Men, our country is under sanctions from the world. Saddam's friends have sent him money, equipment, soldiers, and western whisky. But, you are here to defend our ancient country. Whether you like the regime or not, I could not give a damn. You must learn to take care of yourself. We do not have all of the post-modern equipment that Saddam has. God willing, after the war, we can begin to build. But, for now, you have to learn how to sense the presence of a human being in total darkness; you must learn how to distinguish the smell of a comrade from the smell of an enemy. With closed eyes, you must be able to sense the presence of a human who disturbs the equilibrium of your surroundings. You must feel and sense deeply, like Persian cats! Humans are careless intruders. As a professional soldier, you should always be able to sense out an intruder.
At first, we laughed at him, this giant of an instructor. Were we to be soldiers, or deer hunters? But, within six months, under intensive training, we learned how to make peace with nature, to become a part of it. We learned that Mother Nature, God's amazing creation, is intelligent, offers refuge, communicates to humans through odors, and sounds. She keeps some places dry and others humid, hides some elements and reveals others, shows wrath in natural disasters when humans take advantage of her excessively. We learned that bright is not necessarily clear, and that one can find clarity in darkness.
I am not, after all these years, a soldier any more. And, thankfully, I don't have to concern myself with sensing 'enemies'. But, I find that I am still able to feel the love and presence of a good friend with closed eyes.
Foad is a very special person. He has lived through and experienced many different phases of Afghani History: The Kingdom of Afghanistan, the Republic of Afghanistan, Communist Afghanistan, The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, Mojahedeen Afghanistan, Taliban Afghanistan, and Post-Taliban Afghanistan. Together, Foad and I have experienced revolution, civil war, imprisonment, harsh spiritual ups and d o w n s , and living in exile in E u r o p e and Asia. Foad and his family now live in Germany. He had come to Canada to visit his dear grand-uncle who was in hospital and to see what Canada is like.
For the first time in my life, I do not fear for the end of Afghanistan. You remember, my friend, those Taliban days, days filled with annihilation and ness. Some days, I feared that Afghanistan would simply be wiped from the of the earth. I have such good memories of our Kingdom and our Republic. Nothing could have prepared us for the arrival of our Satan, the Taliban. The Taliban suffocated our hope for peace, unity, democracy, and prosperity. We have supreme ideals for such things in our culture, in Sufism especially. But the Taliban destroyed our sense of peace, love, forgiveness, and freedom... especially for women. These ideals are now inspiring us to build a new and prosperous society, to reopen the dialogue between nations.
You want to say that your Lord Jesus is the perfect model of all of our ideals, the perfect human being that S u f i s m , in all of its wisdom, is l o o k i n g for. So I will tell you this: I fell in love with your Lord J e s u s when I read the New Testament that you gave to me. And now, seeing your Canadian soldiers in Kabul, I believe that they carry a piece of your Lord Jesus with them. They fill our streets, but they are civilized, gentle, and friendly. We do not see them as occupiers. My mother prays for these soldiers every day. She taught in school for 13 years and now lives in Kabul. You might remember, my friend, that my mother was here in Canada for three years. She loves this country. Canadians are free spirits, never try to change a person's name, appearance, or identity. They are blessed with lands, erals, water, and riches, Canada is a land in which many different people work and prosper together. In Canada, many different faiths get to know each other, come together to learn about one another. Canadians, my friend, are rich beyond measure. And now, they have come to Afghanistan to help us free our country of the Deev, the devil.
Yes, what your mother says is true. Living here, I see different peoples of many different faiths living in peace and friendship. The democratic and dynamic environment encourages people to talk, to build peaceful and constructive relationships.
I told Foad about a program that will shortly be held in Mono (sponsored by St. Mark's and St. John's Anglican Churches) titled: Faiths in Conversation: Three Progressive Voices in Today's World. Here, I told him, the voices of Islam, Judaism, and Roman Catholicism would come together in dialogue.
diers of Napoleon carried the ideals of the French tion to other countries. Today, Afghanistan is alive. Our women are safe, from the fear of abduction and violence. Afghani women have raised their voices to sound next to those of our men. Women can sing, laugh, and play the sitar. They can go to the university and watch television again. And, when women read the Gospel of the Lord Jesus, it is amazing, they believe that to earth first to liberate women! See, my friend, your Lord Jesus has place in the hearts of Eastern women. Are you happy now?!!
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