Afghan officials have urged Arab and Muslim states to play a more active role in the country's affairs in an effort to offset corrupt perceptions of Islam in Afghanistan promoted under the Taliban's reign. Leaders of the war-torn country recently received an Egyptian delegation of politicians, religious leaders and journalists. During the meeting, Afghan leaders complained of the Muslim World's decreased contribution to the nation since the 1980s. In contrast, the international community, they contended, is playing a vital role in the country's economic and political development. “We are in a bad need for support from the Muslim World to confront the misconceptions created by Taliban," said Sima Samar, head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and former Vice President of Afghanistan. “Despite the great attention given by the international community to human rights of Afghanistan, none of the Muslim countries, including Egypt, show an interest in that issue," she added. In the same thread, Afghan vice president and chair of the National Unity Party, Mohamed Karim Khalili, said his country has received aid from Arab and Muslim countries recently but those states provided no help during the country's civil war. “We appreciate Al-Azhar's role over the past years, but it still has the greater responsibility of rallying Muslim powers around the world to explain the correct image of Islam through its delegates and graduates," Khalili said. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
