Prior to the 1978 coup in Afghanistan , Nasrullah Rahmat's (left) family business exported raisins to Europe and other markets. Members of the Rahmat family were scions of the Afghan clan known for producing business and political leaders. Late in 1979, Soviet armed forces invaded their country, and hundreds of thousands of Afghans, and especially entrepreneurs like the Rahmat family, fled Communist oppression for refuge in Pakistan. The family went on to establish several businesses in Pakistan, including a leather goods factory that employs hundreds of refugees. They also provide healthcare and schools for workers' children.

After hearing about the Rahmat family and their charitable works from John and Carole Soden (see Part one, "In nation rebuilding, it's one step at a time" in last week's issue), the Sentinel wanted to talk with one of the Rahmat brothers for an inside perspective on the challenges of rebuilding a whole country. Many Sentinel readers set aside time daily to pray for the world, and some have said that they value knowing about specific needs for their prayers. From Nasrullah Rahmat's comments you will get these specifics, but you'll also find a Muslim brother in prayer—one who fervently believes that spirituality and education are essential to Afghanistan's economic rebirth.

John Soden said that it was "something of a miracle that 400 Afghans were working together harmoniously in one place."

[Laughs]. Yes. The workers in our factory represent all different ethnic groups, all the different clans. That is one thing we always believed in. We believe, first of all, fundamentally, in humanity. We believe all mankind to be the same.

And when it comes to the factory, we are fortunate. We have all the groups with us, all the [ethnic groups] who are coming into Pakistan from the Afgan state. We take care of that. I greatly enjoy it. It gives you a feeling of satisfaction that you have been able to take care, not being narrow, not being small, but to think in bigger terms. Because when you label anything [as "of my clan" or "of my village"], it becomes small.

I had to escape when the Russians invaded Afghanistan, because everybody was in danger of being killed. It was the worst time for my country. So we had to start over as refugees in Pakistan.

In 1979 we started our factory [in Karachi]. We first made textile colors. And then we began processing dates. In 1981 we got an award as the biggest exporter of dates [from Pakistan].

Before 1978, we had been the leading exporters of raisins from Afghanistan. About three months ago, we started our raisin-exporting business again in Afghanistan, with our exports going to the USA, the UK, and to Germany. One of the best things we can do for our economy is to get the agriculture of Afghanistan back in business, to help grow foods, raisins and other fruits, to get our own products back into the economic system.

We started our leather factory in the year 1983. It's "vertical unit" whereby raw skins come in and the jackets and accessories are made in the same factory. We have trained 5,000 to 6,000 workers in our stitching unit. We now have the best stitching people from Kandahar in Afghanistan doing a great job here right in Karachi. Some of the best Afghan artisans are making jackets here.

The fundamental difficulty facing Afghanistan is—let me be very honest about it—this fragmentation due to many years of war. Afghan society basically is so much integrated. There was much integration [prior to the conflicts], yet with 23 years of war the country has been fragmented back into many regions. They have not been able to regain integration today because of the warlords that exist throughout the country, whose interest is to divide the people [to maintain personal control].

The child and the mother have been society's biggest casualties from 23 years of war—the illiteracy and [lack of] education. If the mother is uneducated, the child has a fundamental problem. We started the first clinics for women refugees in Peshawar. A lot of people needed a lot of help. That clinic is still running, and is taking care daily of between 250 and 300 patients. Now we've gone into Afghanistan with four more mother-and child-care clinics. And we are in the process of working out more clinics in the interior of Afghanistan, because that is where the major help is required.

My whole family was educated in India. We are lucky that we were all educated, including my sister. That has been my father's only aim in leaving Afghanistan—to see that he got education for his children. I think he had the [right] vision. In Karachi, where I live, [our family] ran five schools. One school had 900 students, another had 400. The total number that we have educated in Karachi is about 4,000 students. Our schools were absolutely for coeducation, for girls and boys, all coeducation. Now, because refugees are returning very few [children] are left; there is only one school. One million refugees are going back to Afghanistan.

My family and I believe that a very small effort—if it is really sincere—can really do miracles. You can make such a great change!

I never know what the future will bring. But one thing I know about: You have a very happy life if you spend your life doing something that serves society. I cannot tell where you will go, where you will live. But one thing I know. If you really help people in any way that you can, you will lead a happy life. It gives you satisfaction. If gives you something fundamentally better, to help other people develop. I hope we do that—do service for society.

Does your motivation come from within? From your religious beliefs, your study of the Koran?

Yes, yes! My belief is very simple, Warren. It is belief in the Almighty, and then, belief in mankind. And "belief in mankind" means that you only become better if you are better in your actions. You don't get better by words, but in fact by actions. And it is the inside that makes you better. Not what is outside.

I personally believe that only love makes you bigger. Because love is the biggest thing God has created. That is the most important thing in the whole universe, and it is the basis of all religion. The people who misinterpret religion are people who don't know that love is the basis of religion. If [religion] is not based on love—if anything is based on hatred—it is a misconception. It is wrong, a big mistake. Your religion should take you toward love, and love toward all humanity.

That reminds me of what the Jewish prophet, Malachi, said: "Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us?"

Absolutely. If you go to the prophet Moses—peace be upon him—and the prophet Jesus—peace be upon him—it [religion] is all the same, fundamentally. Everything is submission to God. All divisions are created for self-interest. If you really believe and you know God, you can never hurt anybody! Never. Nobody can do it! And if somebody does, he doesn't know [better].

I have the best of friends among Jews, the best of friends among Christians. I believe that we come from the same source. We all are one, actually. That's my belief. We agree on 99.99 percent. Disagreement is .01 percent. That's irrelevant! [Laughs heartily.] That's the truth.

My impression is that the leader of Afghanistan's interim government, Hamid Kharzi, shares your feelings.

I think so. Absolutely. I believe he has the same feeling, because I know him. I have known him for many years. He belongs to the same region where I come from. He's a wonderful man. And we pray he succeeds in his new job. We pray for all people to be free, and to see that the evil in any form, that it should not be there.

Do you see progress coming in the rule of law, rather than the rule of warlord or clan or personality?

It requires a lot of effort. First, if you're not educated, that's the first enemy. And the second enemy is man himself—his biggest enemy is greed, and the other things that he carries with him—his ego, his envy.

Afghanistan has a very good chance of coming through this time [united], especially given the foreign help. I see a lot of hope that things will improve; as the [rule of] law improves, the warlords will weaken. And it requires [that the warlords] be weakened, because they are not interested in the progress of the country. They have only their own very narrow interests. I personally feel that with the enrichment of the central government in Afghanistan, we will get stronger [beyond] the perimeter of Kabul, where we can change.

Afghanistan still has many problems that can't be solved in one day or in one year. It takes time. But people have started tolerating one another. The biggest thing in any society is tolerance. We have started moving slowly toward a free press—allowing people to criticize the wrong things, allowing people not to talk the language of the gun—to talk to each other, to try to solve problems through discussion.

The best thing that is happening in Afghanistan now is that a lot of people are interested in education. Thirty or forty years back, when people asked for education for their children, [the children] would not be allowed to go. The clergy was opposed to [academic] education. But now, people in the cities, in the towns, everybody, wants to be educated. That is a big change. And the impact will be very big in the coming years.

Now, the schools don't have enough space. Students are sitting on the ground. Everybody knows there are no tables, but they all go to school. This is a very positive sign for any country, when people have the enthusiasm to work for education. If you go to Afghanistan, of course you'll find a lot of problems. But this is a positive sign.

Do you also believe that Afghanistan can have a modern society but not leave behind its spiritual roots?

Yes. You have to get the best of both [elements in] societies, because spirituality will give you the peace, and the modern society gives you the progress. Both are necessary. The spiritual part is required, because that both complements and supplements. They're not against each other, fundamentally—if you take the best of education, the best of modern science, and then spirituality, you live a peaceful life. You learn to live in peace with the people around you. You become more tolerant.

The spiritual part should allow you to be more understanding of everything that others think. Education gives you more peace and better understanding of the world. The fundamental thing is what Jesus Christ—peace be upon him—said: "Do unto others as you expect others to do unto you."