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CNN Live At Daybreak

American Teens Ask Afghan Teens about Religion

Aired December 21, 2001 - 06:56   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: CNN and MTV News are working to answer some questions that American teenagers have about life inside Afghanistan, and CNN's Jason Bellini is sending back some answers from Kabul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now that the Taliban aren't making people pray or practice religion in their way, how will young people in Afghanistan choose to practice religion?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In our daily life we pray five times a day.

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What do you ask of God?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we pray and we say to our country will be give peace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And also we read the holy Quran at 5:00 in the morning.

BELLINI: Do all teenagers get up early and read the Quran?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BELLINI: Do you like to do that or is it because your parents tell you you have to?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, that's -- I have to.

BELLINI: You want to?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I want to.

BELLINI: Is that because your parents say you must do this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no.

BELLINI: No?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

BELLINI: Most young Afghans are very religious. They take their religion seriously. They just don't do it because they have to. One interesting experience I had, I went to a movie theater. At the theater, just before the movie started, a fight broke out. I didn't know what was going on so I asked my translator. And he told me that someone there in the theater was trying to eat popcorn or eat something and that's not allowed because it was Ramadan so you have to fast during the day. So a fight broke out because everyone else didn't want that person to be eating.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is jihad, because I think a lot of Americans lose track of what the true definition is and whether the acts on September 11 would constitute acts of jihad?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jihad is fighting between Muslim people and against us or Muslim people.

BELLINI: People who are against the Muslim religion?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BELLINI: OK. The attacks on America on September 11, was that jihad?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, that wasn't jihad because they are also people -- they also have any hopes, any wish.

BELLINI: The people who died had hopes and wishes too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no -- not accept this action. Islam didn't say for Muslims to kill other people for the sake of your religion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was wondering if after September 11 the religious beliefs of the young people in Afghanistan have changed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Why we change our religion, for Osama's action, because he is the responsibility for the terrorist attack in Word Trade Center? We are ashamed because he is Muslim, he do this action.

BELLINI: You're ashamed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we are very ashamed. He is Muslim and they do it by the name of Islam this action. He's very happy to have killed 6,000 American people. Why he killed?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: That was CNN's Jason Bellini in Kabul, Afghanistan.

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