Talibans Domestic Policies - Term Paper Example

Origins and Objectives of Taliban’s Domestic Policies in Afghanistan Introduction For many years, the Taliban forces were dominant over Afghanistan. Their control over the country impacted on its development and political processes, causing much political and military turmoil in the region. They were primarily an anti-modernist movement and their anti-modernist character was dominant over their policies in the cities and the countryside. This paper shall now discuss the origins and objectives of Taliban’s domestic policies while in power in Afghanistan. The anti-modernist concept is based on the refusal to accept the introduction of modern concepts and policies in governance and other political processes. It can sometimes be understood to mean objections to western ideas, coupled with anti-American sentiments. A history of the Taliban in Afghanistan shall first be presented, along with a discussion of their rise to power in Afghanistan. Taliban’s ideologies on anti-modernism shall also be discussed, including the origins and objectives of these domestic policies in Afghanistan. Details on its anti-modernist goals and activities shall also be detailed in this discussion. Body History The Taliban is an Islamic extremist group which took over Afghanistan’s government in 1996 until they were driven out by American forces in 2001 (Marsden, 2002, p. 124). This group has been considered a safe haven to the al-Qaeda terrorist group, assisting leader Osama bin Laden in his terrorist activities. This group has also set forth a rigid stance on Islamic Law while executing criminals and outlawing the education of women (Nolan, 2006, p. 19). The group has been out of Afghanistan for many years now, however it is still considered an influential group in Afghanistan, implementing policies which seek to undermine the US-supported government. Pakistan’s support for the group has limited the international efforts towards controlling these insurgents and ending their activities in Afghanistan (Nolan, 2006, p. 19). The US will eventually fully withdraw from the country by 2014 and since 2010, the US and Afghani government officials have been carrying out discussions on conflict settlement. However, these talks have not sufficiently settled the Taliban issue in Afghanistan. Rise of Taliban in Afghanistan The Afghan Mujahideen were associated with a group of tribal fighters whose only purpose or goal was to eliminate the Soviets, not so much to establish insurgent activities. The Mujahideen is considered a group of Afghans fighting against the PDPA and the Soviet troops; this group believed that they were involved in a holy war or a jihad (Marsden, 2002, p. 26). With the support of the US and Pakistan authorities in terms of military training, weapons and supplies, these fighters became highly skilled strike military teams. In the 1980s, the resistance also successfully undermined the military might of the Soviet army. The Soviets could not control Afghanistan and therefore announced their withdrawal from Afghanistan by 1988 (Nolan, 2006, p. 19). This withdrawal was seen as a major victory for the Mujahideen and their supporters. When troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, the Massoud government also crumbled soon thereafter. Following this collapse, Afghanistan was divided into four mini-states which warred with each other, seeking political dominance over the other. The Mujahideen also split, to the frustration of their ideological supporters which included the talibs or the religious students recruited from refugee camps and the border areas in Afghanistan (Nolan, 2006, p. 19). When Afghanistan broke down into uncontrollable anarchy, the supporters of the Mujahideen became silent because it already became clear that the jihad victory versus the Soviets was actually a moral victory for the country (Nolan, 2006, p. 20). Kabul was attacked almost on a daily basis with the Mujahideen groups seeking power over other factions. The Islamic supporters who used to fight with the Mujahideen, as well as young students who were gathered from poor refugee camps soon came to understand that the Islamic triumph in Afghanistan was now taken over by struggles for power and by plain bullying (Gohari, 2000, p. 33). Within these power struggles, the way was paved for the Taliban, a relatively unknown group to emerge. The minister of communications at that time supported the Taliban as a means of removing Afghani and foreign corrupt influences in the country – these groups have been labelled as killers and drug traffickers in the name of Islam (Gohari, 2000, p. 34). This group was seen as a means of establishing order amidst the chaos which was prevalent during the post-Soviet war period. The Taliban saw the Mujahideen’s failure at uniting Afghanistan as a product of the Mujahideen’s corrupt practices and reliance on western support. The Taliban noted how two girls were abducted and raped by local Mujahideen (Nolan, 2006, p. 21). This led to a local Pushtun mullah gathering thirty talibs to avenge these atrocities. This mullah sought to restore order in the society, imposing a strict adherence to the Islamic principles and teachings in order to protect the people. The Taliban also believed that after the Soviets were driven out by the Mujahideen, that peace would reign in their country (Marsden, 2002, p. 126). However, the Mujahideen leaders started fighting with each other in order to gain power. This prompted students to seek ways to improve the suffering of the Afghani people. The actual beginnings of the Taliban cannot be accurately determined because its positions on the establishment of power are not clear (Marsden, 2002, p. 125). Moreover, its position as a means of restoring order in the war-torn area of Afghanistan was seen as a means of providing solution to the overruling chaos in the country. In effect, from a certain point of view, the Taliban forces rose out of peaceful necessities in Afghanistan. Discipline and the establishment of order were crucial to Taliban’s code of conduct after its ascent to power (Nolan, 2006, p. 20). Such discipline exhibited the obedience that the students were taught from a very young age through the strict madrassa system. Such strong adherence to the teachings of Islam contrasted with the disorder of the Mujahideen who were fighting among themselves for the right to control Afghanistan (Rubin, 2000, p. 9). Based on various reports, with the Taliban in power, there were no rapes, thieving, murders, or other disorderly behaviours in Afghanistan. Mohammed Omar expressed that the Taliban was a neutralizing force appointed by God; they were also the people assigned as a peacekeeping party and as a means of disbanding the political groupings; and finally, it was considered a groups which was set to establish order in the country (Bajoria, 2011). Omar also called for about 4000 madrassa-trained individuals from Pakistan to help move the Taliban activities out of Kandahar (Nolan, 2006, p. 20). This move was supported by the madrassa-trained students in the Pakistan refugee camps; and this indicated the strong connection between the Taliban base in madrassas and their ability to organize supporters. Omar also called for the different madrassa heads to announce a ten-day holiday in order to allow students to participate in securing Kabul and to release the seasoned troops. About 2,000 students and other supporters soon moved to the capital in the days following (Griffin, 2003, p. 197). In September of 1996, Taliban was taken by Kabul and with the skills of the advancing troops, it was concluded that the troops were supported by Pakistan. Pakistan’s support of the Taliban has since been considered extensive and was crucial in the victory claimed by the Taliban forces. The Taliban went on to control about 90% of Afghanistan’s lands, and yet its power over the country was never recognized and supported by the UN (Nolan, 2006, p. 20). Even when it was eventually driven out of Afghanistan, it was still an influential group in Afghanistan. In recent years, the group’s power and influence has been deemed to have spread to the south and southeast and central-eastern regions. This power has been gained over these regions, because it has installed shadow governments and strong-arm tactics (Marsden, 2002, p. 124). Although, the increase in US troops in 2010 has enabled improvements in the Afghani military troops, the US military already sees these advances as reversible and unstable. The Taliban still has a significant amount of power in the region through insurgent attacks and by using fire fights and military encounters to intimidate Afghani citizens and to endanger public confidence. Taliban and anti-modernism The Taliban was mostly considered a post-modernist group and their anti-modernist teachings influenced their policies and the fact that they were a group, not a political party lent a certain amount of liberalism in their decisions (Maley, 2002, p. 232). Due to this approach in decision-making, international groups were able to establish agreements based on practical concerns, but on matters of principle, they had difficulties securing such agreements. There were also major differences in the Taliban’s approach to the cities and the country sides and they saw cities as areas to be governed strictly, and they saw the rural areas being of lesser interest to them (Maley, 2002, p. 232). They found security in these areas and therefore did not interfere much with these areas and the activities in these areas. At first, the Taliban group was able to establish goodwill with the Afghan citizens who were getting tired of corruption among the warlords, brutality and frequent infighting. However, this well-being was not shared by other Afghanis, especially among non-Pashtuns (Creative Commons, 2001, p. 11). The Taliban’s policies which have been very strict and anti-modern has been qualified as another form of Sharia integrating Pashtun tribal codes or Pashtunwali, with radical meanings drawn and favoured by splinter groups (Martin, 2004, p. 34). The jihadist as well as pan-Islamist ideals were highly supported by Osama bin Laden who was being protected by the Taliban group. The Taliban ideals were different in many ways from the ideals established and supported by the Mujahideen leaders. These mujahideen were traditionalists or who were on the radical side, as inspired by the Muslim brotherhood (Grad, 2009, p. 310). Within the rule of the Taliban, the Sharia law was strictly applied and it was interpreted as a law which now punished acts which were originally permitted in Afghanistan. These prohibitions were based on traditions and anti-modernist concepts; these included, pork, pig, pig oil, anything made from human hair, satellite dishes, equipment which allowed the enjoyment of music, pool tables, chess, masks, alcohol, television, anything which promotes sex, and other seemingly unreasonable prohibitions (Creative Commons, 2001, p. 11). Employment, education, sports, and dancing were also prohibited for women. They were also called on to wear their hair short with males having to wear head covering. These activities used to be lawful under Afghani rule. However, the critics pointed out that Afghanis were not following the strict application of Islam (Dupree, 2001, p. 145). The Taliban did not shun the traditional practices and did not ruin the graves of Sufi pirs (holy men); they also believed in the power of dreams and establishing meanings from these (Gutman, 2004, p. 239). In its anti-modernist ideals, the Taliban has been described as both anti-nationalist and Pushtun nationalist. In the first five years of the Taliban rule, they adopted the Deobandi and Islam anti-nationalist beliefs and also opposed the tribal and feudal structures, removing the traditional leaders in leadership positions (Rashid, 2000, p. 39). The Taliban is said to have received support from the Pashtuns in the country who were under the perception that the movement would establish national dominance. Moreover, the Pashtun scholars in the West also had different perceptions with the Taliban on various issues, establishing support for the group, but mostly on ethnic grounds (Jalali and Grau, 2002, p. 45). The Taliban does not count the Shi-i as Muslims and the Shia in Afghanista was made up of the Hazara ethnic group which made up about 10% of Afghanistan’s population (Human Rights Watch Report, 1998). This group was also against debating policies with other Muslims; in fact Muslim reporters were prohibited from questioning edicts and from questioning the policies under the Quran. The Taliban anti-modernist practice was especially apparent when its policies against women are considered. This group forced is women to wear a burqa in public (Gohari, 2000, p. 108). They were not allowed to work or to be educated after the age of eight, and even then, they were only allowed to learn the Quran. They were also not permitted treatment by male doctors, unless a male doctor was present; in some instance, this led to a variety of their diseases not being adequately treated. They often faced the possibility of public flogging and public executions (Physicians for Human Rights, 1998). Employment among these women was only allowed in the medical field since the male medical personnel were not permitted to look at them. As a result of the ban on women in employment, the closure of primary schools was seen since many of the teachers for these schools were women (Rashid, 2000, p. 106). The burqa also covered them from head to toe, with a small screen for their eyes, and women who did not comply had to bear public humiliation. These practices extremely set forth the application of Islamic beliefs and restrictions on women, not even allowing for adjustments and accommodations made for the current or modern context of Islamic beliefs and applications. The devastation and hardships which was endured by Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion and the chaotic period which followed contributed to the Taliban ideologies (Rashid, 2000, p. 23). The Taliban group was a barely literate group and were not scholars in Islam or in history. The refugee students who were raised in a male-dominated society were not schooled in math, science, history or geography; they also were not learned in farming, herding, or other livelihood activities (Rashid, 2000, p. 23). In this scenario, war implied employment and peace was equated with unemployment. Rigid fundamentalism therefore was justified as a means of survival; and allowing women more freedom would mean lost support for their political power (Afsar, et.al., 2008, p. 60). The Taliban has been described by experts as a secret group which is governed by the Kandaharis and they are mysterious and very dictatorial. They also did not carry out elections as the Sharia does not apparently allow political parties or politics (Johnson, et.al., 2003, p. 12). As such, they did not pay officials or soldiers, but only provided for their food, clothing and weapons. They believed in living the life of the Prophet Mohammad who lived such a political-free life as well. They also believe that jihad is one of their basic rights (Rashid, 2000, p. 43). Their decision-making policies were based on the Pashtun tribal council, something they believed to be the early Islamic model. Moreover, their decisions were also based on consensus of followers. In the years which followed, the decisions of the Mullah were made without consultations and instead of carrying out elections, the leader’s power was legitimated through an Oath of Allegiance (Rashid, 2000, p. 43). This practice was similar to the practice during the time of the Prophet and the caliphs. Consultation with the people and general elections were not necessary because they believe this to be in accordance with the Sharia. This group did not want to share power and they managed to stay in power over 60% of Afghans (Rashid, 2000, p. 98). Critics were however quick to point out that Taliban’s lack of general support and lack of local representation amounted to the group being an illegitimate ruling power, one which is likened to an occupying force. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, the Taliban group can strongly be considered an anti-modernist group which is highly steeped in the traditions and the extreme ideals of Islam. In the aftermath of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the Taliban group emerged as the leading political power in Afghanistan. During its rule, it imposed anti-modernist ideals to the people, strictly imposing the prohibitions of the Islam faith on its followers, and most especially on women. The Taliban domestic policies were meant to control the activities of the people and to prevent any political chaos within the region. The Taliban group imposed its policies without giving a chance for the applications of consensus or elections which would have neutralized the policy-making and government processes in the country. Taliban’s anti-modern approaches were also likened to an anti-western or anti-American sentiment which was fuelled by Osama bin Laden’s terrorist plans against the US. Eventually, the 9/11 attacks were the direct result of these anti-modernist and anti-American sentiments. In effect, its domestic policies reached far-reaching proportions and affected the international scene through its widespread and extremist belief in Islam teachings and in their right to jihad. 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