Introduction to

The

Rugmaker of

Mazar-e-

Sharif

Najaf Mazari

&

Robert Hillman

Themes

Hard work – Islam/Religion

Conflict – Personal/Political

Refugees/Hope

Freedom/Survival

Islam Originated in Saudi Arabia in the 7th Century AD

ISLAM - means surrender or submission to God (Allah is the

Arabic word for ‘the one true God and creator’)

MUSLIM – a follower of Islam

QU’RAN - The words of Allah as told to Muhammad by the

angel Gabriel, and written down by Muhammad’s followers.

Exists only in Arabic language.

5 pillars of Islam

FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM

BELIEF (in ALLAH and his prophet MUHAMMAD)

PRAYER (five times a day)

ZAHAT (Giving charity)

FASTING (RAMADAN)

HAJJ – Pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to the Ka’ba, a black

monument said to have been built by Abraham and his son

Ishmael.

The Ka’ba in Mecca

Islam in Afghanistan

Islam is practiced by the vast majority of Afghans and governs

much of their personal, political, economic and legal lives.

Najaf’s home city Mazar-e-Sharif is

named after the blue mosque in the

centre of the city

Afghanistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia

bordered by six countries

Pakistan

Iran

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan

Tajikistan

China

Ethnicity in AfghanistanAfghanistan has several ethnic

groups , the largest are the

Pashtun 42%

Tajik 27%

Hazara 9%

The official border of Afghanistan,

shown in red, has little in common

the boundaries of these ethnic

groups who speak more than 30

different languages

Because of its strategic location

Afghanistan has been invaded

numerous times throughout history

These invasions include

330 BC - Alexander the Great (Greece)

640 AD - Arab invasion which brings Islam

1219 - Genghis Khan (Mongolia)

1839- 1842 - Britain

1878 – 1880 Britain

1979 – 1989 - Soviet Union

2001 – Present - US led coalition

Afghanistan has experienced turmoil almost constantly

throughout history...

Modern history

The ‘Great Game’

The Cold War

Communism

Soviet Invasion

The Taliban

“The Great Game”

19th Century

Rivalry between Britain and Russia for influence in

Central Asia and the Middle East

The present day borders of Afghanistan were

established amidst this competition

“Save me from my friends”

Political cartoon from 1878 depicting the Afghan Emir

Caught between the British lion and the Russian bear

The Cold War

1945-1989

Ideological rivalry between two superpowers USA

(capitalism) and the USSR (Communism)

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) – Nuclear

weapons prevented the superpowers from fighting

each other directly

Instead the USA and USSR fought indirectly by

supporting friendly governments and destabilising

others

The Russian Bear and Uncle Sam seesaw

in their contest to gain the upper hand

Communism

1978-1992

Communists seize power and introduce reforms which

are incompatible with traditional systems

Communist atheism (belief there is no god) clashes

with Islamic values

Afghan fighters begin resisting the communist

government

Soviet Invasion

1979-1989 Soviet Union intervenes to prevent overthrow of Afghanistan’s

communist government

United States begins secretly supplying and training Islamic

fighters (Mujahedeen) to fight the Soviets

Afghan civilian casualties estimated at over one million people,

many more flee

Soviet forces defeated by guerrilla tactics of Mujahedeen and

withdraw

Soviet aircrew in front of an

attack helicopter in Afghanistan

Afghan Mujahedeen with a US made

Stinger anti-aircraft missile launcher

The Taliban1995-2001

After the Soviet defeat there is a period of civil war from which

the fundamentalist Islamic Taliban emerge on top

The Taliban institutes strict shari’a law

Women have few rights, girls are forbidden to go to school

A member of the Taliban flogs a woman

in the streetThe Taliban blows up the ancient Buddhist

statues of Bamiyan deemed to be false idols

US invasion2001 -

9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States attributed to Osama Bin

Laden a Saudi hiding out in the mountains of Afghanistan

US demands Taliban hand over Bin Laden, they refuse so the US

invades and overthrows them but is unable to capture Bin Laden

until 2011

US launches operation “Enduring Freedom” to stabilise and

democratise Afghanistan before they withdraw but this proves to be

a difficult task

Previous President Previous President Hamid Karzai was considered corrupt and

unpopular with the people

American and coalition forces including Australians were

entrenched in Afghanistan with no foreseeable way to withdraw

without the Taliban and/or Al Qaeda returning

President Hamid Karzai

Australian and Afghan soldiers waiting for

transport

Currently

President Ashraf Ghani

elected in September 2014

Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan’s new

president-elect, and his opponent,

Abdullah Abdullah, have joined

together in a national unity

government in which they will

share power.

What is a refugee?

The UN says "A person who owing to a well-founded fear of

being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality,

membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is

outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to

such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that

country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the

country of his former habitual residence as a result of such

events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to

it.”

United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees

Afghan refugeesThe numbers of refugees has varied over time as the situation in

Afghanistan has evolved.

Currently 2.6 million Afghan refugees live in neighbouring

countries, including Pakistan (1.7 million) and Iran (over 900,000),

Other refugees have sought asylum in Europe, North America and

Australia

The UNHCRUnited Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees

The primary role of the UNHCR is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily.

In 2007 the UNHCR estimated that around the world there were more than 31.7 million refugees and people of concern, in the period 2010-11 Australia’s Humanitarian Program is set at 13,750 places.

Refugees in Australia

The Government says “the size of the refugee program is

influenced by a number of factors. “

UNHCR assessments of the resettlement needs of refugees

overseas

the views of individuals and organisations in Australia

Australia's capacity to assist.Peter Dutton MP was

sworn in as the

Minister for

Immigration and

Border Protection on

23 December 2014.

Immigration policy in Australia is a highly politicised issue with no easy solutions

Boat people

The overwhelming majority of around 4000 people who seek

Australia’s protection each year arrive by plane. Asylum seekers

arriving by boat constitute a very small proportion of the total and

have their claims considered on Christmas Island.

Plane Arrivals Boat Arrivals

2008–09 84% 16%

2009–10 53% 47%

2010–11 56% 44%

Mandatory detention

All people who enter Australia

without a valid visa are held in

detention facilities while their

claims are assessed, during this

time they undergo health,

identity and security checks.

This policy has been highly

contentious and several changes

were made under the

Rudd/Gillard governments. Najaf

arrived in Australia during the

Howard era. On the right is a

map of immigration detention

centres operating at that time.