistan, we have witnessed a positive approach from Iran inside Afghanistan,” said an expert on Afghanistan’s political developments and Iran’s performance. The high-level delegation’s visit to Herat and Kabul marked a new chapter in cooperation and showed that the Islamic Republic of Iran, regardless of who rules in Afghanistan, is important to the Afghan people and wants to untie the knot of their problems. . In this regard, the construction of a gas pipeline on the border between the two countries and more investment in the field of transit and land transportation, has created hope among the tired people of Afghanistan that with God’s help will continue this process as people expect And as it is in the interest of both countries, the conditions are right so that we can see a better situation.

Jilani Farhad reminded in the end: constructive interaction does not mean intervention, but it will strengthen ties and friendships. Iran’s investment delay can also have negative consequences in various fields. Now, if a government comes to power in Afghanistan and does not conform to the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran, surely the people of Afghanistan will not allow the government to intervene directly or indirectly, and this is what the Afghan people expect from the Iranian people and government. To the stability that the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran have had in the last 40 years and given the economic security developments they have made in these years, and it is expected that the Islamic Republic of Iran will have a stronger and more positive role in these areas.

The text of Bagheri Kharvani’s speech

Barriers to political development in Afghanistan through the lens of political thought in Islam

Regarding political development in the Middle East, Kharvani said: “The Middle East region has been involved in the political development process for a hundred years or maybe more.” There are two views on this: one is political Islam and the other is the Greater Middle East. The cause and factors of the crisis are as follows. The first reason in political Islam is the lack of development due to the presence of the West and the hegemony and colonialism of the West, but in the second view of the Greater Middle East, the lack of democracy is the main cause of crisis and instability in the region. Unfortunately, Afghanistan has been involved in civil wars for 40 years, and if we want to think about this crisis, why is Afghanistan rising and falling and there is no national unity in this region.

The Greater Middle East Initiative in Afghanistan has given way to Taliban political Islam

Allameh Tabatabai University, PhD student in International Relations, said about the developments in Afghanistan: It should be said that in 2001, the United States entered the Middle East to promote democracy by eliminating the Taliban in order to solve the crisis by reviving democracy in the region. The year was barren and they were forced to evacuate Afghanistan in August this year and hand over power to the Taliban. One of the factors that can be explained for this factor was the West’s incompatibility with the realities of this region. By not paying attention to the voluntary cooperation of Middle Eastern governments and ignoring the religious and political traditions of the Islamic world by the great powers, ignoring them and the political dignity resulting from the independence and will of individual and national freedom of Muslims and finally that democracy is the same for the people of the region. It is a beautiful showcase through which the great powers exercise their dominion over the region. As a result, the Greater Middle East Initiative in Afghanistan gave way to Taliban political Islam.

Moderation of Taliban political thought

Bagheri Kharvani said: The period of Sunni political thought can be divided into three periods: one textualism of the Companions, two periods of the establishment of the jurisprudence of the Caliphate and three new periods that are formed by breaking with the tradition of the Caliphate and looking to the West. The political discourse of the Taliban can be considered the product of this period, which on the one hand is formed by breaking the link between religion and the old caliphate and on the other hand the establishment of a government institution to implement Sharia and has based its political movement on Islamic beliefs. While this discourse, on the one hand, has to refer to religious texts, on the other hand, it criticizes the deconstruction and its interpretation.

He added: “Today, the Taliban is the product of Salafi thought in Islam, which has become a little more moderate than in the previous period.” Salafi, which is an Arabic word meaning retrospective, is not methodologically very different from the old Salafi. While it has become more radical and is divided into three categories: one is the new textual Salafis, the second is the ijtihad Salafis and the third is the jihadist Salafis. The Taliban belong to the third category and combine a kind of radicalism and jihadism, which is a special feature of this group. The theoretical principles of the Taliban can be divided into five categories: A monotheism stands against polytheism in the eyes of this group. The second is the precedence of criticism over reason, three rejections of the interpretation of the book and tradition, four frequencies of quoting verses and hadiths, and five opposing heresy. But the practical principles of this group are divided into two parts: one is the discussion of invitation and the second is the discussion of jihad. In the discussion of calling for enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, the most important good is considered to be monotheism and leaving polytheism, and jihad is introduced as the basis of Islam. These people insist on imitating the Mujtahid and believe that the practical rules of the true religion should be sought from the main sources and texts of the religion and holy texts, not the books of the jurists who explain monotheism in this way. What is important is the implementation of texts based on jihad. One of the important results of this debate in political development in terms of political action is the closure of jurisprudence, and on the other hand, this kind of view reproduces violence in the name of jihad, which is very important in the study of political development in Afghanistan.

Allameh Tabatabai University, a doctoral student in international relations, also explained about the duality in the Taliban’s thought: “We also see a duality in the Taliban’s thought.” Duality in cultivation and jihad. The Taliban want to reform society through individual reform and reorganization based on the true faith of individuals. By returning to Islam and convincing people. The political result of this duality is formed in sovereignty, and that sovereignty from which God belongs and is transferred to man and is formed according to the contract between the state and the nation is encouraged and replaced by the concept of political ummah and religious consensus. . However, there is another dichotomy in cultivation and jihad, which is referred to as the mismatches that are formed in the mind. One is development in the concept of heresy, which is a vague and ambiguous concept. Sometimes it is used as an arbitrary tool to justify the attack on the opposition, and a pessimistic and anti-religious view introduces itself as heretics and therefore the enemy. They consider it as an enemy, and this is very dangerous for political stability and development, and it causes civil laws to be ignored.