To live like Ahmad Shah Massoud and, if God pleases, to die like him, for the Motherland and people - this is a symbol of the faith of the current Afghan Resistance.
Author: Andrey Serenko, head of the Center for the Study of Afghan Politics (Russia)
22 years ago, Ahmad Shah Massoud became immortal.
If fate had decreed otherwise, he could have lived another 22 years, become some kind of minister in the government of Hamid Karzai, or even competed in the presidential elections with Ashraf Ghani.
He would have had to go through the temptation of easy American money, probably tempting business projects from Afghan drug lords, and withstand the temptation to build himself a luxurious mansion somewhere not far from the Arg Palace...
Ahmad Shah Massoud was deprived of all this.
The terrorists who blew it up on September 9, 2001, wanted to kill Massoud for sure and forever. However, they failed to do this - Ahmad Shah Massoud went into immortality, becoming a legend, a history, a bright star in the gloomy black sky of recent Afghan history.
Ahmad Shah Massoud will forever remain a symbol of the national pride of Afghanistan, and the readiness of its people to fight for dignity and freedom.
Now it is precisely such heroes and such legends that the Afghan people, shackled by the terrorist occupation of the Taliban, need.
Ahmad Shah Massoud was probably not an ideal person, with his own shortcomings, weaknesses, and prejudices. But with all this, he was an honest soldier and a wise politician - a rare combination in our time.
And, of course, he was an honest and wise Muslim, a Mujahid, a defender of Islam - the basis of Afghan identity, the Afghan soul.
Today Ahmad Shah Massoud is remembered by his friends and enemies. He was not forgotten and will never be forgotten by both.
The new Afghan Resistance, which rises from Panjshir, Baghlan, Takhar, and other parts of the country to defend the honor of the Motherland, writes the name of Massoud on its banners and compares its path with his bright, amazing life.
To live like Ahmad Shah Massoud and, if God pleases, to die like him, for the Motherland and people - this is a symbol of the faith of the current Afghan Resistance.
Ahmad Shah Massoud is the guiding light of Afghanistan. It has been shining for 22 years. For ages.
And forever.
