Taliban
Kabul's current rulers
The Taliban is a fundamentalist Islamic movement that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and regained control in 2021.
The name comes from an Arabic word meaning students, referring to the religious seminary students who founded the movement.
Taliban enforces strict interpretations of Islamic law, severely restricting women's rights and public life.
The Taliban banned music and television during their first regime.
Islamist militant organization
- 9/112001 terrorist attacks
- insurgencyArmed uprising against authority
- extremismIdeology beyond accepted norms
- bombingAttack with explosives
attack · militant · jihad · radicalization · suicide bomber · IED · hostage · violence
Afghanistan's capital city
- KandaharAfghan provincial capital
- mujahideenMuslim guerrilla combatants
- warlordMilitary ruler by force
- PashtunAfghan ethnic majority
opium · poppy · tribal · Helmand · occupation · withdrawal · refugee · displacement
Faith-driven political ideology
- fundamentalismStrict adherence to core tenets
- extremismIdeology beyond accepted norms
- puritanismRigid moral severity
- conservatismPreference for existing institutions
Muslim religious legal code
- theocracyRule by religious authority
- emirateIslamic monarch's domain
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
- burqaFull-body covering with mesh
censorship · execution · decree · morality police · prohibition · authoritarianism · governance · edict
Al-Qaeda
Islamist militant organization
- 9/112001 terrorist attacks
- insurgencyArmed uprising against authority
- extremismIdeology beyond accepted norms
bombing · attack · militant · jihad · radicalization · suicide bomber · IED · hostage · violence · recruitment
Kabul
Afghanistan's capital city
- KandaharAfghan provincial capital
- mujahideenMuslim guerrilla combatants
- warlordMilitary ruler by force
Pashtun · opium · poppy · tribal · Helmand · occupation · withdrawal · refugee · displacement · NATO
Islamism
Faith-driven political ideology
- fundamentalismStrict adherence to core tenets
- extremismIdeology beyond accepted norms
- puritanismRigid moral severity
Sharia
Muslim religious legal code
- theocracyRule by religious authority
- emirateIslamic monarch's domain
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
burqa · censorship · execution · decree · morality police · prohibition · authoritarianism · governance · edict · restriction
- AfghanistanKabul, Kandahar, Pashtun, Tajik, Helmand
- PakistanIslamabad, Karachi, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan
- Modern Middle EastArab Spring, ISIS, Iraq War, Hamas, Hezbollah
- Rebel GroupsFARC, IRA, ETA, PLO, Viet Cong
- Terrorismterrorism, terror cell, suicide bomber, suicide bombing, suicide attack
- IslamismIslamism, Salafism, jihadism, Wahhabism, Muslim Brotherhood
Talibandemocracy
Rule by the people
liberal democracy · democratic republic · constitutional democracy · NATO · United Nations
Talibansecularism
Separation of faith, state
secular humanism · feminism · women's liberation · Malala Yousafzai · religious pluralism
Talibanfeminism
Advocacy for sex equality
women's liberation · gender equality · LGBTQ rights · human rights organizations · Malala Yousafzai