Taliban : Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia

by Rashid, Ahmed

• ISBN13: 9780300089028
• ISBN10: 0300089023
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-02-08
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Shrouding themselves and their aims in deepest secrecy, the leaders of the Taliban movement control Afghanistan with an inflexible, crushing fundamentalism. The most extreme and radical of all Islamic organizations, the Taliban inspires fascination, controversy, and especially fear in both the Muslim world and the West. Correspondent Ahmed Rashid brings the shadowy world of the Taliban into sharp focus in this enormously interesting and revealing book. It is the only authoritative account of the Taliban and modern day Afghanistan available to English language readers. Based on his experiences as a journalist covering the civil war in Afghanistan for twenty years, traveling and living with the Taliban, and interviewing most of the Taliban leaders since their emergence to power in 1994, Rashid offers unparalleled firsthand information. He explains how the growth of Taliban power has already created severe instability in Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and five Central Asian republics. He describes the Taliban's role as a major player in a new "Great Game"a competition among Western countries and companies to build oil and gas pipelines from Central Asia to Western and Asian markets. The author also discusses the controversial changes in American attitudes toward the Talibanfrom early support to recent bombings of Osama Bin Laden's hideaway and other Taliban-protected terrorist basesand how they have influenced the stability of the region.

Author Biography

Ahmed Rashid is a correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review and the Daily Telegraph reporting on Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements	vii
Maps	xiii
Introduction: Afghanistan's Holy Warriors	1	(16)
Part 1: History of the Taliban Movement
Kandahar 1994: The Origins of the Taliban	17	(14)
Herat 1995: God's Invincible Soldiers	31	(10)
Kabul 1996: Commander of the Faithful	41	(14)
Mazar-e-Sharif 1997: Massacre in the North	55	(12)
Bamiyan 1998-2000: The Never-Ending War	67	(15)
Part 2: Islam and the Taliban
Challenging Islam: The New-Style Fundamentalism of the Taliban	82	(13)
Secret Society: The Taliban's Political and Military Organization	95	(10)
A Vanished Gender: Women, Children and Taliban Culture	105	(12)
High on Heroin: Drugs and the Taliban Economy	117	(11)
Global Jihad: The Arab-Afghans and Osama Bin Laden	128	(15)
Part 3: The New Great Game
Dictators and Oil Barons: The Taliban and Central Asia, Russia, Turkey and Israel	143	(14)
Romancing the Taliban 1: The Battle for Pipelines 1994-96	157	(13)
Romancing the Taliban 2: The Battle for Pipelines 1997-99 - The USA and the Taliban	170	(13)
Master or Victim: Pakistan's Afghan War	183	(13)
Shia and Sunni: Iran and Saudi Arabia	196	(11)
Conclusion: The Future of Afghanistan	207	(10)
Appendices	217	(31)
Notes	248	(18)
Index	266