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| The '''Taliban''' is a fundamentalist ] movement which originated in the southern ] region of Afghanistan and ruled most of the country from ] until ]. The Taliban fell in late 2001 |
The '''Taliban''' is a fundamentalist ] movement which originated in the southern ] region of Afghanistan and ruled most of the country from ] until ]. The Taliban Governament fell in late 2001 after The United States and Great Britain, with support from a large coalition of other governments, attacked the Taliban with the stated intention of removing them from power. | ||
| In the languages spoken in ] and ], ''Taliban'' (also ''Taleban'') |
In the languages spoken in ] and ], ''Taliban'' (also ''Taleban'') means ''those who seek Islamic knowledge '' Sometimes it is mistranslated as ''God's Students''. It is derived from the ] word for seeker or student, ''talib''. | ||
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| Things that are said to have been banned in parts of Afghanistan under the Taliban regime: | Things that are said to have been banned in parts of Afghanistan under the Taliban regime: | ||
| *reading banned books | *reading banned books | ||
| *Keeping cameras without licence |
*Keeping cameras without licence | ||
| *cinema, television and VCR (decadent, |
*cinema, television and VCR (decadent, used for pornography, promotes non-muslim ideas) | ||
| *Using the internet without licence | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| *music | |||
| *music (except islamic religious music) | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| *promotion of non-muslim ideas | *promotion of non-muslim ideas | ||
| *women without complete body coverings | *women without complete body coverings | ||
| *women working outside the home (except in health care when kept separate from male workers and patients) | *women working outside the home (except in health care when kept separate from male workers and patients) | ||
| *women going on picnics or to tourist resorts | *women going on picnics or to tourist resorts | ||
| *kite-flying ( |
*kite-flying banned for Muslims (waste of time, hindu cultural ritual) | ||
| *converting people from Islam (death penalty for Afgan convert, expulsion for foreign national) | *converting people from Islam (death penalty for Afgan convert, expulsion for foreign national) | ||
| *growing ] poppies | *growing ] poppies | ||
Revision as of 13:11, 30 July 2002
The Taliban is a fundamentalist Islamist movement which originated in the southern Pashtun region of Afghanistan and ruled most of the country from 1996 until 2001. The Taliban Governament fell in late 2001 after The United States and Great Britain, with support from a large coalition of other governments, attacked the Taliban with the stated intention of removing them from power.
In the languages spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Taliban (also Taleban) means those who seek Islamic knowledge Sometimes it is mistranslated as God's Students. It is derived from the Arabic word for seeker or student, talib.
The Taliban belong to the Deobandi movement of Islam, which emphasizes cleansing the Muslims of South Asia from unIslamic cultural practices. It belongs to the Sunni tradition of Islam and has similarities to the Wahhabi movement practiced in Saudi Arabia.
After the Mujahedeen had overthrown the Soviet occupation forces in 1989, Afghanistan was thrown into a chaos of war between competing warlords. Mullah Omar started the Taliban movement in 1994, intending to restore order and to elevate Islam to its proper place in everyday life. While described as not very charismatic, he was able to defeat several competing factions with his group of Pashtun fighters, and attracted followers. Most Taliban are members of the Pashtun ethnic group of southern Afghanistan, the largest ethnic group in the country.
Initially, the Taliban had some public support. Pakistan, interested in a unified and strong Muslim neighbor, sent weapons and money. Many students from eastern Pakistani religious schools were urged by their teachers to join the "holy war" of the Taliban.
After a civil war the Taliban established a government in 1996 which at its height was recognised by Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and controlled all of Afghanistan apart from small regions in the northeast which were held by the Northern Alliance.
Once in power, the Taliban instituted a the Islamic law, leading to loud complaints from the international community and human rights watch organizations. The Taliban led a reform of government leading to complete peace and rule of law in the areas under Taliban control.
In 1996, the alledged terrorist Osama bin Laden moved to Afghanistan. He was given refuge by the Burhanuddin Rabbani governament. When the Taliban came into power he signed an oath to obey the Taliban governament.
In (March 2001), the Taliban ordered the destruction of two Buddha statues at Bamiyan, one 38m tall and 1800 years old, the other 53m tall and 1500 years old. The act was condemned by UNESCO and many countries around the world.
Taliban forbid the cultivation of opium poppies in 2000, citing religious reasons. The production fell from 4000 tons in 2000 (about 70% of the world's supply) to 82 tons in 2001, most of which was harvested in parts of Afghanistan controlled by the Northern Alliance.
On (May 17, 2001) the Bush administration announced an increase of $43 million in drought relief to the Taliban in reward for this achievement. After the Taliban lost power in late 2002, the opium cultivation increased dramatically.
On (September 22, 2001), the United Arab Emirates and later Saudi Arabia withdrew their recognition of the Taliban as the legal government of Afghanistan, leaving neighboring Pakistan as the only remaining country which recognized them. Observers agree that they wished to distance themselves from the Taliban, but they differ over whether this was a purely principled action or due to pressure from the United States and its allies.
The U.S., aided somewhat by the United Kingdom and supported by a broad coalition of other world governments, initiated military action against the Taliban in (October 2001) (see 2001 U.S. Attack on Afghanistan). The stated intent was to remove the Taliban from power because of the Taliban's refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden and in retaliation for the Taliban's aid to him. There were also early unconfirmed reports that bin Laden was in fact acting as commander of Taliban forces during at least part of the attack. The ground war was fought by the Northern Alliance. The Taliban lost power in (December 2001).
See also Government of Afghanistan.
Things that are said to have been banned in parts of Afghanistan under the Taliban regime:
- reading banned books
- Keeping cameras without licence
- cinema, television and VCR (decadent, used for pornography, promotes non-muslim ideas) news.bbc.co.uk
- Using the internet without licence
- music
- promotion of non-muslim ideas
- women without complete body coverings
- women working outside the home (except in health care when kept separate from male workers and patients)
- women going on picnics or to tourist resorts
- kite-flying banned for Muslims (waste of time, hindu cultural ritual)
- converting people from Islam (death penalty for Afgan convert, expulsion for foreign national)
- growing opium poppies
Practices Reported in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan:
- amputating the hands of theives.
- public executions
- shooting of prostitutes in sport stadium
- shooting of murderers by victim's family, in sport stadium
- hanging or throat cutting of robbers, in sport stadium
- stoning of adulturous (married) couples
- collapsing a wall over homosexuals
- recently destroying ancient Buddhist statues
- On the advice on the Hindu community elders, who used to be disturbed by the police who thought them to be Muslims who had shaved their beards, on May 22, 2001, the Taliban issued an order that Hindus and other non-Muslims must wear a yellow identity symbol. This policy was replaced in June of the same year, by an order that Hindus were required to carry a special identification card.
- Muslim men are beaten or jailed for shaving or excessively cutting their beards
- women are not permitted to wear see through socks or shoes, nor to wear shoes that make noise when walking
- women suffer physical punishment if showing face in public
- houses with women present must have windows facing the street painted over so people outside would not be able to look inside.