So why is Afghanistan so important?
RoshaniyaQuote:
Roshaniya was a 16th century Sufi reformation/enlightenment movement which conspiracy theorists have been quick to liken to everything from being remnants of the Assassins to having influenced the creation of the Illuminati in Bavaria in the 18th century to the "New World Order" etc. etc. ad nauseam. The reality, as exemplified in Pir Roshan, and which made him so very popular with disparate Pushtun qaums, was that he spoke of liberating oneself from self inflicted ignorance and from the tyranny of the hereditary rulers/despots. Liberation of all humanity from the shackles of intolerance was his message and he inculcated the right for each human being to seek knowledge (to include women).
Because Pir Roshan failed in his mission, ever since, his message has been demonized/distorted by the powers that be who wished to retain the status quo. His ideas were congruent with the Enlightenment movement that followed in Europe. Thus, the predilection to somehow link his struggle with that of the Europeans (to include cult like entities), and even the American and French revolutions. His ideas did appear to make their way to the Universities of Europe but that was the extent of it.
Yet it seems that fascist type ideologies, and their adherents, have been determined to continue this false narrative to discredit Pir Roshan's call of liberty or death in the face of tyranny. He came up with the concept: All humans are created equal. And, thus were free to choose the path as they pleased. This in an era when most of humanity were slaves, serfs or indentured or lived in abject poverty.
"Roshan" means "light" in Dari and Pashto, the national Afghan languages. In Latin, "lux lucis" is light, forming a direct linguistic connection to Lucifer.
In 1907, Habibullah Khan, Amir of Afghanistan, was inducted into Masonry in Calcutta by the highest-ranking Freemasons in British India. In true Roshaniya tradition, he took the first three ordinary degrees all at once.
Afghanistan, a dustbowl of dirt-tracks and caves, therefore had importance to British Masonry far beyond its role as a trade route. The Amir knew this and so did his illustrious sponsors. This is why it remains important to this day.
The Second World War can be viewed as a fight between secret societies: the Thule Society (the Nazis) and the Freemasons. Similarly, the present wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are much richer in symbolism than is commonly recognised.
Currently Afghanistan produces an estimated 90% of Europe's heroin supply.
Quote:
Roshaniya movement
and the Khan
Rebellion
Yury V. Bosin
The Roshaniya, or “enlightened,” was a populist
nonsectarian movement that arose among Afghan
tribes in the mid-sixteenth century. Roshaniya
was founded by Bayazid Ansari, who challenged
inequality and social injustice practiced by the
ruling powers. The Roshaniya promulgated
egalitarian codes and tenets within Islam.
Born to an orthodox Muslim family, Ansari
educated and instructed Afghans’ religious
practices through a new radical teaching that
questioned basic Islamic canons and propagated
egalitarian and even communist principles.
Ostracized by his family, Ansari spent several
years wandering through the hills of Afghanistan
disseminating this egalitarian ideology. In the
ensuing years, Ansari’s teachings resonated
among the Afghan tribes of Afridi, Orakzai,
Khalil, Mohmand, and Bangash.
The ideology of egalitarianism broadly expanded
the power of Ansari, who became widely
known throughout Afghanistan as Pir-i Roshan
(apostle of light), and his growing followers
called themselves Roshaniya (enlightened). The
rapid expansion of the Roshaniya movement
alarmed Muslim clergy and the Moghul authorities.
This official opposition deepened as Ansari’s
influence expanded. He inveighed against the
Moghul empire and mobilized partisans for
armed struggle against the empire. Roshaniya
defeated the Moghul army in a series of engagements
in the mid- to late fifteenth century,
establishing control over key cities and regions
including Nangarhar, Ghazni, and Kabul.
Adherents of the sect gained control of the
Khyber Pass, which they blocked. While the
Moghuls eventually defeated the Roshaniya
movement militarily, pockets of resistance
continued through the seventeenth century. In
1638, with the killing of Karimdad, Ansari’s
grandson,
Quote:
Khushhal Khan’s Rebellion against
the Moghuls
Political and military instability continued to
fester into the 1600s under the leadership of
Khushhal Khan (1613–89), chief of the Khattak
tribe and ruler of the Akora principality, which
was a protectorate of the Great Moghuls’
empire. The Khattaks maintained strategic control
over the vital transportation network in the
Peshawar region and a high status in the Moghuls’
hierarchy. Their loyalty to the Moghuls was, however,
volatile and the tribal settlements around
Peshawar were always a source of turbulence.
Suspected in the anti-Moghul activity, Khushhal
Khan was arrested in 1664 and spent four years
incarcerated in a Moghul fortress. Upon his
release he began fervently rallying against the
Moghuls. Using his eloquence and poetic gifts,
he soon mobilized his tribesmen to start a
guerilla war against Moghul rule. By 1675 he
had more than 300,000 active supporters and won
a series of skirmishes against the Moghul army.
The Moghul emperor, Aurangzeb, pursued a
strategy of sticks and carrots to foment tribal feuds
and to split the rebellion. After some prominent
chiefs left the movement, it gradually ebbed.
Khushhal Khan died in 1689. His grandson
Afzal, who inherited the Akora throne, recognized
Moghul supremacy, although the Moghul
influence in Khattak territory shrank and was
merely nominal.
A prolific poet, Khushhal Khan is famous for
his contribution to Pashtu literature and is one
of the most revered figures in the Afghan cultural
heritage.