Politics of Faith: the Role of Religious Leaders in the Afghan Conflict (past, present and future)

PRIO has the pleasure to invite you to a seminar with Muhammed Tariq Osman, who will give an insider’s perspective on the Afghan conflict and the role played by religious leaders in the past, their position today, and perhaps most importantly reflect on their potential future role.

Muhammed Tariq Osman is a researcher, development practitioner and activist with decades of experience from the ground in Afghanistan. He was a fighter against the USSR occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, worked in the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and after 2001 with the United Nations Assistant Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA). Besides his professional career, Tariq has a strong interest in the role of religion in Afghanistan and is well connected in Afghanistan’s religious milieu.

Drawing on his variegated background Tariq will undoubtedly provide an interesting analysis and alternative perspective on the situation in Afghanistan.

The seminar will be chaired by Kaja Borchgrevink.

Please register with seminar@prio.no if you want to take part in this seminar.

Mohammad Osman Tariq is currently working as governance advisor with the Asia Foundation Afghanistan. He holds and MA in Governance and Development from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, UK. Tariq has thirty years of experience serving first as a fighter (mujahid) against USSR occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, then with the Taliban government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then as a development worker. He worked as team leader for the project on Humanitarian Impact of UN Sanction on Afghanistan in 2000-2001. After 2001, he worked with the UNAMA to organize and reactivate tribal jirgas in Afghanistan’s Southeast region. Before studying in the UK he was working with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) as coordinator of the National Solidarity Program (NSP) and as a team leader in the Afghanistan Justice Project. He was elected member of both the Emergency Loy Jirga in 2002 and the Constitutional Loya Jirga in 2003. Tariq has participated as a speaker in numerous international conferences and meetings, and has diverse and extensive experience from consultancy work and research collaboration.  He is collaborating with PRIO in two research project on the transnational dimension of religious education in Afghanistan and refugee return and violence.