By: Mohammed Al-Bashaq
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The Arab position toward #Afghanistan witnessed a radical shift between two historical periods that were similar in essence but different in their international context:
the Soviet occupation (1979–1989) and the American occupation (2001–2021).
In the first, Arabs—both officially and popularly—were actively involved in supporting Afghans as a Muslim people subjected to foreign occupation.
In the second, however, the majority of Arab states moved toward coldness, hostility, or silence regarding Afghanistan—sometimes even adopting the American narrative.
This shift reflects a profound change in the structure of Arab decision-making,
in the nature of the relationship with the West,
and in the definitions of concepts such as legitimacy, resistance, and security.
The Soviet occupation occurred at a time of rising Islamic sentiment in the Arab world, the clear binary of the Cold War between a communist East and a capitalist West, and weaker direct American dominance over Arab decision-making compared to the period after 1991. The Soviet intervention was viewed as a blatant assault on an independent Muslim state, which brought Arab public and official positions close to consensus.
Arab countries witnessed widespread donation campaigns in mosques and charitable institutions, and a religious and media discourse prevailed in support of the Afghan resistance, alongside significant public sympathy for Afghan refugees and their suffering.
Arab states provided political support to Afghanistan in international forums and contributed financial assistance through various channels, in addition to logistical and media facilitation within an international system opposed to the Soviet Union.
However, with the American occupation, the Arab stance shifted toward hostility or disengagement from Afghanistan.
The world had entered a fundamentally different phase characterized by near-absolute American dominance after the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of the “war on terror” discourse. In this climate, Arab decision-making became compelled to align with the American position and less independent than before.
Official Arab positions tended to support the American invasion or remain silent about it, and some countries participated directly or indirectly in the coalition while cutting or freezing any popular or charitable support for Afghanistan.
Some Arab media outlets even adopted the American narrative that described the military presence as “liberation,” linking Afghanistan with terrorism while almost completely sidelining discourse about occupation and civilian victims.
Undoubtedly, this shift cost Arab discourse much of its moral credibility on issues of occupation, entrenched a clear double standard in the concept of sovereignty, and contributed to the erosion of popular solidarity as a result of criminalization and intimidation.
