It is clear that an absolute majority of Afghans do not want the Taliban and their political system; that is why the Taliban fear election. If there was any hope of people accepting this system, the Taliban would have already held an election. Nonetheless, people are unsure of what type of political system they want, surprisingly, lots of political figures also do not know exactly what type of system they want, which has led to general confusion about the future political system in Afghanistan.
A decade ago when Arab Spring led to the collapse of regimes in the region and paved the way for Islamists, conservatives, leftist and liberals to enter politics, the main question was: what type of political system they want? Do they want to merge the state and religion? Political figures who supported people clearly wanted the separation of state and religion, but also wanted to establish a modern state based on Islamic values. They were afraid of merging state and religion because theocracy means “a political system in which clergies and Mullahs rule under the name of God”. This type of political system has been tested over and over with disastrous results; so proposing such an infamous system was not supported by any political group either. Even figures like Youssef Qaradhawi, the Islamist political theorists of Islamic Brotherhood also emphasized that they do not want a pure Islamist State, but a modern state based on Islamic values. Nevertheless, the question is what does a modern state with Islamic values mean? Is it the discretionary supervision power of a council on the state like Iran’s Guardian Council? If materialized, what type of political system would that be?
In Afghanistan, the majority of political theorist and figures, at least in theory, are delusional about what type of political system they want, and voice contradicting views about the type of political system they prefer. On one hand, they do not want theocratic Taliban, and on the other, are unsure about a liberal/democratic system. It appears that they do not want a secular government, but oppose interference and supervision of government on people’s religious affairs as well. This contradiction and confusion in theory has led to confusion in action as well, because people do not know what political system they should stand for, and to what extent. So the need for a demystification of political concepts is imperative; this way we will lead ourselves as well as the public out of confusion, can set clear goals, and direct people’s struggles toward an attainable future. Lastly, the rest of the world will also know where we are headed and how to deal with us.