Mr. Ahmad Massoud’s Message
It is my honor to welcome distinguished participants to this conference on Ahmad Shah Massoud and the future of Afghanistan. Thank you to the conference participants of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. On behalf of the organisers of the conference and on behalf of the Massoud Foundation, I would like to thank you for your commitment and your support during this very difficult time for Afghanistan.
Three years ago my colleagues and I spoke about the importance of holding a conference on the life and legacy of Ahmad Shah Massoud at Cambridge. Since then, many have contributed to making this a reality. And I would like to sincerely express my gratitude to them. We have invited leading academics, journalists, politicians and former military personnel who have devoted their work to Afghanistan and we are grateful for their involvement.
Today I would like to reflect on the past to help us situate the current crisis that continues to unfold in Afghanistan. My hope is that some of the lessons of history can help us formulate a better and clearer vision for a peaceful future. If we take the emergence of modern Afghanistan as a starting point, what comes to light is a process of state formation that proved to be costly. As a buffer state between British India and Tsarist Russia, Afghanistan became important for imperial interests.
This model of nation formation dictated a highly centralised political and administrative system. We believe that this longstanding model is not constructive to a country that is home to diverse communities, each of which is rich in its own history, languages, and cultural heritage. History has proven that nation state formation that has sought to construct a homogenous and single character for entire populations of people is impractical. Since the early 1900s when this system was institutionalised, Afghanistan experienced several breakdowns of the state system, the most salient of which we see from the events of this last month.
These breakdowns come at a great cost to the people of the country. A realistic and pragmatic approach is necessary and we believe that a decentralised political and administrative system is the best way forward. Based on this model, local communities will have the power to elect their local leaders and hold them accountable.
People will also have the ability to take an active part in policy making at a local community level. This model has existed in Afghanistan over the last century in varying degrees.
Commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, also pushed for this alternative vision to ensure social justice, dignity and recognition for all, in a stand against any colonial, neo-colonial or pretentions in the garb of extremist groups such as the Taliban. Since taking over Kabul on the 15th of August, the Taliban, through acts of terror and destruction, are once again engaged in ongoing atrocities against different communities. They are standing against the fundamental rights of women and of our girls receiving their education.
The Talban have made our country a refuge for international terrorism and one that is isolated and regressive. Alongside the men and women of Afghanistan, we stand firmly against the Taliban’s foreign ideology. We have seen women leading the opposition on the ground and standing up for their rights. We want an Afghanistan that is inclusive, one that preserves and promotes the rights of women, one that is not isolated but connected; a country that has productive relationships with the region and with the world. We have formed the National Resistance Front to continue the path of our forefathers and realise the aspirations of the people of Afghanistan.
The goal of our resistance is the liberation of our land and the preservation of our rights in safeguarding our heritage and culture. Honouring the legacy and lessons of my father, there is indeed no cause more noble than fighting for justice, for truth, for freedom; freedom from oppression, from those who impose their rule and occupy our land.
Through this series of conferences inaugurated today on the life and legacy of Ahmad Shah Massoud, we can be better informed in ways we can formulate a vision for an alternative future, where the will of the people will serve as its foundation. Let us use our time today to discuss and plan the important work for tomorrow and every day after. Until we arrive at our ultimate goal, which is a free and prosperous Afghanistan.
Thank you.
Guest Speakers
AHMAD WALI MASSOUD
SIR SHERARD COWPER-COLES
VISCOUNT CRANBORNE
MICHAEL BARRY
TIMOTHY NUNAN
CARLOTTA GALL
PETER TOMSEN
SANDY GALL
ABDULLAH ANAS
SIR CHRISTOPHER CLARK
KAMAL ALAM
BERNARD HENRI LEVY
STEVE COLL
MILTON BEARDEN
TIM WINTER
DAGIKHUDO DAGIEV
NASIR AHMAD ANDISHA
SIR NICHOLAS BARRINGTON
SHIVAN MAHENDRARAJAH
JAMES PICKETT
THOMAS BARFIELD
CHRIS ALEXANDER
RORY STEWART
Participants
Ambassador Ahmad Wali Massoud
Ambassador Zalmay Rasoul
Lord Cranborne
Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles
Dr. John Casey
Sir Nicholas Barrington
Prof Rob Miller
Dr Nikita Shentsev
Mr Hasan Cuthbert
Dr Ruadhai Dervan
Dr Ehhab Bdawi
Mr Alex Parton
Mr Chalmers
Mr Peter Tomsen
Mrs Kim Tomsen
Mrs Nasrin Gross
Dr Max Gross
Ms Carlotta Gall
Dr Tim Winter
Dr Dagi Dagiev
Mr Olivier Weber
MP Patrick Grady
Prof Brendan Simms
Mr Hameed Hakimi
Mr Tam Hussein
Mr Abdallah Anas
Mr David Game
Dr Charles Melville
Ms Mitra Sarwary
Mr Karim Kouhyar
Mr Frotan Kohestani
Mr Iradj Bagherzada
Dr Siddhart Saxena (Munto)
Prof Magnus Marsden
Mr Abdul Jabbar Ariyaee
Ms Zainab Homam
Dr Khushal Nabizada
Mr Adul Bostani
Mr Abdullah Paymon
Mr Abdullah Khenjani
Mr Zalmai Nishat
Ms Serpil Yilmaz
Mr Sandy Gall
Ms Michaela Gall
Ms Fiona Gall
Ms Charlotte Bonhoure
Mr Shakib Sharifi
Mr Lais Saad
Mr Zaid Saad
Mr Fazel Beria
Mr Zia Shahreyar
Mr Hasan Heydari
Mr Rasul Khamosh
Mr Benedict Archer
Mr Abdul Hai Wakili
Ms Sara Wakili
Mr Muslim Hayat
Mr Karim Karim
Haji Moqbil
Dr Ehsan Ahmadi
Dr Said Akbar Zewary
Dr Asli Shah
Dr Alidad Shereenbeg
Dr Firuza I. Abdullaeva-Melville
Concept Note
Twenty years after his assassination, Ahmad Shah Massoud’s legacy remains potent and central in the politics of Afghanistan. His reputation in the West probably rests far more on his genius as a commander and guerrilla fighter than on how his ideas might contribute to Afghanistan’s future development and welfare. And it is true that he achieved astonishing military successes against the Red Army and that his campaigns were perhaps the most important single factor that led to the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. Furthermore, some have argued that the Soviet failures in
Afghanistan were a major contributory factor in the demise of the Soviet Union itself.
Within Afghanistan, as well, Massoud’s rise to fame came with his military achievements. He is seen as the greatest symbol of national resistance – comparable to De Gaulle in France. After his assassination in 2001, Massoud was officially named as the ‘National Hero’ of Afghanistan, and September 9th, the anniversary of his murder – Martyr’s Day – is a national holiday.
Massoud’s legacy should not, however, be reduced to his military and strategic genius. He had a coherent set of political, ethical, and religious beliefs, and neither his character nor his career can be understood without taking these into account. If he is important for Afghanistan’s future as well as its past, this will be because his ideas and loyalties have value.
In fact, Massoud’s legacy is not uncontroversial within Afghanistan. Although he has indeed become a symbol of sacrifice, national independence, and resistance for many, to others, his legacy is contested, for he not only fought against a foreign enemy – the invading Soviet Red Army along with its client regime in Kabul – but he later opposed the conglomerate of the Taliban and Al-Qaida other extremist groups (also known in Afghanistan as the Black Army.)
Massoud always insisted that he was fighting for an independent and free Afghanistan, allowing its citizens to freely agree on the democratic arrangements under which they will govern themselves. For Massoud, this idea was not at all as truistic as it might sound, for he related it firmly to Afghanistan’s history and its geopolitical position (one might even say, ‘predicament.’) Afghanistan lies at the intersection of West Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia. Externally, neighboring powers (the British Raj, Imperial and then Soviet Russia, Pakistan) have often sought to treat Afghanistan as a client or a
buffer state. There was, therefore, the danger that the country’s sovereignty might exist in name only.
Internally under, first, a centralising monarchy, then under Communist client regimes, and even after the fall of Communism, there has existed a tightly centralised state with different ethnic groups, where the temptation is for one ethnic group to use this centralising tradition to assert a claim to hegemony. So both external and internal forces combine to make Massoud’s vision of a free and independent country difficult to realise. In other words, Massoud rejected both foreign domination and an internal ‘factional domination’ and his grounds for these rejections are to be found in his
convictions about social justice and harmony which both stem from his understanding of Islam and history of region. Thus an emphasis on context is as important as the man, and hence the title of this seminar.
As mentioned, in the eyes of detractors and harsh critics Massoud never achieved a national leadership above the fray of ethnic communal politics. Massoud and his followers stand accused of human rights abuses during the 1992-1996 conflicts in Kabul. In addition, that period is known for some as above all the era of ethno-regional conflict, while proponents of Massoud argue that they were fighting against several proxy forces of countries in the region, which had plans to install a friendly (or puppet) regime in Kabul and promote sectarian agendas in the country.
THE KEY PHASES OF MASSOUD’S CAREER:
First, his early formative years as a young student in Kabul and his escape to Pakistan. This escape to Pakistan was primarily motivated by Massoud’s religious convictions, especially by his belief that Islam was under serious challenge from Communist power in Afghanistan. It is vital – especially for Westerners – to understand the place of religion on Massoud’s life, and not to downplay it. At the time of his flight to Pakistan it would be reasonable to describe him as an Islamist. It might
be easier in the West to understand him as a liberal or progressive – and indeed he espoused democracy, pluralism and the rights of women. But all of this was within an embracing religious faith. He was devout – praying the prescribed prayers even in the heat of battle. His humanitarianism – as shown for instance in his treatment of captured Soviet soldiers – sprang also from religious convictions. He was a Sufi and also a passionate lover of poetry – in which he encouraged his soldiers to join him. In the past people in the West have understood and respected the idea of an Islamic warrior: in the Middle Ages Saladin was actually a hero in Europe despite being also seen as an opponent. It would be a pity if current experience of Islamist extremism were to obscure that very important aspect of Massoud’s life and character.
Secondly, his role in establishing and leading an effective guerrilla resistance movement against the invading Soviet forces for ten years (1979-1989), strategically cutting the landlines between the Soviet forces in Kabul and the Hindu Kush Salang Pass.
Thirdly, his role in overthrowing the Najibullah regime after the Soviet withdrawal and ensuring the independence of Afghanistan (1989-1996).
Finally, his establishment of the National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, which is also mistakenly labelled as the ‘Northern Alliance,’ in order to fight against the Taliban and Al-Qa’ida forces, groups whose chief support was from Pakistan. It is important to mention that after the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban; only three countries recognised the Taliban regime: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The aim of this conference is to reflect on and discuss the life, legacy and thought of Ahmad Shah Massoud and the context in which he arose – Afghanistan and its geo-political situation. Numerous English, Russian, French and Persian works on Afghanistan have provided historical assessments of Massoud as a political and military commander, but insufficient attention has as yet been paid to his political and religious philosophies.
His remarkably successful governance strategy in the communities under his control will also repay study, along with the question of whether this strategy contributed to his legitimacy as both commander and political leader.
This conference is the first of its kind, and it will provide an opportunity to encourage further study of Massoud’s vision, his role in the thirty-year struggle for the independence of Afghanistan, and his legacy. The Massoud Foundation has started work, with relevant organisations and personalities, to release manuscripts of over a dozen personal diaries of Massoud, along with a treasure trove of other archives related to his struggles. This might further stimulate scholarly study of Afghanistan from a new perspective.
We invite submissions from researchers across disciplines, activists, politicians and journalists from a wide range of fields who have focussed on Massoud in Afghanistan, and beyond its borders. The areas of enquiry addressed in this conference will include:
- The religious, political and strategic views of Ahmad Shah Massoud as well as his warfare strategy;
- The creation, structure, and leadership of the resistance movement under Massoud throughout the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the interwar period;
- The local, regional, and global ideological influences on the political thought of Ahmad Shah Massoud and the resistance movement;
- Ahmad Shah Massoud’s influence regionally and globally, including his cross-border ethnic and religous ties;
- Local governance structures and engagement with communities within the territory Ahmnad Shah Massoud controlled in North-East Afghanistan. This would include an exploration of his model of basic service delivery and participatory governance models; The decision of Ahmad Shah Massoud to form the National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, also known erroneously and popularized as the Northern Alliance, and the latter’s decision to fight
against the Taliban and Al-Qa’ida extremists with their violent and extremist interpretation of Islam. - The contested legacy of Ahmad Shah Massoud in present-day Afghanistan and beyond.