Afghanistan's History, by Kate Space

In order to fully understand the issues that are currently taking place in present-day Afghanistan, it is essential to realize the history that has shaped the country and its people. Afghanistan has endured several invasions and countless power struggles for hundreds of years. According to the BBC, one of the first invasions dates back to 328 BC when Alexander the Great invaded the land and introduced a Hellenistic state. In the centuries to follow, the Scythians, White Huns, and Turks also invaded the region. Arabs entered the territory of present-day Afghanistan and introduced Islam in AD 624—a very influential part of Afghanistan’s history in the years to come.

The U.S. Department of State reports that British forces invaded Afghanistan in 1838 and instigated the first Anglo-Afghan war. Afghanistan’s ruler, King Shah Shujah was assassinated in 1842. At the time, British troops were massacred during their retreat from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. In 1878, the struggle between Britain and Afghanistan continued, and the second Anglo-Afghan war continued until 1880. During this time, a treaty was signed that allowed Britain to gain control of Afghan foreign affairs. In 1919, Emir Amunallah Khan declared Afghanistan’s independence from British influence. Following the introduction of Zahir Shah as king in 1933, Afghanistan remained a monarchy for the next forty years.

In 1953, General Mohammed Daud became Prime Minister and turned to the Soviet Union for financial support as well as military assistance. Daud introduced many social reforms in Afghanistan, such as the practice of banning women from being seen in public. These reforms changed the way women were perceived in Afghan society and gave women rights they were never able to enjoy before. According to the U.S. Department of State, Mohammed Daud was forced to resign as Prime Minister in 1963. Constitutional monarchy was introduced the following year, leading to political opposition and intense power struggles. The U.S. Department of State indicates that in 1973, Mohammed Daud seized power and declared a republic in Afghanistan, forcing King Zahir Shah, out of power. In 1978, Mohammed Daud was overthrown and killed by his opposition, instigating an armed revolt that rippled throughout the country.

In 1979, the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, introducing and supporting a communist government. Contrary to the Western views on communism, this system offered the people of Afghanistan—particularly the women—more rights, freedoms, and opportunities than they had ever been given previously. Backed by the Soviets, Babrak Karmal became the new ruler in 1980. Resistance intensified as various Mujahideen groups fought against Soviet forces. The Mujahideen are known as the “freedom fighters” of Islam. These groups believe that they are experiencing Jihad, or a struggle in the path of God. By fighting against the repressive government of Afghanistan, the Mujahideen believe they are fulfilling their religious duty to fight for their freedom.

As noted by the U.S. Department of State, Mujahideen groups came together in Pakistan in 1985, and formed an alliance to fight against the Soviet forces in Afghanistan. At this time, about half of the Afghan population was estimated to be displaced by the war, with many citizens fleeing to neighboring countries such as Pakistan and Iran to escape the hardship that rocked the country and its people. In 1986, the United States began supplying the Mujahideen with money and stinger missiles, and Babrak Karmal was replaced by Mohammad Najibullah as the leader of the Soviet-supported communist government. In 1988, the United States, Afghanistan, USSR, and Pakistan signed a peace treaty, leading the Soviet Union to pull their troops out of Afghanistan and by 1989, the Soviet troops were fully withdrawn. However, a civil war continued as Mujahideen groups pushed to overthrow Mohammad Najibullah and his communist regime, which was overpowered by the Mujahideen in 1992.

In 1996, the Taliban—an Islamist militant and political cult—seized control of Kabul and introduced a newer, harder version of Islam, banning women from the workplace and instilling harsh Islamic punishments, which included amputations and stoning people to death. By 1997, the Taliban was recognized as legitimate rulers by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, as noted by the Department of State. At this time, the Taliban was gaining power and was estimated to have control of about two-thirds of Afghanistan.

In 1998, the United States launched missile strikes at suspected bases of Osama bin Laden, the founder of the Islamist militant group Al Qaeda, who was accused of bombing U.S. embassies in Africa. In 1999, the U.N. established an air embargo in an attempt to force Afghanistan to hand over Osama bin Laden for trial. In 2001, Ahmad Shah Masood, the leader of the main opposition to the Taliban, was assassinated, adding fuel to the conflict and sparking a series of further attacks between Afghanistan and the United States in the years to come.



Works Cited
“Afghanistan Background Notes.” U.S. Department of State, 2011. Web. 28 Nov 2011.


“Afghanistan Profile.” News: South Asia. BBC, 2011. Web. 28 Nov 2011.

Meaningful Messages in "Men in the Sun," by Cassandra Roberts

“Men in the Sun” has some predominant themes, which Kanafani uses to transmit a number of moral messages to the reader. One theme is community. Abu Qais, Assad, and Marwan unify, learning to trust each other and work together in order to accomplish their dangerous journey. Although they are of different generations, they have a common goal: to get to Kuwait to earn some money to support themselves and/or their family. We learn from this that it is better to work as a team in the same direction instead of against each other in order to make decisions, and to support each other during harsh, challenging times.

Another important theme is opportunity. The characters seek opportunities in Kuwait, which is the land of promise and hope. Iraq is unstable and tense, and it is very difficult to earn money for food. The desperate need for a new opportunity is what leads the men to take drastic measures and decide to be smuggled into Kuwait. Kanafani tries to teach us that sometimes life presents us with tempting opportunities, but some can be too extreme.

A further theme is greed. All Abul Khaizuran wants is money as he feels it is the only way for him to be content in life because he has gone through tough, traumatic experiences. He knows he will not get married, so he tries to find fulfillment and happiness in money instead of in love. He cannot seem to make enough money lawfully, so he decides to smuggle refugees into Kuwait. This greed for wealth leads to the tragic death of three innocent men. Abul even says, “Money comes first, and then morals” in one point of the novella.

The last major theme is ‘the road.’ It represents the journey that will allegedly lead the men to their dreams. They are desperate to transform their lives and the road offers them this chance. The road is broad and traveled, yet at times narrow and risky, and it presents adventure, a new experience and prospect. The road is something that we confront every day; we make decisions and choose certain paths, which may lead us to accomplishing a dream, or may be the wrong one and have negative consequences.

The Causes of the Arab Spring, by Julia Edwards

The causes leading up to the Arab Spring are multiple but not particularly unusual. Police brutality, unreasonable laws, lack of freedom, and censorship are all similar problems that occurred in Naguib Mahfouz's novel Palace Walk. In both cases, the citizens of Egypt partook in protests and demonstrations to voice their complaints. The different between the situation in Palace Walk and the one of Arab Spring is that the citizens in Palace Walk protested against the British occupation while the demonstrations of Arab Spring protested the Egyptian government.

Police brutality was a major issue that the citizens of Egypt protested during Arab Spring. The police used various forms of torture, including harassment and tear gas, to get information or confessions out of people. During the demonstrations of Arab Spring, the police brutality continued in an attempt to keep the citizens “under control” (“Arab Spring”). This type of police brutality was exactly what happened in Palace Walk. When Fahmy and his fellow students protested in the streets, British police began shooting at the protesters no matter if the protesters were violent or not. While there were not clear examples of police torturing citizens for information in Palace Walk, there were forms of torture for no apparent reason. For example, Ahmad was forced by the British police to fill in hole with dirt all night. In Palace Walk and during the Arab Spring, Egyptians experienced police brutality because of the oppression of the citizens by the government in power.

Another complaint of the citizens during the Arab Spring was Emergency Law. Emergency Law was first instated in 1958. Under this law the police had a lot power as was evident in their forms of torture. Also, the citizens had fewer rights and more censorship. The state and the police could arrest people for minor reasons and without trial (“Arab Spring”). Although Emergency Law was not in effect during Palace Walk, many of the same aspects of the law were. When Yasin was desirous and wished to go to see Zanuba, he refrained for fear of being caught out too late by the police. Similarly when he was walking in the street and a British police officer motioned to him, Yasin panicked, thinking that he was going to be taken away. Yasin’s fear shows how unreasonable laws similar to those of Emergency law oppressed the Egyptian people.

Before and during Arab Spring, the Egyptian government had a lot of control over the media in Egypt. The Egyptian government owns stock in three of the largest Arab newspapers, which gives it a lot of influence in what is published. The government also controls the licensing and the distribution of all papers. The government is allowed to censor anything that is considered a threat to the country or the people. Writers who did not comply with accepted material were subject to home-raids, torture, or even imprisonment (“Arab Spring”). This same censorship can be found in Palace Walk. The handbills that Fahmy and other students were handing out were illegal, and if the police found them, the students would be arrested. In Palace Walk, the British tried to censor what was written to limit knowledge of the repression. The same situation happened during the demonstrations of Arab Spring but under the oppressive Egyptian government.


Works Cited
“Arab Spring” Sourcewatch. Sourcewatch.org. Web 19 Oct. 2011
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. Eds. William Maynard Hutchins et al. New York: Doubleday, 1956.

Arab Regions, by Robert Peck

The regions of the Arab World may be close together on the landscape but several of the countries could not be more different. Between the languages spoken, the literacy rate, the problems within the confines of the borders down to the meaning of their flags, there is a reason why these countries have fought for independence throughout the course of history. The majority of the countries in the Middle East have a past history filled with bloodshed and struggle for independence and most of these countries escaped the rule of a more powerful overseeing country in an attempt to leave their own mark on the world. The purpose of this entry is to layout basic facts about a few of the major countries of the Arab World.

The country of Jordan utilizes a political monarchy with a parliamentary system, but as of December of 2011, there has been much unrest in Jordan as there has been with the rest of the Middle East. However, in response to the demonstrations King Abdallah replaced his prime minister and formed two commissions in order to reform the political parties and the electoral process of Jordan. The religion in the country is officially recognized as Sunni Muslim with a small Christian minority presence as well. The literacy rate of Jordan is strikingly high compared to other countries where peoples over the age of 15 who can read and write are at about 90% of all those included with a 95% literacy rate in men and just an 84% rate in women. The flag of Jordan is made up of three stripes colored black, white and green with a 7 pointed white star in the middle. The three colors represent the first three caliphates of the history of Jordan, the original three that ruled over the land in the early stages of the country’s existence.

The land of Egypt has become perhaps the most notable country in the Arab World due to the unrest throughout 2011, and with the resignation of President Mubarak, the defense minister Muhammad Hussein Tantawi assumed control of the government as a member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Much like the Jordanian flag, Egypt’s flag contains stripes of black and white but rather than representing the original Muslim caliphates, the black and white of Egypt’s flag represent oppression represented by black and a bright future with the white. Sitting on top of the black and white stripes is a red stripe representing the bloody struggle to attain independence.

The Sudan is one of the poorer countries of the Arab World. It is a country dominated by Sunni Muslims with a Christian minority. With only a 61% literacy rate among the population and just a 50% literacy rate among women, the Sudan ranks among the lowest of Arab World nations. In fact, according the CIA World Fact book: “Sudanese women and girls are subjected to domestic servitude in Middle Eastern countries (…) and to forced sex trafficking in European countries.” The children are transported to Saudi Arabia through Yemen where they are forced to beg and vend in the streets.

Many of the flags of Arab Nations have some type of ties to conflict or to the Muslim religion. As in the green flag of the birthplace of the Muslim religion, Saudi Arabia, the green in the Kuwait flag represents fertile land while the red, white and black of the Kuwaiti flag represent blood on their swords, purity and defeat of the enemy, respectively, which is similar to the Egyptian flag but very different at the same time. The small nuances in just the flags of these very similar nations speak for the independence and the passion of that independence that these countries feel and they pride they take in their people.

Works Cited
"CIA - The World Factbook." Welcome to the CIA Web Site — Central Intelligence Agency. 22 Dec. 2012. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. .

Arabic Dialects, by Alison Priebe

The Arabic language is spread over a large area in the Middle East and Africa; because of this, the language comprises many different dialects in each country and within each country. E. T. Rogers writes in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, “The language is so rich in itself, that it can well afford to be broken up and to supply the foundation of several dialects, each correct in itself” (365). These dialects do not simply differ between countries; there are also many sub-dialects within dialects, which differ because of factors such as the region, setting (city, rural, or Bedouin), economic class, and social class.

Although these dialects are spoken, they are not written. The only way to tell between the regional forms of Arabic in writing is the lexicon. Many Arabic words are used specifically in one dialect and not another. E.T. Rogers writes that the word for what in Egyptian is ay, in Northern Syrian is aish, and in Palestinian is shû (369). Since Arabic has so many dialects, it can be difficult for someone learning Arabic and who has not been around the Arabic language to understand the various dialects. Word differences are not the only major difference.

The sounds in Arabic are also said differently in many dialects. One major dialectal difference that E.T. Rogers points out is the pronunciation of ; the Egyptians pronounce it as a hard g, as in gauge, the Syrians pronounce it as a softer g, as in George, some people in the Damascus area pronounce it as a z, and some people in the Lebanon area pronounce it like the French g in the name Gigi. With all the differences in simply one Arabic letter, it is necessary for Arabic speakers to hear speakers from other areas in their youth to be able to understand the various dialects. Rogers states, “Words in common use in Morocco which are unintelligible to the uneducated in Syria” (365). The same is possible for the differing of sounds in Arabic Dialects.

Since there are so many lexical and phonetic differences in Arabic dialects, there must also be a dialect that people everywhere are able to understand. A generalized and standard dialect is sweeping the Arab world so that people educated in this dialect can all understand each other. In The Modern Language Journal, T.B. Irving writes, “This general version of Standard Arabic or Fushà is understood and used by educated Arabs from Morocco to 'Uman, and its use is increasing as the Arabs regain control of their educational, information and broadcasting systems” (313). The Arabic language is vast, old, complex, and teeming with many dialects, each correct on their own and each deserving to be heard by all.

Plight of the Palestinians, Part III, by Ashley Singer

Many Palestinians fled the country, and those who stayed were under Israeli occupation. Those who fled went to Jordan, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Syria, and other Arab countries. However, many of the Palestinians were not welcomed into their brother countries and became refugees. By the end of 2010, the number of Palestinian refugees on United Nations Relief and Works Agency rolls raised to nearly five million, several times the number that left Palestine in 1948.

In just the past three years, the number grew by eight percent. Today, forty-two percent of the refugees live in the territories; if you ask those living in Jordan, eighty percent of the Palestinians currently live in “Palestine” (Bard). UNRWA stands for United Nations Relief and Works Agency. They provide assistance for nearly 5 million registered Palestine refugees. The largest concentration of Palestine refugees is in Jordan, representing more than 40% of those refugees registered with UNRWA (Palestinian Refugees).

To this day there remains a large number of refugees, and there is still great tension between the Arabs and the Jews and the fight over Israel. There is the inevitably destabilizing effect of trying to maintain an ethnically preferential state, particularly when it is largely of foreign origin (Qumsiyeh). Another issue is that Palestinians have little control of their own lives. Many of the refugees living in the refugee camps are subject to torture and abuse by the Israeli’s who run the camps.

The book Wild Thorns, by Sahar Khalifeh, is based on the Six-Day war and the life of the Palestinians in 1967. The main character in the story, Usama, returns to his homeland in the West Bank from Amman. Usama is a Palestinian and upon returning home he immediately can see the change that occurred within his country, his own people, and is angered by being under Israeli occupation. He doesn’t understand why his friends and family are not fighting for their country and instead dealing with the new living conditions. His Palestinian friends do not like doing so anymore than Usama, but it is all they can do to feed their families. The book also depicts to the reader how badly the Israelis treat the Arabs living in their own country.


Works Cited
Bard, Mitchell. “The Palestinian Refugees.” Jewish Virtual Library-Homepage. Web.
10 Nov. 2011. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/refugees.html.

“Key Historical Events.” Plight of the Palestinians. World Wide Web Domination, 2010.
Web. 27 Nov. 2011. http://palestinian-plight.com/history.html.

“Palestinian Refugees Issue since 1948.” Palestinehistory.com. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.
http://www.palestinehistory.com/pdf/issues/refugees.pdf.

Qumsiyeh, Mazin. “Palestinian Refugees Right to Return and Repatriation.” If
Americans Knew—What Every American Needs to Know about Israel.
Web. 10 Nov. 2011. http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/ref-qumsiyeh.html.

“The Truth about the Palestinian People.” Target of Opportunity-Eliminating the
Planet of Liberals One at a Time. Web. 10 Nov. 2011.
http://www.targetofopportunity.com/palestinian _truth.html.

United States Holocaust Museum. “The Holocaust.” Holocaust Encyclopedia.
27 Nov. 2011. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/?ModuleId=10005143.

Plight of the Palestinian People: Part I, by Alice Scott

The Holocaust was one reason behind the plight of the Palestinian people. The Holocaust began in 1933 when Hitler was the dictator of Germany. He had the belief that Germans were “superior” to the Jews and many others. However, Hitler didn’t realize that there were over nine million Jewish people in Europe. “By 1945, the Germans and their collaborators killed nearly two out of every three European Jews as part of the Final Solution.” The Holocaust officially ended in 1957, when the last camp was closed. During the Holocaust, Hitler’s “Final Solution” pushed the Jewish people to flee to different parts of the world in order to keep their lives. One place they fled was to Palestine. In 1947, tensions were already growing between the Jews and Arabs (Palestine History).

The Jewish people owned six percent of the land in Palestine (United States HMM). The Palestinian people didn’t agree with the number of Jewish people increasing in their territory which led to an uprising. The British Government announces its plans to withdraw from Palestine on the 15th of May, 1948 (Palestine History). In 1947 Great Britain, which originally was in charge of Palestine, “handed the problem over to the United Nations for resolution” (“Key Historical Events”).

The official plight began in 1948. In order to make things easier, the United Nation Resolution 181 partitioned the territory from the British Mandate for Palestine into two states. However, the Arab countries were very stubborn and objected it and fought a war against the idea of the two states. The United Nations partition resolution was divided between Israel and Jordan. Unfortunately, the Palestinian Arabs were rejected by other Arab countries, with the exception of the small percentage that ended up in the refugee camps in Jordan. Those refugees are still there, till this day (“Truth about Palestinian People”).

A contradiction was also made throughout all of this chaos. In 1948 the Arab refugees were encouraged, by the Arab leaders, to leave Israel and to purge the land of Jews. Sixty-eight percent left without seeing a single Israeli soldier. However, Israel’s Proclamation of Independence, issued May 14, 1948, also invited the Palestinians to remain in their homes and become equal citizens in the new state (Bard).

In 1949 Israel offered to allow families, which were separated during the war, to return. They agreed to release refugee accounts that had been frozen and repatriate 100,000 refugees. Israel had offered to pay compensation for abandoned lands. The Arabs firmly rejected all the Israeli compromises (Bard). In 1967, Israel took over the last of the Palestinian territory. The last lands, that were Palestine territory, were Jordan, Egypt, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and three others. Because of Israel’s decision to take the remaining territory, another migration of half a million Palestinians took place. The United Nations Security Council then spoke to Israel about withdrawing from the territories it had taken over. On October 6, 1973, a three week war began between Syria, Egypt, and Israel to get back the land that Israel had taken (“Key Historical Events”).


Works Cited
Bard, Mitchell. "The Palestinian Refugees." Jewish Virtual Library- Homepage. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/refugees.html.

"Key Historical Events." Plight of the Palestinians. World Wide Web Domination, 2010. Web. 27 Nov 2011.

"The Truth about the Palestinian People." Target of Opportunity – Eliminating the Planet of Liberals One at a Time. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. http://www.targetofopportunity.com/palestinian_truth.htm.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “The Holocaust.” Holocaust Encyclopedia.http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/?ModuleId=10005143. Accessed on 27 November 2011

Shashaa, Esam, ed. “Palestine History.” Web. 15 Dec. 2011.