Iranian Poet Shames Taliban Violence and Praises US Soldier Saving Afghan Girl

It is interesting I learned of a tanker and US Naval vessel colliding this morning.  I wondered how is it possible with modern radar.  Where was this accident? I found out near the Straits of Hormuz.  Then I thought of Iran and the tensions and threats to close the Straits.  I wondered if it is an accident?  I thought of the earthquake in Iran and wondered.  Then I thought of building tensions.  I had a look at oil prices, yes they are rising because conflict is not resolved.  Then I thought of escalation and finally where I was really going was to consider the innocent people of Iran.  I remember helping a Persian Art Centre in Canberra, I got to know the lady who lugged all these heavy carpets, she was full of enthusiasm and passion.  She asked me to help her so I did some typing for her and learned of the poets of Iran.  She didn’t have any time for the mullahs and explained to me most people didn’t like fundamentalism, they loved the arts.  I met a few Persian poets and was given some calligraphy.  I saw such a romantic culture.  Such a statement would have to conclude with Rumi one of the foremost poets of love. 

So I looked for poets of peace and I found Shahryar, I found out he is no longer alive.  So my heart travels to the poets to respond to why we are violent.  I found this article below and could easily transpose it with questions from a Western perspective – why we glorify war? why we have movies that glorify violence?  It was refreshing to hear a voice for peace that sees shame in it.  Interestingly, he is asking why Afghan’s glorify violence?    I found it interesting to see a Taliban wearing women’s clothing.  For me as a poet I would see it as metaphorically he needs to learn about being a woman, feeling empathy, walking in her shoes.  Of course he is using the woman’s dress as cover, as women are not suspected, typically they are non violent.  So the cover he wears is one of non violence yet his intent is to murder.  No matter the clothes it is the intent that unites men or women of violence.   Shahryar speaks of blame, of course in non violent literature we now speak of solving the problem not hating the person.  Blame is simply projection of our own violence.  It is to weed out our own violence in thought, word and action that peace becomes visible.  Ultimately people must travel their path.  We cannot change others only ourselves.  As Gandhi envisioned ‘be the change you want to see in the world’ are wise words of intention.

I love at the end of this story how he builds a bridge of peace paying tribute to a US soldier who saved a Afghan girl and died in the heroic act of saving her.  He felt proud of this US soldier.  He joined with him as the soldier showed real courage saving an innocent life.  He saw this as bravery and felt for the soldier’s family.  This is peacemaking between the US and Iranians, this is where when we are fully informed of the ‘other’ we find people just like us.   I don’t see any news brokering peace between Iran and the US or Iran and Israel.  Instead we glorify the surface stories and stoke the flames.

If the US wants Iran to stop its weapons program, they have to stop theirs.  The same applies to Israel.  Of course they won’t because still leadership believes true power is in power over and control.  In truth it wastes public money and kills innocent lives.  We poets wait for sanity to return to the world where violence is no longer glorified but non violence (harmony) becomes the badge of true honour that raises children to understand peace is the way.

This article is a poets way of peacemaking.  Here is his article. 

Why Are Afghans Not Ashamed of Violence

A couple of days ago, a story ran of Taliban fighters getting arrested in Laghman in women’s clothing. They were trying to infiltrate without raising suspicious. Here’s a picture of two of the terrorists as they were being escorted by the security forces:

Of course their actions are to be condemned.

However, what caught my eye was seeing the condemnation turn to a shaming contest. And what depressed me was that most of the commenters were calling these potential killers dishonored men for hiding behind women’s clothing.

I know what you might be thinking. “It is dishonorable!” Maybe so, but don’t you think we should be more outraged that these people were planning to kill? Isn’t killing more shameful? I mean think about it.

Why don’t we feel like the act of taking a life is shameful? How brave are you who takes a gun and kills unarmed civilians – including women and children? I want to blame Saudi Arabia for sending money to mullahs to teach these Taliban hatred towards others. I want to blame Pakistan’s Army and ISI for teaching them how to kill.

But no. I’m going to blame us. Our culture of having very little regard for life. For giving very little importance to it. For raising men making them believe that they need to fight. That they need to learn violence. No, not to learn violence. To be violent in general.

We take pride in being violent. Yeah, we do. We tell our stories of how we conquered and fought and destroyed. That is being proud of violence!

We don’t look at violence as a shameful act anymore. It’s just part of our culture. We expect our men to be fighters. We expect them to be killers. Hence, we are no longer outraged that Afghan men go out to kill as much as we are when they are caught wearing women’s clothes.

Why don’t we teach our kids things like, “Violence is nothing to be proud of!” or “Taking a life is the worst thing imaginable.” Isn’t that what Prophet Mohammed taught? That the blood of a Muslim is holier than the Kaaba. Here is a link to the Hadith if you don’t believe me.

I understand our ancestors were fighters. They fought everyone, all their lives. But they are dead. We are alive. And our lives are ruined thanks to disregard for human life. Thanks to breeding a culture that glorifies violence. A culture that tells us that we need to be fighters… not sensitive poets and writers. Not builders of schools and hospitals. Not teachers of math and science.

We raise children, telling them about the bravery of Ahmad Shah Baba, Mahmood Ghaznavi or Shabuddin Ghowri… Would it be wrong if instead we raised them teaching them the love and compassion that Mowlanaye Rumi and Rahman Baba taught us?

Where is Ahmad Shah? Where is Ghaznavi and Ghowri? They are all dead, in their graves. The empires they built are all gone. We are left with a tiny mountainous country with very little resources.

But look at the words and teachings of Mowlanaye Rumi and Rahman Baba… they are still with us. They enrich our lives daily. They make me proud of speaking Farsi and Pashto.

Isn’t it time that we stopped being ashamed of wearing women’s clothes and instead started being ashamed of being violent… for teaching violence… for glorifying violence? Using violence should be a last resort when our freedom is at stake. Not something to be used at any given opportunity, for anything – be it for religious, for culture or for anything else.

It should be used only when you are defending against someone who is even more violent. And even then, we should try to avoid using violence until there is nothing else left. Didn’t thirty three years of being violent about everything teach us anything?

And I understand. Many people reading this will say, “Oh, but I don’t like violence…” There is a difference between “not liking” violence and being “ashamed” of violence. It’s much more powerful. It means you will actually do something to stop it. Not passively sit around and hope it’ll end on its own.

I want to show you another picture…

Yes, he is American.

His name is Dennis Weichel.

He is 29 years old. No, he was 29 years old. He died last week. He didn’t die fighting. He died after he jumped in front of a truck and moved a little Afghan girl from in front of it. She lived. He died. He has three children who won’t have a father anymore. He has a wife who won’t have a husband anymore. He has a father and a mother who won’t have a son anymore.

I am proud of him for doing that. And I’m ashamed of the Taliban who were arrested for planning to kill. And if I had children, I will raise them non-violent.

I will teach them that bravery means giving your life to save another person’s life. Not taking a life to win your cause. I will teach them Rumi and Rahman Baba. I will teach them that being violent is nothing to be proud of. That if they want to be proud of something, it should be being proud of being a teacher, a doctor, an engineer.

I hope that breaks the cycle of violence a little. I don’t know if it will, but something has to change.

— Your Josh —

P.S. Farsi translation coming soon…