55 “I have. And my eyes have been opened. Now I have a vision, and I’m going to
share it with our new president… Hosseini, 38” Weirdly, he has an opinion that Hitler’s ideas and ways of thinking are brilliant. “…About Hitler. Now, there was
a leader. A great leader. A man with vision Hosseini, 37.” Therefore, he has a dream to do the same action as Hitler and Nazi have
done. “Too late for Hitler,” he said. “But not for us Hosseini, 38.” The action is doing massacre to an ethnic group whom they do not like.
“… We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here. His people pollute our homeland, our watan. They dirty our blood.” He
made a sweeping, grandiose gesture with his hands. “Afghanistan for Pasthuns, I say. That’s my vision Hosseini, 38.”
Hitler with his Nazi massacre Jews with a reason to purify German.
Meanwhile, in his adulthood, Assef with his Taliban massacre Hazaras with a reason to purify Afghanistan. “Afghanistan is the land of Pasthuns. It always has
been, always will be Hosseini, 38.” The explanations stated previously shows that Assef’s childhood
experience, including his habit or hobby influence his personality. He is very obsessed with Hitler because when he was in his childhood, he read many books
about Hitler and that made him grabbed a certain idea about Hitler. He believes that Hitler has done a marvelous action by doing holocaust. He has also a dream
to imitate ‘the Hitler’s way’ by killing Hazaras in order to make Afghanistan become the Land of Pasthuns. This dream is fulfilled in his adulthood.
e. Religion
Assef was not a religious person. Nevertheless, he confesses that he has had an epiphany. He believes that he has got a kind of revelation. Afterward, he
56 becomes a member of a radical religion group called Taliban. “… Well, as you
may remember, I wasn’t much of a religious type. But one day I had an epiphany. I had it in my jail… Hosseini, 259”
Assef explains his experiences in jail. He tells the treatment he has got in the jail, including how he has experienced the epiphany. He starts his story about
his experience in the jail. “Anyway, we were crammed in groups of six in these tiny cells each the
size of a refrigerator. Every night the commandant, a half-Hazara, half- Uzbek thing who smelled like a rotting donkey, would have one of the
prisoners dragged out of the cell and he’d beat him until sweat poured from his fat face. Then he’d light a cigarette, crack his joints, and leave.
The next night, he’d pick someone else. One night, he picked me. It couldn’t have come at a worse time. I’d been peeing blood for three days.
Kidney stones. And if you’ve never had one, believe me when I say it’s the worst imaginable pain …. They dragged me out and he started kicking
me. He had knee-high boots with steel toes that he wore every night for his little kicking game, and he used them on me… Hosseini, 260”
Then, he gives details on the event which he considers as the epiphany. It
includes his believe that God is on his side. He believes that God has planned a mission for him—God has a message for him.
I was screaming and screaming and he kept kicking me and then, suddenly, he kicked me on the left kidney and the stone passed. Just like
that Oh, the relief …. And I yelled ‘Allah-u-akbar’ and he kicked me even harder and I started laughing. He got mad and hit me harder, and
harder he kicked me, the harder I laughed. They threw me back in the cell laughing. I kept laughing and laughing because suddenly I knew that had
been a message from God: He was on my side. He wanted me to live for a reason Hosseini, 260.”
Later, Assef tells that he meets the commandant on the battlefield a few
years later. Assef finds him bleeding from a piece of shrapnel in his chest. Assef tortures the man by shooting his genital organ. Finally, it is implied that Assef
kills him. Commenting on those fragments in his life, Assef says that God has
57 designed those fragments of events. He says “…funny how God works Hosseini,
261.” Nakayama and Martin say “Religion can be a divisive and explosive topic,
as people often hold very strong feelings about their own religion and those of other people 21.” They also say that religion may influence people’s attitudes
about right and wrong and may influence people’s own behavior. In Assef’s case, religion does influence his attitude and behavior. He believes that he has
experienced a kind of revelation, then it strengthens his believe that he has a mission to purify Afghanistan from Hazaras.
Speaking to the subject of revelation in religions, Jacobs says that revelation in religion is subjective 56. Of course, Jacobs’ statement has no
relationship with the context of Assef in the story, though based on the statement, it can be said that Assef’s believe of his experience cannot be blamed, because it
is related to his faith, his religion and; therefore, it is subjective. However, if the continuity is to do mass killing subjected to Hazaras, this kind of believe cannot
be verified. Religion should consider and respect relationships between each human beings. Religion should make this world more peacefully. Furthermore,
actions of dispute and violence will never lead to peace. Assef’s view on religion is influenced by his society. Assef lives in a
society that holds religion very strongly. Therefore, though he was not a religious person and he did not care with religion, when he experiences many interesting
experiences, he relates them with God, and then he is sure that God has a certain mission for him.
58
f. Pakhtunwali
