--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who take to guns could do so due to…" description: "\"Those who take to guns could do so due to deprivation, suppression, or historical legacy. The Afghans have lived through violence for centuries, by the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/asghar-ali-engineer-24322_afghans_those-who-take-to-guns-could-do-so-due-t_2714350.jpg" --- # Those who take to guns could do so due to deprivation… ![“Those who take to guns could do so due to deprivation, suppression, or historical legacy. The Afghans have lived through violence for centuries, by the Mughals, the Russians, their own people, so they have always had to fight for freedom... we cannot take away the context. But they legitimised it…” quote by Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/asghar-ali-engineer-24322_afghans_those-who-take-to-guns-could-do-so-due-t_2714350.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/asghar-ali-engineer-24322_afghans_those-who-take-to-guns-could-do-so-due-t_2714350.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/asghar-ali-engineer-24322_afghans_those-who-take-to-guns-could-do-so-due-t_2714350.jpg) > “Those who take to guns could do so due to deprivation, suppression, or historical legacy. The Afghans have lived through violence for centuries, by the Mughals, the Russians, their own people, so they have always had to fight for freedom... we cannot take away the context. But they legitimised it by using jihad, a religious sanction, so they could be seen as mujahids, fighting for Allah. And you cannot say there is nothing concrete.” [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Violence in Afghanistan stems from long‑standing oppression, historical invasions, and cultural legacy, often framed through religious justification. **In simple terms:** Afghans fight because of history and oppression, sometimes using religion to legitimize. Key Takeaway Recognize historical context when assessing conflict. Themes conflict history religion oppression identity Mood reflective serious Type analytical critical When to use this quote - policy analysis - peacebuilding - education - media reporting Key Concepts colonial legacy social trauma political legitimacy Questions to Reflect On - How does history shape present violence? - Can religious narratives be redirected toward peace? A Different Perspective Religious framing can obscure underlying socioeconomic causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afghans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghans/) [Afghans Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghans-lived-2832570/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Concrete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concrete/) [Deprivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deprivation/) [Dues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dues/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Fighting for freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting-for-freedom/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun/) [Guns Deprivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guns-deprivation-2832572/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Islam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islam/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Jihad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jihad/) [Legacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legacy/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Sanctions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanctions/) [Seen Mujahids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seen-mujahids-2832571/) [Suppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suppression/) [Suppression Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suppression-historical-2832573/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [ Our \[Afghanistan\] main problem is education. Over 90 percent of our population is uneducated. So what can you expect? The terrorists come from Syria,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najibullah-quraishi/our-afghanistan-main-problem-is-education-over-90-percent-of-our/) [Najibullah Quraishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najibullah-quraishi/) > [The Afghans themselves say that if you put two Afghans in a room, you get three factions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-afghans-themselves-say-that-if-you-put-two-afghans-in-a-room-you/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Undoubtedly the Afghans must be, by our standards, the best-looking people in the world. They have everything; height, proportions, carriage, features and complexion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/undoubtedly-the-afghans-must-be-by-our-standards-the-best-looking/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [If you take a look at Afghan history, usually they have united to defend against an outside enemy, and as soon as that's accomplished,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-eagleburger/if-you-take-a-look-at-afghan-history-usually-they-have-united-to/) [Lawrence Eagleburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-eagleburger/) > [The people suffering most from the Taliban were Afghans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-people-suffering-most-from-the-taliban-were-afghans/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [No Afghans, as far as we know, have been involved in terrorist acts against our country. We shouldn't be swatting at hornets' nests we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-goetzman/no-afghans-as-far-as-we-know-have-been-involved-in-terrorist-acts/) [Gary Goetzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-goetzman/) > [The Afghans I met were some of the nicest and most honorable people I've ever encountered. There is a code called 'Pashtunwali,' so if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-thor/the-afghans-i-met-were-some-of-the-nicest-and-most-honorable-people-i/) [Brad Thor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-thor/) > [The majority of Afghans do not see the Americans as foreign occupiers who must be defeated. Instead, they are hungry for the Americans to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-tzemach-lemmon/the-majority-of-afghans-do-not-see-the-americans-as-foreign-occupiers/) [Gayle Tzemach Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-tzemach-lemmon/) > [“Take two Afghans who've never met, put them in a room for ten minutes, and they'll figure out how they're related.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/take-two-afghans-who-ve-never-met-put-them-in-a-room-for-ten-minutes/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [A sea-green sky: lamps blossoming white. This is marginal land: fields of strung wire, of treadless tyres in ditches, fridges dead on their backs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/a-sea-green-sky-lamps-blossoming-white-this-is-marginal-land-fields/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Obviously it is right that the Afghans take responsibility for their own future in the end, but they need to know and feel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/obviously-it-is-right-that-the-afghans-take-responsibility-for-their/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [“In Our Villages - You killed thousands by thousands, after each thousand, You are killing another one thousand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abed-rahmani/in-our-villages-you-killed-thousands-by-thousands-after-each-thousand/) [Abed Rahmani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abed-rahmani/) > [“The Hindi kid would soon learn what the British learned earlier in the century, and what the Russians would eventually learn by the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/the-hindi-kid-would-soon-learn-what-the-british-learned-earlier-in/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“By not burning their poppy fields to the ground but instead maintaining a security umbrella that international development agencies could safely work under as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-wood/by-not-burning-their-poppy-fields-to-the-ground-but-instead/) [Jake Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-wood/) > ['In the nineteenth century, we beat the British more than once,' Afghans often told me. 'In the twentieth century, we beat the Russians. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/in-the-nineteenth-century-we-beat-the-british-more-than-once-afghans/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) ## More by Asghar Ali Engineer > [Jihad is misused by fundamentalists. The Quranic meaning is not meant for war at all, in the sense of killing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/jihad-is-misused-by-fundamentalists-the-quranic-meaning-is-not-meant/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) > [Jihad is nothing but making efforts to realise goodness in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/jihad-is-nothing-but-making-efforts-to-realise-goodness-in-life/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) > [Real 'imaan' is faith in humanity, so those who deny goodness are kafirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/real-imaan-is-faith-in-humanity-so-those-who-deny-goodness-are-kafirs/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) > [Potency does not mean being unnecessarily aggressive; one has to be wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/potency-does-not-mean-being-unnecessarily-aggressive-one-has-to-be/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) > [People don't respond just because you are fighting for the truth. They take their interests into account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/people-don-t-respond-just-because-you-are-fighting-for-the-truth-they/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) > [To protect one's identity is a Constitutional right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/to-protect-one-s-identity-is-a-constitutional-right/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) > [The individual cannot exist on his/her own and the collectivism should respect freedom of conscience. My struggle is about the freedom of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/the-individual-cannot-exist-on-his-her-own-and-the-collectivism/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) > [Religion helps you relate with the universe. Buddha was indifferent to the concept of god yet he gave us values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/religion-helps-you-relate-with-the-universe-buddha-was-indifferent-to/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) > [The Sufi saint Mazhar Jaan Jana of 18th century Delhi believed that the Quran condemns bowing before deities because in pre-Islamic idol worship stones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/the-sufi-saint-mazhar-jaan-jana-of-18th-century-delhi-believed-that/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) > [Times change and we should change and grow, and yet be proud of our legacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/times-change-and-we-should-change-and-grow-and-yet-be-proud-of-our/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) > [My personal belief is we should not bow to any object. But Islam was aware of this human weakness and fulfilled that need through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/my-personal-belief-is-we-should-not-bow-to-any-object-but-islam-was/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) > [I am not taking away the historical legacy, but it should not become a burden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/i-am-not-taking-away-the-historical-legacy-but-it-should-not-become-a/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) > [I was told by my father, who was a priest, that it was the basic duty of a Muslim to establish peace on earth...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/i-was-told-by-my-father-who-was-a-priest-that-it-was-the-basic-duty/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) > [Many people asked me to convert. I said my religious convictions remain. I am fighting the wrongs within my own community. And if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/many-people-asked-me-to-convert-i-said-my-religious-convictions/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) > [Weapons are less harmful than words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-ali-engineer/weapons-are-less-harmful-than-words/) [Asghar Ali Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) [Explore all 24 Asghar Ali Engineer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-ali-engineer/) ## More Afghans quotes > [ Our \[Afghanistan\] main problem is education. Over 90 percent of our population is uneducated. So what can you expect? The terrorists come from Syria,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najibullah-quraishi/our-afghanistan-main-problem-is-education-over-90-percent-of-our/) [Najibullah Quraishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najibullah-quraishi/) > [“By not burning their poppy fields to the ground but instead maintaining a security umbrella that international development agencies could safely work under as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-wood/by-not-burning-their-poppy-fields-to-the-ground-but-instead/) [Jake Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-wood/) > [“The Hindi kid would soon learn what the British learned earlier in the century, and what the Russians would eventually learn by the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/the-hindi-kid-would-soon-learn-what-the-british-learned-earlier-in/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“In Our Villages - You killed thousands by thousands, after each thousand, You are killing another one thousand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abed-rahmani/in-our-villages-you-killed-thousands-by-thousands-after-each-thousand/) [Abed Rahmani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abed-rahmani/) > [Obviously it is right that the Afghans take responsibility for their own future in the end, but they need to know and feel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/obviously-it-is-right-that-the-afghans-take-responsibility-for-their/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [A sea-green sky: lamps blossoming white. This is marginal land: fields of strung wire, of treadless tyres in ditches, fridges dead on their backs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/a-sea-green-sky-lamps-blossoming-white-this-is-marginal-land-fields/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Take two Afghans who've never met, put them in a room for ten minutes, and they'll figure out how they're related.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/take-two-afghans-who-ve-never-met-put-them-in-a-room-for-ten-minutes/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [The majority of Afghans do not see the Americans as foreign occupiers who must be defeated. Instead, they are hungry for the Americans to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-tzemach-lemmon/the-majority-of-afghans-do-not-see-the-americans-as-foreign-occupiers/) [Gayle Tzemach Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-tzemach-lemmon/) > [The Afghans I met were some of the nicest and most honorable people I've ever encountered. There is a code called 'Pashtunwali,' so if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-thor/the-afghans-i-met-were-some-of-the-nicest-and-most-honorable-people-i/) [Brad Thor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-thor/) > [No Afghans, as far as we know, have been involved in terrorist acts against our country. We shouldn't be swatting at hornets' nests we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-goetzman/no-afghans-as-far-as-we-know-have-been-involved-in-terrorist-acts/) [Gary Goetzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-goetzman/) > [The people suffering most from the Taliban were Afghans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-people-suffering-most-from-the-taliban-were-afghans/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you take a look at Afghan history, usually they have united to defend against an outside enemy, and as soon as that's accomplished,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-eagleburger/if-you-take-a-look-at-afghan-history-usually-they-have-united-to/) [Lawrence Eagleburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-eagleburger/) > [Undoubtedly the Afghans must be, by our standards, the best-looking people in the world. They have everything; height, proportions, carriage, features and complexion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/undoubtedly-the-afghans-must-be-by-our-standards-the-best-looking/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [The Afghans themselves say that if you put two Afghans in a room, you get three factions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-afghans-themselves-say-that-if-you-put-two-afghans-in-a-room-you/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > ['In the nineteenth century, we beat the British more than once,' Afghans often told me. 'In the twentieth century, we beat the Russians. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/in-the-nineteenth-century-we-beat-the-british-more-than-once-afghans/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) [Browse all 45 Afghans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Those who take to guns could do so due to deprivation, suppression, or historical legacy. The Afghans have lived through violence for centuries, by the Mughals, the Russians, their own people, so they have always had to fight for freedom... we cannot take away the context. But they legitimised it by using jihad, a religious sanction, so they could be seen as mujahids, fighting for Allah. 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