LAND OF MYSTERY

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 36, 10 August 1918, Page 10

LAND OF MYSTERY

AFGHANISTAN AND THE

WAR

A NATIVE'S EXPLANATION

FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH

ENGLAND.

In the new conception of the "Drang naeh Osten," to use the German phrase describing the enoiny's desire to stretch eastward to India, Afghanistan is an important element. The folio-wing interesting: statement, written by Ikbal Ali Shah, from Kabul, and published in the San Francisco Chronicle, explains something oJ the attitude of the country towards the war and the belligerents:—ln normal times Afghanistan is apt to be a land of mystery to the outside world, and there has been little attempt, to withdraw the veil during the war.' A single Government statement has disclosed the fact that a German mission had made its way into the country, and had experienced considerable difficulty in finding its way out again. For the rest-, the' Afghans have contrived to maintain the secrecy regarding their internal affairs which is second- nature to them, and which springs from the troubled conditions that have- characterised Afghanistan in the past. It would be a mistake to attribute the secretiveness of the Afghan entirely to an inherited frame of mind; ratfier has it to be attributed to the fact that over a long period of history the people have either been at war with, one or other of their neighbours, or among themselves. In each case there was good,reason for .preventing news from leaking beyond the borders. Thus staunch secrecy has come to ba associated in the public mind directly with national integrity; and from this"'habit it has gradually permeated' every phase of life, until it has come to be practised and gloried in by the remotest of the Ameer's subjects. Afghanistan is- a buffer state, and consequently its position in the political development of Central Asia is a prccario;is_ one. As it is sandwiched between independent kingdoms which are not strangers tt> territorial expansion, its ruler has been obliged to exercise extreme care in regard to his diplomatic relations.

Prior, to the peaceful reign of the illus t-rious Ameer Abdur Rahman, Anglo-Af-ghan relations rested on a very slender thread, nor were the Afghans specially friendly with the Russians.

THE TREATY' WITH ENGLAND. The saying of Ameer Slmir Ali, "Friendship with the Feringhees is writfen on ice," may be cited in this connection as typical of tlio attitude of Afghans toward foreigners. The father of the present Ameer, however, introduced friendly relationships with the British Government, and this was cemented by Ameer Habibullah Khan in the treaty of 1905. The British ijovernmeiit a» knowledged.the Ameer as an independent ruler, addressing him. as His Majesty, and giving him full facilities in the matter of the importation of a.vms from British-India, .as well as providing him with a subsidy of 600.000 dollars annually. The Ameer agreed to have no diplomatic relations with any other country than Great Britain.

In any consideration of Afghanistan it is necessary to bear in mind that the counti-j must nut be judged purely by Western standards.

Public opinion is of modern growth, and may be said to have been recognised only since the reign of Ameer Abdur Rahman; but while considerable latitude is allowed in the discussion of mattens of State, that opinion is, as a matter of fact, controlled in a great me&suro by the voice of the Ameer. Political questions are certainly debated in open durbars, at which the members present ar* allowed their free say, but "limitations are recognised. J?ot that the opinions of individual Afghans count as nil. Perhaps the correct way to describe tho situation would be to . state that, while whatever the Ameer proposes is sure to be adopted, yet he liae to exercise greatdiscernment in embodying in his decisions the trend of popular opinion.

NO -DESIRE FOR WAR

In regard to the present conflict, it is certainly the case that the Ameer did not want war, and at the game time tho policy of neutrality was entirely in keeping with the public mind.

On the one hand, the fact that Great Britain and Russia, were allies had a moral effect on the attitude of Afghanistan^ In any case treaties between Afghanistan and Great Britain imposed neutrality.

But it is only right that the determining factor from the Afghan point of view should also be recorded. 'Xhe Afghans are essentially a lighting race, and they are also Moslems, and 'there .can hardly be any doubt that, if they considered the fzith of Islam threatened in some way, they would be sorely tempted to set aside all other considerations. No danger would be regarded as too great if they were given to understated that they were called upon to safeguard their faitii. It could probably bo shown that .throughout their history the constant fighting has been connected in one way or another with their religious zeal. Even in the case of internecine feuds, 'where* they have known that they were fighting against their own kith and kin, they have been prepared to fight to the last bscau6e each side hae held that those opposed to them have either not been acceptable to the strict canon of Islam, or have been liable to bring outsiders into their country.

To the Afghan, religion comes first and last, and regulates not only his internal affairs, bui ;Uso his diplomatic relations with other countries. In these circumstances it will be understood that at the outbreak of the war it wa.s a burning question in Afghanistan whether it wn6 or was not a religious war. Great Britain was fighting a-gainst the Turks, -who are Moslems, and there was, therefore, a priori evidence that a Jehadi was involved. But at a general meeting of. the TJlemas it was resolved that the war could not be regarded as a religious one, and that there- was no obligation on Afghanistan to uphold the ca-use-' of tho Central Powers.

Tho truth is, the Afghans remained quiet because they had a- very poor opinion of the religion of modern Turkey, the Turks being regarded as incUfferent Moslems, degenerate followers, of the Prophet, who no longer set store on fcha rigid essentials of their" faith. This attitude toward Turkey manifested itself in the Tureo-Italian war, when bands" of sympathisers set out from India with the intension of succouring in one way or another their co-religion-ists in Turkey. The Afghans, however, showed no such solicitude.

It is probable (hat at the beginning of tho present war some anxiety prevailed in India with regard to the Afghan attitude. Therefore it must be a.ll the more satisfactory that tho Ameer's decision should have been confirmed by the views of the whole people of Afghanistan after deliberate consideration of tho position from a religious and political point of view.

NOT FRIENDLY TO RUSSIA.

In tho past Russians have been anxious, in view of their commercial relations with tho country., to Obtain a, definite political link with Afghanistan.

But there is no reason to.suppose that the overtures have been reciprocated. There is, indeed, an incident recorded during tho reign of the present Ameer bearing on this subject, A Prussian commissioner arrived at Kabul with a view to negotiating an agreement with ■the Afghan Government.

The letter that he brought was read in open Durbar, and one of the- members rose and said : "Let this Turlri dog who carries messages for infidels bo beaten on the head with shoes till his hair falls off. That ought to bo our answer to the Russians." The speaker was taken severely to task by the Ameer, who replied that if there weTe to be any shoe beating it- would b© performed on the head of him who suggested it, and that a statement so derogatory to Afgßa-n prestige should never have been uttered. Even if the suggestion did not represent public opinion the episode reflects the freedom of speech that finds expression even before a monarch whose word is law. But the speaker, would not have said what he did if there had been any close friendship among the Afghans for people beyond the Osus.