The Afghan Mujahideen and Mass Mobilization

Abstract

Afghan Mujahideen groups were the main political and military forces whose struggle resulted in the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. The formation of the Mujahideen groups inside the country caused a significant impact on the social, political, and cultural mobilization of Afghan people. Since these groups themselves were the result of the mass mobilization in the country, they also have ideological and organizational status. The organizational and ideological mobilization of Afghan Mujahideen groups is one of the least studied aspects of the civil war. The leaders of the Afghan Mujahideen groups came from different personal, family, linguistic, and ethnic directions. In principle they had much in common but in practice they were very different. In general, both the internal and external fronts of the Mujahideen were the result of the sociopolitical mobilization of the country. As Anthropologist Frederick Barth states: The Afghan Resistance differs from most resistance and liberation movements in other parts of the world in that it is not based on a shared political ideology. It is not a centrally organized movement, and it is not animated by a vision of a new reformed society. Its roots are deep in folk culture, and consist of three major components: 1) A clear and demanding conception of individual honor and self-respect as a necessary basis for personal identity and value. 2) A desire to live by one’s own local, highly diverse traditions and standards. 3) An Islamic conviction.1