Tales of the Taliban in their own words

Ehsan Azari Stanizai

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

    Abstract

    Like genies of the tales of the Arabian Nights they sprang forth from the wasteland of the post-Russian Afghan civil war. Early one morning in the autumn of 1994 about forty long-bearded mullahs gathered in a tiny mosque in Sangisar of Kandahar known as the White Mosque to found a new religious movement. They had no car or money. An old and noisy Russian motorbike with no exhaust-pipe was their only means of transport. The bike was nicknamed 'Tank of Islam' as a reward for its service. Then an unknown man barged into their checkpoint and donated a sack filled with 90 million Afghanis (about A$2 million). "I have donated this money for the sake of God alone. I don't need anyone to know about it," this man insisted, "there is no need for a receipt, or for my name to be known." The following evening the BBC spread the word around the world about the birth of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
    Original languageEnglish
    Number of pages4
    JournalHuffington Post
    Volume40294
    Publication statusPublished - 2010

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