During post-Taliban era, one of the key things that continuously has been highlighted by conservative layers of the society is spread of modern values such as women’s participation and boom of TV channels which generally depend on foreign movies and series for filling the vacuum of the program. Often religious scholars put the Islamic Shariah system as an alternative to democracy but without providing exactly what parts of the current system indeed contradicts with their proposed system. Sometimes they could gain the support of public departments. Last year some members of Upper House of Parliament complained about the inability of government and particularly Ministry of Culture and Information to protect the Afghan culture against foreign cultural invasion.
Anyhow, after chaos and instability and finally the rule of Taliban militants deepened a conservative culture which hardly can be called as Islamic culture. When US attacked Afghanistan, there was angry voices calling for Jihad, the decree if issued by high influential scholars, all Muslims are obliged to wage war and fight. Continues fight with occupiers somehow encouraged the spirit of Jihad and Jihadism which presently is the key problem ahead of welcome of modern values.
Anyhow,the hot topic of cultural invasion still has remained a dominant obsession for Islamic scholars. Once, I was sitting with two of teachers in office of my school, a person who just returned from Afghanistan after the outstation of Taliban quoted that various English centers were opened across the country to respond to increasing demands of Afghan youngsters learning English as their second language. One of my teachers frowned and said, “Then West has started enforcing its colonizing policies and eliminating cultural values of the country”. According to him language was inseparable and key part of culture.
Indeed, the cultural invasion is not a new term. From years, it has been the center of hot discussion in third world countries. These countries have been practicing different type of traditions and rituals and have had different life styles. Thus, almost anything went against the old normal process of the society has been deemed as ill-export of West, the term applied to European and North American countries. When cable TV became prevalent and demand was increasing for it, many were going mad against programs which, of course, were against their tradition and, moreover, prevalent interpretation of Islam. Religious scholars were alarming people, “Please, be afraid of God and his judgment in the day of resurrection (Qiyamat) and do not learn from cable TV and Dish, learn holy Quran and pray to Allah to protect you against evils of today’s world”.
Such sounds are heard here in the country since the very outstation of Taliban regime. Several times, TV channels have been criticized by traditionalists about their programs on the basis of their contrast with Islamic teachings.
For this layer of society, indiscriminate changes in their country, any change in the course of society is deemed evil, and every rituals practiced are deemed good.
It has been decades that many view with suspicion everything which has some kind of links with the West. Concepts like modernization, globalization and etc have been viewed equal to Westernization and Americanization. Indubitably, after the Second World War and subsequently cold war, European countries and United States dealt huge affect on the global order. Even it can be claimed that, after the collapse of Soviet Union, which ended the bi-polar global order, the US emerged as the super power in the world. Such position for the US, who has been the supporter of democracy in the sphere of politics, free-market capitalism in sphere of economy, and liberal individualism in social and cultural context, definitely has been effective to promote such values.
Most such values are globalized and deemed as value even by the poverty-stricken and backward countries like Afghanistan.
It does not seem that anybody can ever stop the technological explosion and its rapid spread through the entire world. Large portion of people will definitely use TV channels, and desire variety of programs any where in the world. Censoring them can only be as brake, but soon after communication technology like satellites, which even now a poor family of Afghan can provide for, can respond to demands of people and circulate the censorship plan. Accepting or not, remaining silent or resisting, modern world and its values will never leave any thing untouched. The youngsters whether African, Asian, American or European will put on the same brand of jeans. So, if the process cannot be controlled, then why the guardians of obsolete traditions and values should not do something else rather than struggling uselessly.
The term “cultural invasion” should not be used again, and replaced by term “cultural dynamism”. Major modern values are not all against the traditional values and they should be accepted. Something which is deemed as taboo according to religious teachings can be reformed according to modern demands of cities and countries. Practices which are against such global values should be left away at any cost. The thing which is the most complicated as well as difficult part of phenomenon is the morality. One of the unacceptable evils of, perhaps, modernization is sexual freedom and immodesty which can cause many social and psychological problem and disorders. Therefore, struggles of both religious scholars and government should be concentrated on issues and alarm youngsters about such pitfalls.