Taliban: The Power of Militant Islam in Afghanistan and Beyond

Ahmed Rashid

Paperback, 352 pages

9780755647101

Following the U.S-Taliban peace deal of February 2020 - and the U.S's promised withdrawal from Afghanistan - the Taliban began terrorizing Afghan security forces, civilians and the government in Kabul. By August 2021, the group had seized control of the entire country.

Taliban is a New York Times bestseller by the award-winning journalist Ahmed Rashid. Now considered a modern classic, the book provides rare insight into the history of the Taliban, their political movement, their leaders and their aims. This authoritative account is renowned for being able to explain one of the world's most extreme organizations from their inception in northern Pakistan in the early 1990s to their rise to power. In doing so, Rashid closely details their impact on Afghanistan, the Middle East and Central Asia, and how and why the Taliban spread, including their relationship with both Al-Qaeda and the U.S.

The book has sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide and has been translated into over 40 languages. This third edition marks twenty years since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan and the author adds a new introduction to reflect on how the group regained their strength, the humanitarian crisis, and what Taliban rule is likely to mean for the region and the world.

Contents

Part 1: History of the Taliban Movement 

Chapter 1 Kandahar 1994: The Origins of the Taliban

Chapter 2 Herat 1995: God's Invincible Soldiers

Chapter 3 Kabul 1996: Commander of the Faithful

Chapter 4 Mazar-e-Sharif 1997: Massacre in the North

Chapter 5 Bamiyan 1998–99: The Never-Ending War

Part 2: Islam and the Taliban

Chapter 6 Challenging Islam: The New-Style Fundamentalism of the Taliban

Chapter 7 Secret Society: The Taliban's Political and Military Organization

Chapter 8 A Vanished Gender: Women, Children and Taliban Culture

Chapter 9 High on Heroin: Drugs and the Taliban Economy

Chapter 10 Global Jihad: The Arab-Afghans and Osama Bin Laden

Part 3: The New Great Game

Chapter 11 Dictators and Oil Barons: The Taliban and Central Asia, Russia, Turkey and Israel

Chapter 12 Romancing the Taliban 1: The Battle for Pipelines 1994–96

Chapter 13 Romancing the Taliban 2: The Battle for Pipelines 1997–99 – The USA and the Taliban

Chapter 14 Master or Victim: Pakistan's Afghan War

Chapter 15 Shia Versus Sunni: Iran and Saudi Arabia

Chapter 16 Conclusion: The Future of Afghanistan

Chapter 17 The Taliban Resurgent 2000–2009