The Lone Leopard. Sharifullah Dorani. (Photo: Book Cover)By Lindsey Coldwell*
(The Lone Leopard. Sharifullah Dorani. S&M Publishing House, July 2022)
The Lone Leopard is a novel spanning over 30 years in the turbulent life of Afghanistan, seen through the eyes of Ahmad, a 15-year-old schoolboy. We meet him again later as an adult. Teenage Ahmad wants little more in life than to please his family in following their traditions and to gain a place at university to study medicine.
We are shown into Ahmad’s family life, their outlook and their relationships. Ahmad’s mother, Mour, loves her family dearly and wants what she believes to be the best for her children whilst maintaining Pashtunwali, the Pashtun code of honour. This perspective includes her acceptance and willing adherence to views about a woman’s place within society, which sees women being excluded from much that we in the West take for granted. Ahmad’s father, Agha, is a politician who works with the Communist government under the leadership of President Mohammad Najibullah. He is the breadwinner and leaves much of the organisation of family life to his wife whilst having the ultimate say in what is acceptable within the family.
The family live in the Russian enclave of Makroryan where a more permissive way of life is led by many of the residents, and it is here Ahmad’s traditional upbringing intersects with those of his new neighbour and school companion, Frishta. She is the daughter of Agha’s friend and colleague. Frishta is broad-minded and progressive in her views, particularly those on women’s rights as equal members of society. She passionately believes in a woman’s right to a complete education (including attending university) and the right to take on a full role in the life of her country. She is encouraged to voice these views by her proud and devoted father and her liberal-minded mother.
Ahmad is asked to help Frishta catch up in school (following a 12-month hiatus in her Afghan education). This involves the two families seeing one another in the evenings. Ahmad and Frishta’s views and behaviour reflect their upbringing leading to much dialogue between them both and their parents. Ahmad, Mour (who Ahmad loves and respects deeply) and Frishta discuss women’s rights to education, but there are clear distinctions between their profound views as Mour says, “…an Afghan woman must read the Quran and learn about her traditional duties. Righteousness is more important than education”. Frishta’s response shows her ability and determination to express her views with some authority and fearlessness. “The first word of the Quran says, ‘read’, which calls on both men and women. [God] wants us to learn about our Islamic and human rights”.
Against this backdrop, the religious, political and ethnic divides within Kabul are exposed and explored. Indeed, the novel opens with a scene from the school in Makroryan where Ahmad and his two school friends, Baktash and Wazir, attend. Frishta joins the school. A new school principal, a defected Mujahid, berates the assembled students and belittles the teaching staff for how their behaviour has deviated from “true Islam”; the school has previously provided a relaxed and liberal place of learning. He threatens the students and the staff with vicious repercussions if Sharia Law is in any way violated.
Baktash, a fun-loving young man with parents who encourage his individuality and irrepressible love of life, is disturbed by the appointment of the new principal. Wazir, who appears to be radicalised by the radical books his uncle sends him from Pakistan, supports the appointment as the new principal will bring true Islam. Wazir has a difficult family life; he is brought up by his mother. He lives in poverty without a father and is ripe for radicalisation. Baktash and Wazir’s conflicting viewpoints bring them into conflict and develop a deep dislike for each other. Ahmad is caught between the two friends and the Sunni-Shia divide. As the story develops, Wazir becomes even more intolerant of liberal religious views and carries out an act of revenge against a Communist teacher. Wazir flees Kabul with his mother.
The Lone Leopard showcases the misunderstanding, fear, hatred and intolerance that upends normal existence. Political turmoil brings civil war onto Kabul’s streets, where many lose their lives. Ahmad and Frishta’s families, as well as their other neighbours, have to take shelter in the basement as the civil war rages. Alongside the horrors of the war, we witness numerous examples of bravery and benevolence, especially by Ahmad and Frishta, as civilians strive to survive.
We meet some of the main protagonists in the second part of the novel (set in the territories of both the American-backed government and the Taliban) as the book further explores the relationships between some of them as adults. Likewise, conflicting interpretations of human rights, women’s rights, principles of Pashtunwali, and the religion of Islam in particular, remain key topics and are rigorously and delicately explored as the novel progresses from school life, family life and then later into adulthood.
The Lone Leopard is ideal for fans of Khaled Hosseini, Nadia Hashimi and Christina Lamb. Indeed, like the works of the abovementioned authors, Dr Dorani’s engaging and thought-provoking novel has much relevance for today. Religious conflict is not confined to Islam. Christianity has deep divides within it, causing inhumanity and terror. The harrowing experiences of people fleeing conflict and seeking a safe haven pose questions about the narrative of governments who tend to view these people seeking sanctuary on their shores as problems. Rather than searching for harmony and fair solutions, Western governments allow lies and propaganda to peddle and mire their policies: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, India, China, Myanmar, Russia and its war in Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, the list goes on.
The Lone Leopard delicately explores the resilience of people escaping conflict and their efforts to survive, thrive and contribute. The author brings deep humanity and first-hand experience to his work as he explores what it is to be human. Despite the terrors portrayed in this novel by Dr Dorani, this underlying humanity gives some hope for future generations as they grapple with the realisation of the need to co-exist and how co-existence might be achieved.
*Lindsey Coldwell is a retired teacher who volunteers with refugee-friendly charities to support refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.