Table of Contents
Afghan Mujahideen, When the Taliban first ruled Afghanistan in ( 1999), the people were oppressed by laws that the Taliban made from the tribal codes and a strict interpretation of Islam. Two decades later, the Taliban have taken back power over time. The reason behind their rule was not the good governance of the Taliban but because of the other actors who failed in Afghanistan.
Afghan Mujahideen
Afghanistan is a deeply divided country. At the time, only a small fraction of the population lived in a few major cities, including some who supported the government. Still, most Afghans lived in rural areas where people were generally poor, conservative, and very devoted to Islam and Tribal traditions.
Soviet Occupation
In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. The Soviet troops were everywhere throughout the Capital and the country and the new Communist Afghan Government, to establish a Socialist regime.
The communist Afghan government tried to enforce land reforms and abolish social codes. The rural Afghans revolted, and they formed independent militias but were collectively known as the Mujahideen.
Taliban operates best in small groups and their home in the mountains, and the Soviet Army met fierce resistance from the Taliban in the rural areas. The Soviets responded by pounding the Countryside with bombs and razing entire villages, but it galvanized more people to join the rebellion.
Thousands of Muslim volunteers from around the world joined the Mujahideen. The countries eager to gain influence in Afghanistan started arming and funding militias when the USA sent weapons to drain the Soviets, their main rivals, and the support resulted in strengthening the Taliban to fight for ten years, but More than millions of Afghans died, and 8 million were displaced.
In 1989, the Soviets gave up and left, and three years after that, the Afghan Communist government fell, but the violence didn’t end. However, the Mujahideen groups turned on each other, and by 1922, Afghanistan was consumed by the Civil War.
Kandahar was the heaven for the Taliban leaders, and mujahideen were trained in the province of heaven. In the spring of 1994, thousands of mujahideen were trained enough under the great leadership of Muhammad Mullah Omar. As the sole militia in Kandahar, they brought peace for the first time in years, and that’s exactly why many people supported them.
Support from Neighbor.
The most crucial support came from her neighbor. Pakistan was worried that one of these Mujahideen groups would take power and ally with its enemy, India, so they gave the Taliban tons of weapons early on. In September 1996, the Taliban entered Kabul and took control of Afghanistan, and they stepped up a government that was only their members.
Draconian rules
They decided to make the country based on a religious ideology that took shape in Madrasa. What makes the Taliban special is that these madrasas are called Deobandi Madrasa and were inspired by a certain interpretation of Islam influenced by Pashtun culture. Music, television, and even flying kites were banned.
The Draconian rules were placed on women; they couldn’t educate themselves, and they were practically banned from working and the school for women was underground like the one in Swat ran in Kabul. Beating, stoning, and public executions were common punishments under the Taliban regime.
9/11 attack
After the 9/11 attack, a US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan to hunt down the great leader of the Muslim world, Osama Bin Laden, and topple the Taliban supremacy. The Taliban leadership fled to Pakistan, while most fighters went into hiding in rural Afghanistan, and this resulted in the back of Democracy and the rebuilding of the country by the USA.
Afghan Government
The Afghan government, which was established with the help of the USA, was deeply corrupt and stole millions. And in 2003, the US invaded Iraq and diverted much of its money. The American military was hunting down Taliban and Al-Qaeda members largely in the rural areas.
The drone strikes and night raids were increased, killing innocent civilians, all under the Afghan government. In 2012, the US reduced its troops and relied on the government and army to lead the fight, but years of corruption had taught many Afghans to distrust the government and left room for the Taliban to start governing their territories.
