The Taliban: War and Religion in Afghanistan

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, US allegations that Osama bin Laden's network was responsible, and the subsequent military attacks on Afghanistan, the Taliban have become the focal point of the West's difficult relations with the Islamic world. This book helps us understand what has been happening inside the country, the nature of radical Islamic movements, and the very difficult questions ahead which war cannot answer. The Taliban are a manifestation of the growth of radical Islam worldwide. This book explores what they stand for and the factors leading to their rapid rise to military and political dominance over Afghanistan. It considers the influences on their ideology and describes the continuing war.

Table of Contents:
Preface 1. Introduction 2. The nature of Afghanistan 3. The Mujahidin 4. The warriors of God 5. The Taliban creed 6. Earlier Islamic movements 7. The Afghan Islamic tradition 8. The gender policies of the Taliban 9. The dialogue with the humanitarian agencies 10. The Taliban and the international community 11. The Taliban and Pakistan 12. The Taliban and the wider region 13. Osama bin Laden 14. Conclusion

About the Author :
Peter Marsden has worked for the last 13 years as a specialist on aid to Afghanistan and has provided information to aid agencies, donor governments, the media and academics on the political, economic and humanitarian context in the country. He has conducted extensive research both in and out of Afghanistan over many years and has a specialist knowledge of the rapidly changing sequence of events since the Soviet withdrawal of February 1989. Peter Marsden has worked for the last 13 years as a specialist on aid to Afghanistan and has provided information to aid agencies, donor governments, the media and academics on the political, economic and humanitarian context in the country. He has conducted extensive research both in and out of Afghanistan over many years and has a specialist knowledge of the rapidly changing sequence of events since the Soviet withdrawal of February 1989.

Review :
Provides Western policy makers with a less sensationalised and more objective account of the Taliban and how best to deal with them. Deserves attention as a first study of an Islamic phenomenon which is repressive in its social and racial policies, and as hostile to Western, as it is to Communist, values. An objective and immensely informative account.... Highly recommended. Particularly good on the equivocal role played by the Americans.