Talks with the Taliban

How can I write about anything else other than the fact that I am currently sitting in my hotel room in Kabul, Afghanistan - rated the most dangerous country in the world (not true, story for another day).

What I imagine most people would find most interesting, as I did, was my interactions with the Taliban, or “T Bros” to avoid being flagged on social media.

The Taliban are the government - they are the group the US fought with for twenty years and were ultimately defeated by. They practice what some consider to be an extreme version of Islam - but if you ask them, they are the only ones following it the right way.

There are different kinds of Taliban - government workers or civil servants, or the one’s we’ve seen in the movies, the Mujahideen. The Muja are the warriors, and let me tell you something - they are often the most ferocious looking people I have ever seen.

I didn’t know this coming here, but learned upon arrival that because some content creators have made inappropriate content during their visits, the laws around filming have changed. Permits are required to interview people on the street, or film in crowded places. With or without a permit, no one is allowed to film Taliban members. That makes filming tricky, as they are everywhere. It’s also unfortunate because I would’ve liked to get their thoughts on camera… but they’re more conscious of PR than you’d imagine.

I was able to speak with one member off camera about a numbers of questions I had. This individual was a trustworthy, reasonable, open person, willing to speak with me about things I could never ask someone outside of the network. Trust is everything, and as you can imagine - the fact that Americans fought here for twenty years makes everyone a little skeptical of me (we’d be the same). Also, as with any country in the world - there are two kinds of people. Reasonable, open minded, tolerant… and emotional animals that can’t hear reason. I only speak with the former.

Some things we discussed:

1) The war - I was asked what I thought about the US invasion and occupation. I speak the truth - it was stupid, a waste of time, and not our place. We may not agree with how they live, but we aren’t the world’s policeman (we’ve thought we were, and always failed).

2) Visiting as an American - I asked how he felt about me visiting his country when people from my country have caused so much harm here. According to him, the Quran dictates that if anyone comes in peace, they are to be treated with respect. I came in peace, so I am treated well.

3) Islam - I asked about his perspective on other Islamic countries; whether they are following the Quran as they should. His opinion was that the only place on earth that is truly following it as it was intended is Afghanistan, and Palestine (we ended the subject there).

4) Conversion - we spoke about the subject of converting people to Islam. His perspective was that if people want to believe and learn, they will, but that they cannot be forced. He did encourage me to read the Quran and all the other Abrahamic books, to which I agreed that I would surely learn something.

There’s so much more to discuss, but I’m in a rush to get work done before heading out to dinner. Jet lag has been the worst of any trip I’ve taken, and I’ve had a cold, that’s only been made worse by the dry air.

More later - one love.

Sincerely,

Jacob

P.S. While I wouldn’t wear them every day, the Afghan clothing is excellent.