Taliban

The Taliban (Pashtun and Persian: طالبان; "students"), also transliterated as Taleban, is an Islamist and Pashtun nationalist movement which effectively ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001, despite having diplomatic recognition from only three countries: the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. The most influential members, including Mullah Mohammed Omar, the leader of the movement, were simple village ulema (Islamic religious scholars). The Taliban movement derived mainly from Pashtuns of Afghanistan and North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan, but also included many non-Afghan volunteers from the Arab world, as well as Eurasia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. In Winston Churchill's story of the Malakand Field Force (1897) the 'Taliwan', a warlike group of tribes on the North-West Frontier are mentioned.

External links

• The Role of U.S., Russia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in the Rise of Afghan Fundamentalism
• Endgame
• Taliban's point of view
• An obituary of King Fahd. Considers past and current financial supporters of mujahideen and the Taliban including the U.S. government, King Fahd and Osama bin Laden.
• Amir Butler: Understanding the reasons for Taliban defiance
• Interview with two foreign Taliban fighters. November 22, 2001.