Next Project, maybe
The American magazine Moment asks a rather startling question: is the Taliban one of the ten lost tribes? visit www.momentmag.com and click on April 2007 issue.
Now in the ivory towers, such a topic could be debated for decades without ever coming to a conclusive answer.
One of the joys of fiction is bypassing all that tedium. So, I merely assert that yes, it is now the future; and yes, it has now been proven by these very same authorities.
To clarify, by no means are all Pathans (or Pashtuns if you prefer), Taliban. Yet the vast majority of Taliban members are Pathans.
So, what sort of fallout happens from a contradiction of this order?
The Muslim world convulses. Moderates are overcome with relief that the one bad example is not really one of them. Those who had previously publicly supported the Taliban face an existentential dilemna.
Afghanistan itself faces an existential crisis. That is, even prior to this knowledge, ethnic fault lines were there for all the world to see. With this increased contradiction, the only remaining question is: peaceful separation or civil war? I really hope it's the former.
Now the Canadian Prime Minister himself ends up with a lot of egg on his face. After all, who exactly were Canadian soldiers shooting?
Israel feels the pinch and right now. GNP per capita in Israel is far higher, so expect a lot of takers on the Law of Return. Burqas in the street. Once the inital shock fades, a likely alliance between the newcomers and Haredim (ultraOrthodox). The wild card is of course Afghan women, with the ethos of being the roughest toughest women on Planet Earth. Give each of them a real vote and a job paying 4,000 shekels monthly and it would be something to see.
So, where do I come in? Anyone familiar with this blog knows my main characters tend to be outcasts, or at very least, people facing a lot of contradiction. This could provide an interesting pool of fictional characters. Or not.
Now in the ivory towers, such a topic could be debated for decades without ever coming to a conclusive answer.
One of the joys of fiction is bypassing all that tedium. So, I merely assert that yes, it is now the future; and yes, it has now been proven by these very same authorities.
To clarify, by no means are all Pathans (or Pashtuns if you prefer), Taliban. Yet the vast majority of Taliban members are Pathans.
So, what sort of fallout happens from a contradiction of this order?
The Muslim world convulses. Moderates are overcome with relief that the one bad example is not really one of them. Those who had previously publicly supported the Taliban face an existentential dilemna.
Afghanistan itself faces an existential crisis. That is, even prior to this knowledge, ethnic fault lines were there for all the world to see. With this increased contradiction, the only remaining question is: peaceful separation or civil war? I really hope it's the former.
Now the Canadian Prime Minister himself ends up with a lot of egg on his face. After all, who exactly were Canadian soldiers shooting?
Israel feels the pinch and right now. GNP per capita in Israel is far higher, so expect a lot of takers on the Law of Return. Burqas in the street. Once the inital shock fades, a likely alliance between the newcomers and Haredim (ultraOrthodox). The wild card is of course Afghan women, with the ethos of being the roughest toughest women on Planet Earth. Give each of them a real vote and a job paying 4,000 shekels monthly and it would be something to see.
So, where do I come in? Anyone familiar with this blog knows my main characters tend to be outcasts, or at very least, people facing a lot of contradiction. This could provide an interesting pool of fictional characters. Or not.
posted by afghangirlscifi @ 10:32 AM
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