Taliban

[[File:Flag_of_Taliban.svg|thumb|right|165px|The Taliban flag.]]
{{islam}}

The '''Taliban''' ('''طالبان''', ''ṭālibān'', the word in Pashto means "students"<ref name="britaliban">[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Taliban Taliban]. ''Britannica.''</ref>) comprise a politico-religious group of  [[fundamentalist]] Sunni [[Muslim]]s. In 2021 it won its insurgency against the former government of [[Afghanistan]], defeating that government's troops and backers in [[NATO]] (especially the [[United States]]).<ref>[https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/16/middleeast/taliban-control-afghanistan-explained-intl-hnk/index.html Who are the Taliban and how did they take control of Afghanistan so swiftly?], CNN, August 16, 2021</ref> 

The Taliban first rose to power after the dreadful [[Soviet-Afghanistan War]] of 1979-1989. Many of its followers became [[radicalism | radicalized]] in [[Saudi]]-funded [[Pakistan]]i [[religious]] schools<ref>{{wpa | Madrassas in Pakistan}}</ref> during and after this struggle.<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-taliban-in-afghanistan/ The Taliban In Afghanistan]. ''CBS News.''</ref>
From 1996 to 2001, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan as an [[Islamist]] [[theocracy]]. The regime's strict interpretation of [[Sharia]] led Taliban members to brutalize the people of Afghanistan, especially the women. The Taliban was responsible for massacres, deliberate starvation, and the destruction of villages and farmland.<ref>Rashid, Ahmed (2002). ''Taliban: Islam, Oil and the New Great Game in Central Asia.'' I.B.Tauris. p. 253. ISBN 978-1-86064-830-4.</ref>

In 2001, shortly after the outbreak of the [[Afghanistan War]], a US-led coalition and their Afghani allies drove the Taliban from power. The Taliban continued to claim to be the legitimate government of Afghanistan, disregarding the opinions of those who labeled it a [[terrorist]] organization. In August 2021, Taliban forces again took power in Kabul after American forces pulled out of the country.

Most analysts see Taliban doctrines as closely related to those of the Muslim sect of [[Wahhabism]].

In line with its own name (''Taliban'', meaning "students") and background, the Taliban expresses strong support for [[education]] (remember this when social reformers next call for more education as a way of combatting society's ills). It's just a matter of educating the right sort of people (male) with the right sort of curriculum (religious, specifically Islamic) — compare [[Boko Haram]], and contrast [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] seminaries.

==Unfortunate origins==
[[File:Kabul during civial war of fundamentalists 1993.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Kabul in ruins during the civil war, 1993.]]
The Taliban was created in the early 1990s by Afghan ''mujahideen'', Islamist insurgents who had fought against the Soviet invasion of their country.<ref name="oritaliban">[https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/taliban-afghanistan The Taliban in Afghanistan]. by Zachary Laub. ''Council on Foreign Relations.''</ref> The war left 1.5 million dead, leaving many of Afghanistan's children as orphans.<ref name="madtaliban">[https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-taliban-who-they-are-what-they-want-2352797 History of the Taliban]. ''ThoughtCo.''</ref> These angry and bitter youths were sent to [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]]-financed religious schools in Pakistan to learn to fight in the spirit of [[jihad]].<ref name="madtaliban"/> An entire generation of Afghans were transformed into fertile stock for an Islamic terrorist group.

In its early days, the Taliban received covert support from [[Pakistan]] and the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] because [[blowback|clearly that brilliant plan was never going to backfire]].<ref name="oritaliban"/> In the ruins of postwar Afghanistan, the Taliban gained popular support by promising to bring peace and prosperity. After the collapse of the Soviet-backed [[communist]] government, Afghanistan formed a new government called the "Islamic State of Afghanistan"<ref>{{wpa|Islamic State of Afghanistan|}}</ref> ([[DAESH|not that one]]). The religiously fervent Taliban rose up against the new government, leading to a civil war that lasted between 1992 and 1996 and caused thousands of deaths.<ref>{{wpa|Afghan Civil War (1992–1996)|}}</ref> The Taliban, of course, won, and that leads into the rest of the story.

The Taliban's power and ideology also has a racial component. The Taliban is primarily composed of and supported by the Pashtun ethnic group, who are generally ultra[[conservative]], ultranationalist, authoritarian, and deeply tribalistic. Pashtuns consider themselves to be the rightful rulers of Afghanistan, as they are the largest ethnic group, but the Soviet war and the US invasion saw them struggle against foreigners and ethnic Tajiks (most notably among the US' allies on the ground, the Northern Alliance).<ref>[https://nationalinterest.org/feature/taliban-and-changing-nature-pashtun-nationalism-41182 The Taliban and the Changing Nature of Pashtun Nationalism]. ''National Interest.''</ref> 

[[Bill Clinton]]'s presidential administration supported the Taliban's victory in the civil war due to [[oil]] interests as well as the desire to contain the influence of [[Iran]].<ref>[https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-taliban-who-they-are-what-they-want-2352797 History of the Taliban]. ''ThoughtCo.''</ref>

==''Life of Brian'' meets ''Der Untergang''==
[[File:Taliban-herat-2001 retouched.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Taliban morality patrol in Herat.]]
Governing as the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan",<ref>{{wpa|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan|}}</ref> the Taliban's rule was relentlessly [[totalitarian]]. Their assumption of power was quickly followed by a slew of morality regulations in line with the strictest interpretations of Islamic law. These regulations range from the terrifying to the ridiculous.

Women suffered the most under the Taliban. They were not allowed to leave the house unless covered from head to toe under threat of punishment by the Taliban's religious police.<ref name="talibad">[https://www.thoughtco.com/taliban-rules-decrees-laws-and-prohibitions-2352763 Taliban Rules, Decrees, Laws and Prohibitions]. ''ThoughtCo.''</ref> Female patients were also only allowed to see a male physician if accompanied by a close male relative.<ref name="talibad"/> These restrictions also extended to foreigners. The Taliban demanded that female humanitarian aid workers not be permitted to drive, as such a thing was "against Afghan tradition and has a negative impact on the society."<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/central/05/31/afghanistan.women/ Taliban bars women aid drivers]. ''CNN.''</ref>

Men were also subjected to harsh lifestyle restrictions. They could be jailed for up to ten days by the religious police for trimming or cutting their beards, a "crime" which was easily detected because the Taliban regularly had its fighters patrol Afghanistan's cities and countryside.<ref>[http://www.rawa.org/beard2.htm Taliban religious police jail beard-trimmers for 10 days]. ''Rawa News.''</ref> The Taliban also banned [[music]], kite-flying, photographs, television, feeding pigeons, dancing, and "sorcery."<ref name="talibad"/> It's the kind of thing that would almost be funny if it didn't happen in real life. The Taliban also required non-Muslims to wear yellow badges identifying them as such [[Holocaust|because it's not like that would raise any red flags]].<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/asia-jan-june01-afghanistan_05-24 Taliban Defends Plan for Labeling Non-Muslims]. ''PBS.''</ref>

In a fine example of the suffering which often follows from extremism, the ban on women working caused considerable hardship for many families as they lost a source of income, affecting especially those with only a female parent. Families often had no choice but to flee the country, beg their communities for support, or resort to [[prostitution]]. This was only worsened by the Taliban's complete neglect for social services.<ref name="oritaliban"/> 

In what was either a petulant snit fit at the international community's lack of support for their top-quality government, or boggle-eyed insecurity about another faith's ancient gods, the Taliban were also responsible for the total destruction of massive Sixth Century works of art representing the Buddha,<ref>{{wpa|Buddhas of Bamiyan}}</ref> carved into the mountains of the Bamyan Valley. It was an act of cultural [[genocide]], or the deliberate destruction of a group's heritage.<ref>{{wpa|Cultural genocide|}}</ref> This event alone was enough to result in international solidarity of support when the U.S. offered to seek out and destroy the Taliban after [[9/11]], in retaliation for harboring [[Osama bin Laden]].

===Persecution of Shi'a Muslims===
During the Taliban's first rule of Afganistan, Shi'a Muslims (mainly ethnic Hazaras) were regularly persecuted.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081019170701/http://www.hrw.org/reports98/afghan/Afrepor0-03.htm IV. Incitement of violence against Hazaras by governor Niazi] in: ''Afghanistan, the massacre in Mazar-e-Sharif (November 1998) ''Human Rights Watch (archived from 19 October 2008).</ref> During their 2021 battle against government forces  In 2021 during their second rule, it was reported that the Taliban shot and [[torture]]d to death 9 Hazara civilians, a [[war crime]].<ref>[https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/08/afghanistan-taliban-responsible-for-brutal-massacre-of-hazara-men-new-investigation/ Afghanistan: Taliban responsible for brutal massacre of Hazara men – new investigation] (August 19, 2021 9:29 pm) ''Amnesty International''.</ref> In 2021 during the Taliban's second rule, they have systematically forced Hazaras from their homes,<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w172xxxqyhxfvy4 Afghanistan: Taliban systematically forcing Hazara minority from their homes] (October 4, 2021) ''BBC''.</ref> which is [[ethnic cleansing]].

===Persecution of other minorities===
Since Afghanistan is ruled by an Islamist Muslim majority government now, the Taliban have continued cracking down on any minorities they see as unfit to live in the new regime. These actions were common prior to their ascendancy in 2021, as they destroyed Buddhist statues (which had been in Afghanistan for thousands of years long before Islam even arrived in the area). The minorities persecuted have been Buddhists, Hindus, Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians, atheists, Baha’i, and ethnic minorities such as the Hazaras, Tajiks, and Uzbeks. In the case of Afghan Jews, all the country’s Jewish population fled in mass for decades and the last Jews fled the country in 2021, officially making Afghanistan a Jew-free state.<ref>[https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/afghanistan/ 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Afghanistan].</ref>

==Post US and NATO withdrawal==
Following the withdrawal of Western forces, the Taliban rapidly retook control of the country.

The interim government leadership of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan indicates that there will be no room for non-Taliban in the government, and that crackdowns on [[human rights]] will continue. The leadership includes members of the terrorist {{wpl|Haqqani network||}}, including several cabinet members who are on the [[United Nations]] sanctions list.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/09/08/taliban-leaders-afghanistan-government-women/ Who leads Afghanistan’s new government? Here’s what we know about the Taliban’s top officials.] by Rachel Pannett (September 8, 2021).</ref> LGBTQ+ Afghanis are at risk of persecution, as they face an uncertain future under the new government.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/-virtual-death-sentence-gay-afghans-brace-uncertain-future-taliban-rcna1779]</ref>

They then became involved in a civil war with {{wpl|Islamic State – Khorasan Province|ISKP}}, a [[DAESH]]-linked group of Taliban defectors who thought that the Taliban weren't radical enough.

==See also==
*[[American Taliban]]
*[[Dominionism]]
*[[Jihad]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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