Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id SAA18852 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Wed, 28 Nov 2001 18:07:31 GMT From: "Lawrence DeBivort" <debivort@umd5.umd.edu> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Subject: RE: Field of Memes Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2001 13:04:11 -0500 Message-ID: <NEBBKOADILIOKGDJLPMAOEFOCIAA.debivort@umd5.umd.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2919.6600 In-reply-to: <CA8AA0A1-E41C-11D5-86B0-003065A0F24C@harvard.edu> Importance: Normal Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Hi Wade,
I don't mean to nitpick -- if one treats the Taliban as the tribe, other
critical political and social dynamics will be overlooked. The Taliban
leadership does not think of itself as a tribal one; it sees itself as a
fundamentalist pan-Islamic one, based in Afghanistan. The tribe to which
most Taliban belong is Pashtun, and they are equally divided between
Pakistan and Afghanistan. Trying not to oversimplify, these differences are
what have led Pakistan, the USA, and the Saudis into the difficulties they
now face. E.g., the Pakistani gov't tried to fit the Pashtun into a
fundamentalist Islamic identity, and overlooked the Pashtun primal desire
for independence from Pakistan and the 'northern' and 'western' parts of
Afghanistan, inhabited by Hazaris, Uzbeks and Tajiks. So sometimes the
Taliban leadership act like tribal Pastuns, and sometimes like
pan-Islamists. In neither case to they act on traditional tribal law
(Pastunwali) or Quranic law, which gets non-fundamentalist Pashtuns and
Muslims angry (and in my opinion, properly so) at them. If the Pakistanis
get it so wrong and they live next door, you can imagine how hard it is for
the US to understand the situation!
Well, this is probably more than anyone wanted to know about the Taliban....
Lawrence
> -----Original Message-----
> From: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk [mailto:fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk]On Behalf
> Of Wade Smith
> Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2001 11:27 AM
> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> Subject: Re: Field of Memes
>
>
> > Taliban is not a tribe;
>
> Well, hmm, that could be nitpicking. It is certainly a 'tribal
> ego' which is what Ted said.
>
> > But your point, IMO, is essentially correct: that tribalism is still
> > prevalent and well. The response of the American people to Sept
> > 11 might
> > also be seen as tribal.
>
> Yes, that was my point.
>
> - Wade
>
>
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This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
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For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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