The Taliban: War, Religion and the New Order in Afghanistan - Softcover

Marsden, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1856495221 ISBN 13: 9781856495226

Publisher: Zed Books, 1998

Synopsis

The Taliban are yet another 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 many influences on their ideology emanating from within the country, the Indian sub-continent and the Middle East. It describes the war which continues to afflict the Afghan people as well as the geo-political context and the possible part played by certain powers in the region, and by the United States, in the Taliban’s dramatic expansion. Peter Marsden examines the unique and complicated character of an Islamic revivalist movement like the Taliban. He confronts the issue of international responsibility in situations of chronic conflict brought on by external interference, and considers the dilemmas faced by humanitarian agencies in seeking to reconcile the evident need for assistance with the often difficult political and human rights context in which they are working. He examines the cultural conflict between Western thinking and the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic values, particularly in relation to gender, and asks how the international community should deal with this conflict.

About this title

About the Author:

Peter Marsden is Information Coordinator of the British Agencies Afghanistan Group and is Research Associate of Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford.

From Booklist:

The Taliban, following their takeover of all but the northern sliver of Afghanistan in 1996, have become rather notorious in the West for the severity of their imposition of religious law, particularly for ejecting women from all workplaces. No girls may be educated, so the Taliban order, until a proper Islamic school system is in place. So whence come the beliefs behind these policies and the people who hold them? Among the several positive attributes of Marsden's survey of recent Afghan history is his tracing of Taliban views to the ascetic Sunni Wahhabi movement in 1700s Arabia. The inheritors of Wahhabiism, the Saudis, supported the Taliban movement, but Marsden explains that it grew fast for reasons internal to Afghanistan--namely, the perceived corruption of the Mujahidin factions that fought the Soviets and the anarchy their infighting visited upon the country. Striving for objectivity, Marsden elucidates what the Taliban have done, the spectrum of opinion within the movement, and its tense relations with international aid agencies. This is the only book in print about the Taliban. Gilbert Taylor

About this edition

• Publisher: Zed Books
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 1856495221
• ISBN 13: 9781856495226
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160