Divisive Books in Herat

An influx of Iranian books on religion into western Afghanistan has angered some local residents who see them as offensive to Sunni Islam, the majority faith.

Widespread suspicion of Tehran’s motives leads some Afghans to argue that Iran is deliberately sending over incendiary literature, especially to places like Herat whose population includes Shia as well as Sunni Muslims, in the hope of stoking sectarian conflict.

Wahid Ziaratjahi, a resident of the city of Herat, said he was outraged by books he had seen which he felt insulted Sunni beliefs.

“In one of these books published in Iran, the Second Caliph, Umar, is denigrated and the target of untruthful accusations,” he said. “In the Sunni faith, it is forbidden – blasphemous, even – to show disrespect for the companions of the Prophet Muhammed.”

Maulavi Mohammad Kababyani, deputy head of the Herat ulema, or council of religious scholars, condemned the dissemination of such books.

“Some of the books published in the name of religion would make your hair stand on end,” he said. “The ulema studies such books, identifies points of concern, and then alerts the public to them.”

He said the spread of divisive material had the potential to spark sectarian unrest.

“The ulema believes it has a duty to prevent them,” he said. “This is more serious than many other problems that we face on a daily basis. It could cause a bloodbath.”

Lying on the Iranian border, Herat has many cultural and economic connections with Shia-dominated Iran. The Iranians, with a prolific publishing industry, have supplied Afghan universities with books, opened cultural centres, and are said to have funded Herat’s main public library since it was set up in 2004.

Many Afghans remain highly suspicious of Tehran’s intentions, and are especially upset at the notion – right or wrong – that it is trying to export Shia ideas.

Mohammad Shafi Faruqi, owner of the Faruqi Bookstore in Herat, said he had been approached by people offering to supply him with provocative material from Iran, but he had turned them down as he had seen what this kind of literature it could do.

“I’ve witnessed physical as well as verbal confrontations between young people over the content of these books,” he said. “If things continue like this, these confrontations will escalate to a regional level.”

Walishah Bahra, director of the Herat provincial department for information and cultural affairs, said his staff had impounded thousands of books from both Iran and Pakistan on the grounds that they were against the national interest.

“These books were going to be distributed in Herat… their purpose was to create religious divisions among people,” he said.

Two years ago, officials in Nimroz province, south of Herat, seized hundreds of copies of Iranian books deemed to be anti-Islamic and anti-Afghan, and dumped them in the Helmand river.

Cultural affairs analyst Ahmad Farid Ayubi accused certain states of trying to make trouble in Afghanistan.

“Neighbouring countries are trying to stir up disputes by any possible means, and to exploit the situation,” he said. “They want to do anything they can so that the [NATO-led] foreign forces run into problems.”

IWPR asked the Iranian consulate in Herat to discuss the issues raised in this story, but an official – who did not want to be named – refused point blank to comment.

Ahmad Ali Jebraeli, an Islamic scholar who runs a Shia madrassa or religious school in Herat, was keen to play down divisions, suggesting that the offending literature might have come from Islamic radicals in Iran seeking to “create disunity between the Shia and Sunni brothers”.

Wahid Nawisa is an IWPR-trained reporter in Herat.