The British Government and Jihad — Page 21
21 ence over Afghan tribes probably exceeds that of all previous Am i rs , should gather the great scholars of religion and convene a discussion on the true nature of jihad. These religious scholars can then educate the public about its errors. In fact, the reli- gious scholars of this country should compile a few pamphlets in Pashto and make them available to the general public. I believe that this type of activity will have a tremendous influ- ence on people. The passions instilled by the ignorant maulav i s will gradually subside. The Am i r’s citizens will surely suffer if he fails to pay heed to this essential reform. The government that ignores such fat a w a from these mull a hs ultimately creates prob- lems for itself because these days the maulav i s readily label people as disbelievers over minor religious differences, applying to them all other fat a w a that they apply to disbelievers. In light of this, even the Am i r himself cannot remain safe from these fat a w a. It is quite possible that the maulav i s may cast the Am i r out of the pale of Islam by taking offence over some trivial issue, and then subject him to the same fat a w a of jihad that they have applied to others. A group that has the power to declare a person to be a believer or disbeliever is dangerous, and the Am i r should not be complacent with respect to them. They 12. The author is referring to a common belief amongst Muslims that steadfast participants in religious wars attain Paradise, re- gardless of whether they are killed in action or survive. In the former case, they are shah i d (martyr) and in the latter, they are referred to as gh a z i. [Translator] 13. The Am i r of the Afghan at that time was ‘Abdur Ra h m a n (1881–1901). He ascended to the throne after the second Af- ghan war (1878–80) and was recognised as the Am i r of Kabul on the condition that he would not have political relations with any foreign power other than the British. [Translator]