‘Serene and committed.’ This legendary Afghan educator’s legacy will burn brightly through generations · Global Voices
Dr. <PERSON>. Used with permission of the American University of Afghanistan.
A few weeks ago, on a bracingly cold day in Kabul, a horde of freshman students packed into a large auditorium for their orientation at Afghanistan’s leading private university, the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF).
“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome,” the emcee roared, clearing his throat, “Dr. <PERSON>, the founder of the American University of Afghanistan!”
Even as Dr. <PERSON> inched slowly towards the stage, betraying his physical frailty, he commanded the complete attention of the young audience.
When he spoke, it was in a voice that was measured and tender.
“Before beginning my speech, I would like to ask you a question. What is Academic Freedom?”
A deep silence engulfed the auditorium richly adorned with traditional hand-crafted wall hangings. Uncertain whispers rose and fell, allowing the pause to grow pregnant.
“Academic freedom,” Dr. <PERSON> continued, “is freedom of inquiry in an academic environment that you [students] should have the freedom to communicate ideas or facts without the fear of being targeted for repression. That you are free to express your opinion without fear from institutional censorship or discipline. That you are free to question your professor whenever you think otherwise.”
Dr. <PERSON>, a relentless educator, academic figure, and poet, who was the former Minister of Higher Education and founder of AUAF, was pronounced dead at 73 on February 8. He is survived by his wife and two children.
The news of Dr. <PERSON>'s death brought with it a wave of grief and mourning for a statesman whose contribution to the gains made in Afghan education since 2001 is probably impossible to overestimate.
A story of turbulence and triumph
Born in 1946, Dr. <PERSON> hailed from Seyoshan village in the western province of Herat. 361
After graduating from Avicenna High School in Kabul, Dr. <PERSON> received an MA in English Literature from the Northern Colorado University, and a Ph.D. in American and Comparative Literature from the University of Arizona in 1978.
His acclaimed doctoral dissertation epitomised his life's work bridging Eastern and Western cultures of learning. In it he demonstrated the influence of <PERSON>, a Persian poet of the 13th century, on the 19th century American writer <PERSON>.
In a 96-page memoir published in 2014 (An Undesirable Element: An Afghan Memoir) Dr. <PERSON> wrote about the turbulence of his return to Afghanistan following his studies abroad. Less than a year after he took up a teaching job at Kabul University, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, forcing him to join thousands of others fleeing to Iran.
Once there, his arrival coincided with the onset of the Islamic Revolution under the leadership of Grand Ayatollah <PERSON>. After five years of scrapping for survival, he gratefully an offer from his Arizona alma mater to serve as a visiting scholar.
During these most difficult times — the Afghan-Soviet war of the late 1980s, the Afghan civil war of the early 1990s, and the Taliban government in the 1990s — Dr. <PERSON> emerged as one of the most prominent voices of resistance among the Afghan diaspora. He authored hundreds of articles and advocated tirelessly for human rights in his homeland.
When the Taliban was unseated by a US-led invasion in 2001, Dr. <PERSON> became the new government's first Minister of Higher Education.
Reviled by conservatives and championed by progressives, he quickly went about overhauling an education system that had been reduced to a shell by decades of war and the extreme conservatism of the Taliban.
His reforms restored co-education to the country and saw six new universities established, including the flagship American University of Afghanistan (AUAF). Few politicians of the era can claim achievements comparable in scale.
A legacy to inspire
Following the tragic news of his passing politicians, scholars, activists, writers and students rushed to honour Dr. <PERSON> and his extraordinary legacy.
President <PERSON> described Dr. <PERSON> as “a brilliant professor, who played a significant role in enlightening the society and adorning the young generation of science and knowledge.”
AUAF President Dr. <PERSON> mourned the loss of “one of the university's greatest friends”, whose vision would “live on through one of his precious children, the American University of Afghanistan.”
Dr. <PERSON>, a close friend of Dr. 361