With sermons often decrying U.S., Afghan clerics wage political battle

KABUL - For the U.S. government, and for the 100,000 Americantroops fighting in Afghanistan, the messages delivered last Fridaycould hardly have been worse.

Under the weathered blue dome of Kabul's largest mosque, adistinguished preacher, Enayatullah Balegh, pledged support for "anyplan that can defeat" foreign military forces in Afghanistan,denouncing what he called "the political power of these children ofJews."

Across town, a firebrand imam named Habibullah was even moreblunt.

"Let these jackals leave this country," the preacher, who usesonly one name, declared of foreign troops. "Let these brothers ofmonkeys, gorillas and pigs leave this country. The people ofAfghanistan should determine their own fate."

Every Friday, Afghan clerics wade into the politics of their war-torn country, delivering half-hour sermons that blend Islamicteaching with often-harsh criticism of the U.S. presence. In acountry where many lack newspapers, television or Internet access,the mosque lectures represent a powerful forum for influencingopinion.

The raw frustration voiced in these sermons is periodicallyechoed by President Hamid Karzai in his somewhat more diplomaticcriticism of the West. Although cast in tones of prayer andcontemplation, the messages from the mosques pose a serious anddelicate problem for President Obama's counterinsurgency strategy:how to respect the sacredness of Islam without conceding thepropaganda war.

In Afghanistan's mosques, American troops are derided ascrusaders and occupiers. Officials with the U.S.-backed governmentare accused of corruption and deceit. Even in Kabul, the most moderncity in an impoverished country, imams regularly denounce Americantroops and label as stooges their Afghan partners.

With 7,100 publicly funded mosques and tens of thousands ofprivate mosques scattered in cities and villages, it is difficult togeneralize about the content of Friday sermons in Afghanistan.Nonetheless, a sampling of sermons in Kabul found that preachersoften depict developments here as anti-Islamic but also are carefulnot to veer into open support for either warring side.

Choosing sides in the war is dangerous for Afghans, and imams areno exception. Those who preach openly in support of the Taliban riskarrest or worse. Any pro-government or pro-coalition rhetoric,particularly in rural areas where the Taliban thrives, can warrant adeath sentence. In interviews, several Kabul mullahs insisted thatIslam is a religion of peace and said they strive to remain neutral.Honest mullahs, they said, have a responsibility to preach againstviolence and terrorism.

"My sermons are mainly focused on peace, reconciliation, mutualrespect and obeying the central government," said Abdul Rauf Nafi,the imam of the government-funded Herati mosque in Kabul. "In everyFriday sermon, I call on people and explain to them that, look, thisis a golden opportunity God has given us. Dozens of foreigncountries have a presence here, and they're all here to help us takesteps toward a prosperous future."

Because the Taliban is led by mullahs and seeks followers in partby casting itself as a defender of Islam, other religious leaders inAfghanistan must take the group's views into account. Several saidthat the Taliban's orthodox interpretation of Islam has flaws andthat its reliance on funding and support from Pakistan furtherdiscredits the organization. But their arguments against thepresence of foreign forces are more categorical.

"If you see a feeling of xenophobia these days, that'sunderstandable," Balegh, the preacher, who is also a professor ofIslamic law at Kabul University, said in an interview. "I don'tthink even a single Afghan is happy with the presence of the foreignmilitary forces here."

Mohammad Nabi Aman, the imam at the Kabul mosque where Baleghpreaches, said the U.S. Embassy has repeatedly invited him formeetings and Ramadan dinners. He said he has refused everyinvitation. "People don't like to see their imams and their leaderswaiting in front of the gates of foreigners," Aman said.

A sense of religious conflict also underlies the criticism. Thereason that the insurgency has grown so strong in recent years, saidAbdul Bashir Hafif, an imam at a private mosque in a wealthy Kabulneighborhood, is that "Americans are considered to be Christians andJews."

To harness the political power of imams, Afghanistan's Ministryof Hajj and Religious Affairs sends letters to mosques each weekwith suggested topics for sermons. Karzai's office has long paid theUlema Council - a collection of 3,000 mullahs - a monthly stipend inreturn for support for the government's agenda.

The United States has also sought to temper the mullahs'rhetoric. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul has spent millions of dollars tofly mullahs to the United States and other countries to meet Muslimsoutside Afghanistan in the hope of encouraging a more moderatestance. The U.S. military funds mosque refurbishment projects and ispartnering with the Afghan religious affairs ministry to facilitatebuilding an electronic database of mosques.

A senior U.S. military official said dozens of mosques in keyAfghan districts are used as "command-and-control nodes" for theTaliban, places where fighters can take refuge and stash weapons.

"The Taliban has used that network of mosques to extend theirmessage," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymityto freely discuss U.S. intelligence information. "Many, many mosquesare directly linked back to the madrassas [in Pakistan] andteachings of the Taliban."

On Feb. 3, Afghan intelligence agents said they had raided asmall mosque in a narrow, muddy lane in a Kabul slum. Inside theimam's bedroom, stashed in metal boxes, they found two dozen mines,which they said were intended to blow up Kabul's airport. Thedisruption of the alleged plot and the arrest of the imam, 23-year-old Abdul Rahman, was a small but significant victory for Afghanauthorities.

But by the next day, in his Friday sermon across town, an imamcast suspicion on the arrest.

"Who was he really working for?" Enayatullah Karimi said todozens gathered at the Ayub Khan Mina mosque. "The Jews andChristians are training some Islamic scholars. They have beards andwear turbans just like us."

"The Jews and Christians are our enemies," Karimi told the crowd."No doubt about it."

It was a comment by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) - calling forpermanent U.S. bases in Afghanistan - that set Habibullah, thefirebrand imam, off.

"There are some nut cases with pro-West and pro-infidel ideas whoare urging President Karzai to accept the Americans' offer," he saidlast Friday. "But no matter how well protected these people are inthe arms of foreigners, they should know that God will take revengeon them and turn their bones and flesh into dried spiderweb powder."

He grew increasingly agitated, at times shouting into themicrophone. The Afghans who support the U.S. troops, he said, "don'thave the patriotism of street animals."

"We brothers are Muslims and worship one God," he concluded. "Letus hug each other."

Two elderly men in the front row nodded in appreciation. "Godbless you," they told Habibullah. "God bless you."

partlowj@washpost.com