TALIBAN I AFGHANISTAN

Resumé

Asta Olesen: Taliban in Afghanistan

In October 1994 the Taliban religious militia

emerged as a new force on the Afghan war

scene, and during the following three years

they have brought more than 2/3 of the

country under their control. The Taliban,

originating from the religious schools of

NWFP of Pakistan, brought relative peace to

the areas under their control, but through

their victory over the competing mujahedin

commanders they also gave birth to one of

the most religiously conservative regimes in

the world. In spite of denying women any

role in public life, closing giris’ schools,

banning music, TV and photography in

general, punishing men for trimming their

beards, the Taliban’s success to a large extent

depends on their relatively high support

among the population. The explanation shall

be sought in their ethnic/tribal origin, their

extreme puritanism which originated in the

tribal code of the Pashtuns rather than in

Islam - and in the anarchy which has reigned

in Afghanistan, particularly after the fail of

the pro-communist PDPA regime in 1992.

The article concludes that the Taliban

success contains the seeds of its eventual

failure.