‘’The Ameer is Dead’’- A Brilliant Depiction of the Complexity of Afghan war dynamics
A Book Review by Siva Parameswaran – World News Editor, The African Gazette
Understanding the psyche and strategy of the Taliban and its cross-border support is not as easy as it may sound and extensive reading on them is a must to get a grip of their activities.
And, the dynamics of the Afghan politics and the Taliban is too complex to get a comprehensive understanding.
But a novel ‘’The Ameer is Dead’’ by London based senior Journalist Arif Shamim explains these dynamics from a divergent perspective and in a way only fiction can do justice to.
Enigmatic ‘Ameer’
The story is spun around an enigmatic Ameer or Emir (the ruler) who is targeted by a drone attack and his commanders trying to confirm his death through satellite phones – their only means of communications.
The novel starts with the preparations for a strike against the elusive ‘Ameer’ in Waziristan- North Western part of Pakistan bordering the North Eastern part of Afghanistan. ‘Ameer Nusrat’ is badly wounded and suspicions are raised across Pakistan-Afghanistan border about his fate.
A soldier with the Pakistan Intelligence agency tasked with intercepting messages from the Taliban controlled area seeks confirmation of the strike and if the Ameer is dead or alive.
And, through this setting Arif Shamim transports the readers into the heart of the war on terror – the wilderness of the Pakistan’s North West – a sort of an unmanned territory with a rugged mountainous landscape – Waziristan.
Arif Shamim tells the story of the intricate social fabric of Afghanistan and its neighbour through various male and female characters, which speak about the diverse tribal culture and their ideological mindset of taking revenge. He also highlights an important point about why jihadists from various parts of the world come to this region; the fear and confusion among them.
The author has not shied away from chiding the war hungry-machine gun hanging- unshaved and turbaned ‘fighters’ antipathy for women in general, while discussing war strategies in particular.
“Keep the women away. They should not be around when you discuss plans for submission to Allah. They weaken your resolve, ask too many questions and lure you; they are like a road that takes you away from Jannah with a signpost saying ‘Welcome to Hell’, Remember Huwa, how she ruined Adam’s life and the lives of our entire human race. We are here because of them and now God has given us the opportunity to go back to Heaven once again. Don’t let them spoil this opportunity again. Always keep them at bay”.
Jihadi mindset
The Jihadi mindset and Madrassa brainwashing has been brilliantly said in a few lines.
“What is the punishment for the infidels who disobey Allah and his prophet Mohammed?”
“Death”
Arif Shamim has deftly handled the art of story-telling through intimate letters between a man and his lady love of what’s happening on the ground and the ground realities of fighting a confused war.
Of course, the romance is no short of a breather in between killings and Kalashnikov’s, but it also highlights that no matter what people do, they are still human beings and no amount of hatred can deny it.
The novel speaks about the culture of impunity and barbarism with a thirst for blood among those whose only aim of life is to kill, kill and kill. While rumours continue about the ‘death’ of the ‘Ameer’, retribution talks surface too and the action plan for the revenge is finalised.
“Ameer Sahib has been martyred in a drone attack….The cowards have finally succeeded in finding a murtad among us who informed them about him”
“We must find the informer and kill him immediately”
“Don’t worry, we will hang him and his accomplices on the lamp posts and pump hundreds of bullets into their bodies, We definitely will”
Misguided sermons
The strong religious moorings and the urge for revenge is brilliantly told by Arif Shamim through a young Londoner – Asim who embarks on a journey from the comforts of the western world for sacrificing his life for the ‘divine duty – his purpose of life’. But Asim also realises that he was misled, the divine duty he was pursuing was in fact a lie, told by people who pursue their own agenda of hatred.
The author has not shied away from reiterating that Jihad remains the core concept and buzzword of the madrassa educated gun totting youth who fail to recognise the reality against the utopian concept of ‘Killing for religion is OK’.
Arif Shamim also comes out with a strong critique of the misguided sermons in some mosques where preaching about Jihad has become a regular feature. He clearly brings out the understanding and misunderstanding of the preachers of global politics and the dynamics involved with it.
Under the constant microscope of the intel agencies the mosques in London, in particular the Finsbury Park Mosque has long been accused of fuelling the culture of terrorism and through Asim the youngster, the writer brings out the dangers associated with such preaching and teachings.
Arif Shamim also tries to explain albeit in the simplest way possible through fiction, the entire dynamics of the region; the Soviet atrocities of radicalized people, how America used and disused Islamists who were recruited from all over the world to fight a holy war against the Soviet Union and how Pakistani spy agencies played their role in using them.
The novel is engrossing, brilliantly written and makes interesting read with graphic description of the rugged mountainous war terrain coupled with the power of the propaganda machinery, the inevitable drone in modern warfare. All these make it a must read for Taliban watchers.
“The Ameer is dead”? It is for the readers to decipher.
The novel is published by Romail House of Publications, Pakistan.
For online edition: https://www.juggernaut.in/books/ameer-dead-1.
You can order your hard copy directly by emailing at: arif.arifshamim@gmail.com
Siva Parameswaran – World News Editor of the African Gazette, is a senior international journalist with over three decades of experience in all forms of journalism across diverse subjects. He has travelled widely covering war, elections, sports among others. His writings and Radio/TV programmes have been kept as reference materials world wide including Columbia and Cambridge universities. He teaches journalism and trains civil servants on the use of social media.
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