The Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan Implications for Muslim Central Asia and the Muslim World

Abstract

ISLAM is as natural to the people of Afghanistan as the air they breathe.
Any system repugnant to Islam or the introduction of alien forces to introduce
a new social order has always been resisted by the Afghans. The present
Afghan-Soviet war is one such story.
The war is a matter of vital importance because its outcome will immensely
affect Pakistan, Iran, and the rest of the Muslim world. It will also upset the
balance of power between the West and the Soviets, and might change the
direction of oil flow. It is curious that the war is not given the support or
attention it deserves, in spite of its global ramifications. The West perhaps
ignores the war as Afghanistan is far removed from the Western mainstream,
and its impact is not generally understood because the Afghan Mujahideen
lack a sophisticated network of information. Moreover, the Soviets continue
misleading the world by claiming the war is only a law and order problem
between the Afghan government and a handful of “bandits” encouraged from
outside.
The war is neither a law and order matter nor its impact hard to realize.
Afghan Mujahideen are fighting the Soviets to force them out of Afghanistan,
and the Soviets are trying to hold on using biological, chemical, and other
sophisticated weapons. In spite of enormous destruction and genocide, the
Afghan Mujahideen are determined to fight to the last, and so apparently are
the Soviets to consolidate their occupation of Afghanistan. This paper presents
an analysis of the war and its impact on Pakistan, the Muslim world, and
the West from a geopolitical standpoint. A brief discussion of Afghanistan
explains the former status of Afghanistan as a buffer state first between the
Russians and the British and later between the Soviets and Pakistan.
Modern Afghanistan dates back to 1747 when Ahmad Shah Durrani took
over reins of that country. More or less during the same time, the British ...