In praise of the shura

The West has much to learn from Afghanistan’s community courts

Kabul, Afghanistan

I was invited to take part in a shura this week. One of our masons had been hit around the head with an iron bar by a local mechanic. Shura describes a traditional Islamic approach towards sociopolitical organisation and comes from an Arabic word meaning ‘consultation’. An elderly alim (religious scholar) sat next to a younger mullah at the head of the room. The mullah’s name was Qari Abdul Ahad. He is a well-known local figure and happens to be the mason’s brother. I took my place beside the alim having greeted the other 15 reesh safedan (‘white-beards’) who sat cross-legged around the room. A senior Afghan engineer conducted the meeting from his knees in the middle of the room. The wounded mason sat meekly in the corner by the door, sporting a large dressing on the side of his head.