Quote Originally Posted by marct View Post
Such as Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Yemen? I think your view of Islam as a unifying force is somewhat inappropriate for Afghanistan. It is certainly a major factor, but it is not the single unifying symbolic force you appear to assume it is. If you want to talk about symbols of national unity, you would be better off discussing the Afghan monarchy.

Marc, perhaps you joined the discussion a bit late, but my suggestion was not to implement Islam as a symbol of national unity per se; but to utilize the only existing unifying vehicle. If the monarchy is a better vehicle, so be it, but I doubt that it has the transnational appeal that a virulent form of nationalism with the impramatur of the Islamic scholars would at this time.

My position is that Afghanistan lacks a national identity that most Afghans see as a cause worth sacrificing for - which may be mission essential in a COIN fight where ANA troops have to deploy, fight and die in other regions of the country. Islam at least holds the potential for operationalizing fatwas into a cogent nationalist theme. maybe.