The Taliban

Who are the Taliban• The Taliban ("Students of Islamic

Knowledge Movement") ruled Afghanistan from 1994 until 2001.

• They came to power during Afghanistan's long civil war.

• Although they managed to hold 90% of the country's territory, their policies—including their treatment of women and support of terrorists—ostracized them from the world community.

• The Taliban was ousted from power in December 2001 by the U.S. military and Afghani opposition forces in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the U.S.

After the withdrawal of Soviet forces, the After the withdrawal of Soviet forces, the Soviet-backed government lost ground to the Soviet-backed government lost ground to the mujahideenmujahideen. In 1992, Kabul was captured and . In 1992, Kabul was captured and an alliance of an alliance of mujahideenmujahideen set up a new set up a new government with Burhanuddin Rabbani as government with Burhanuddin Rabbani as interim president. interim president.

A Tajik, Rabbani joined the fight against the Soviets, becoming leader of one of the five major factions of the mujahideen. After the fall of the communist regime in 1992, Rabbani became president of the interim government that lasted until 1996, when it was overthrown by the Taliban.

The Rise to Power (1994)

• Groups of Taliban were loosely organized on a regional basis during the occupation and civil war.

• 1994, a group of well-trained Taliban were chosen by Pakistan to protect a convoy trying to open a trade route from Pakistan to Central Asia.

• They proved an able force, fighting off rival They proved an able force, fighting off rival mujahideenmujahideen and and warlords. The warlords. The TalibanTaliban then went on to take the city of then went on to take the city of Kandahar, beginning a surprising advance that ended with their Kandahar, beginning a surprising advance that ended with their capture of Kabul in September 1996.capture of Kabul in September 1996.

Taliban At A Glance

• Greeted as liberators who promised restore law and order:– bought stability & security for ordinary citizens

– they disarmed the population

– cleaned up corruption

– Taliban enjoyed success & popularity as a reform movement.

However• After seizing power in Kabul in 1996, the Taliban's internal policy

became centered on wresting all of Afghanistan from the control of their opponents, and imposing strict Islamic Law (Shariah).

• By 1998, with the support of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, they had subdued 90% of the country and driven Rabbani and the Northern Alliance to a small northeastern area of Afghanistan.

Taliban Leader Mullah Muhammad Omar is widely considered the founder of the Taliban. Since the capture of Kabul in 1996, Omar has been the leading member of the Taliban's six-member ruling council. Known as "Commander of the Faithful,"

Omar is reportedly married to one of Osama bin Laden's daughters, and is believed to have close ties with the Pakistani intelligence service and is closely associated with the Pashtun ethnic group. The largest group in Afghanistan.

He Imposed an extreme interpretation of Islamic law consistent with Pashtun culture.

Mullah Muhammed Omar, the reclusive spiritual leader of the Taliban who served as defacto ruler of Afghanistan once the movement came to power.

Has close relationship with Osama Bin Laden-founder of Al Qaeda

Islam •Islam is the world’s second largest religion, with 21% of all people practicing this faith.

•Islam teaches that one can only find peace in life by submitting to Allah (Almighty God) in heart, soul, and deed.

•The Quran is the holy guide to Islam.

•Major aspects of the Islamic religion include testimony of faith, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage.

Life Under Taliban: Islamic laws

Once in power, the Taliban instituted a form of Shari'ah (Islamic law) administered by a religious police force followed the traditionalist Deobandi school of Islam.

Some of the laws applied (Islamic punishments) includes amputation of one or both hands for theft and stoning for adultery.

The Taliban banned all forms of television, imagery, music and sports.• Men were required to keep their beards at a specified length• Women were obliged to wear the burqa (a long cloak-like piece of clothing) when appearing in public, and failure to do so could attract a public beating

A member of theTaliban's religious policebeating a woman inKabul on August 26,2001

The Taliban’s edicts:

Women under the Taliban rule can’t show any part of their body in public, or they will suffer heavy punishment. They have no right to study or to have a career.

The Taliban has no respect for other faiths besides Islam or to human history and heritage. It gave an order to destroy huge Buddha statues that were in Afghanistan for 1500 years -- an international treasure.

The Taliban ordered that non-Muslims will be singled out and told to wear a “yellow badge on their chests.”

a shocking reminder of the attempted genocide of the Jewish people during the Holocaust

The Taliban gave its support to Osama Bin-Laden, a man responsible for the bombing in 1998 of two U.S. embassies in Africa, killing 301 people, and for the bombing in 2000 of the USS Cole in Yemen, killing 17 American servicemen.

• After the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia and worked in his family's construction business. He founded an organization to help veterans of the Afghan war, many of whom went on to fight in Bosnia, Chechnya, Somalia, and the Philippines. Scholars have suggested these loosely connected bands of seasoned soldiers, ready to fight for Islamic causes, form the basis of bin Laden's current support.

• In 1990, in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the Saudi government allowed American troops to be stationed in Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden was outraged that non-believers (American soldiers) were stationed in the birthplace of Islam. He also charged the Saudi regime with deviating from true Islam.

• Bin Laden was expelled from Saudi Arabia in 1991 because of his anti-government activities and as of today has found sanctuary in Afghanistan amongst the Taliban and is considered a hero in parts of the Islamic world, according to intelligence reports. .

Osama bin Laden: Creator of Al-Qaeda and Member of the Taliban

• One of the first non-Afghan volunteers to join the ranks of the mujahideen was Osama bin Laden

• Bin Laden recruited about 4,000 volunteers and worked closely with the CIA

• In ’88 bin Laden created Al Qaeeda, (The Base) a conglomerate of Islamic terrorist cells spread across at least 26 countries

• implicated in a string of deadly attacks on the United States and its allies:

- the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; - the 1998 bombings at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that

killed more than 200;- claims responsibility for a 1993 gunfight that killed 18 U.S.

troops in Somalia- the 1996 bombing of the military complex in Saudi Arabia

that left 19 U.S. soldiers dead.

- In 1998 bin Laden called for all Americans and

Jews, including children, to be killed. - the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen. - the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center,

damaged part of the Pentagon, and resulted in a plane crash in Pennsylvania. At first he denied involvement in the attacks, referring to them as "punishment from Allah." In recent years he has taken responsibility for "inspiring" the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Osama bin Laden: Creator of Al-Qaeda and Member of the Taliban

Afghanistan Today

• The United States entered Afghanistan in October 2001 and replaced the Taliban with an elected president. While the Taliban lost some power and the people regained some rights, the Taliban has not gone away. Instead, it has worked to regain power by promising to help Afghanistan’s poorest people and aligning itself with warlords, al-Qaida, and other militant groups to gain financial support and recruit new fighters.

• In 2004, Hamid Karzai became the first elected Afghan president and still holds the position today.

Hamid Karzai

Ethnic Groups Map Pashtun: largest ethnic group, mostly farmers and Sunni Muslims

Tajik: live mostly in the northeast, second largest ethnic group, mostly Sunni Muslims

Hazara: live in the Hindu Kush mountains, primarily Shiite Muslims

Uzbek: live mostly along the northern border, mostly Sunni Muslims

Aimaqs: a farming and herding tribe in the west, mostly Sunni Muslims

Turkmen and Kirghiz: nomadic herders and craftsmen, mostly Sunni Muslims

Baluch: nomadic tribe living in the southern deserts, Sunni Muslims

• Capital: Kabul

• Area: 251,825 sq mi; slightly smaller than Texas

• Population: 31,056,997 (July 2006 estimate)80% Sunni Muslim, 19% Shia Muslim

• Main ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek

• GDP per capita: purchasing power parity - $800 (2004 estimate)

• Over 80% of labor force is employed in agriculture (farming, sheep, goats)

• Covered by an estimated 5-7 million landmines

• Leading illicit opium producer in 2005 supplying 89% of the opium produced in the world. 1/3 of the GDP comes from opium trade

Map and Important Data

Political History• In 1979, Afghanistan was invaded and

eventually controlled by the Soviet Union.• In 1989, Afghanistan and the Soviet Union

signed a peace agreement.• In 1995, the Taliban, promising traditional,

Islamic values came into power.• In 2001, American troops force the Taliban

from power.• In 2004, Hamid Karzai became the first elected

Afghan president.

Review:In your notebook, Copy and answer the following questions

• Create a time-line that shows Al-Qaeda attacks against the U.S. and its allies.

• What is life like for people under the rule of the Taliban?

• How was the Taliban first received and what accomplishments did they achieve?