Wednesday, February 21, 2007

A New Moderated Islamic Movement in Afghanistan

Joshua Kucera of Eurasia.net writes about a new "moderate" Muslim project in Afghanistan in his article NEW MOVEMENT IN AFGHANISTAN STRIVES TO OFFER IDEOLOGICAL ALTERNATIVE TO THE TALIBAN

"A new political movement is taking shape in Afghanistan that is pro-Western in orientation and seeks to present Afghans with a clear ... alternative to the vision offered by the resurgent Taliban movement.
The movement, Fedayeen-e-Sul, or Sacrificers for Peace, is led by Hamed Wardak...
The movement aims to be pan-ethnic, reformist and democratic...
Wardak said he often refers to the important role that women played in the life of Mohammed...
There are about 30 members of parliament who are ready to affiliate themselves to Fedayeen-e-Sul, but at present not all of them want to be publicly identified...
The United States is interested in fostering moderate Islam in countries that are majority Muslim...
Wardak spoke critically of the current Afghan president, Hamid Karzai... 'It's also distressing to our movement that many Americans and Western observers believe that only President Karzai is a bulwark against the Taliban. To us, this is an insult to our country, our long history and our new democracy.' "

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