The Taliban

1. The Taliban By: Mark Pinkston

2. BEFORE THE TALIBAN • Before The Taliban took over Afghanistan, the country was under the control of Soviet Russia (Laura Hayes, Borgna Brunner, Beth Rowen). • The conditions in Afghanistan were not very good considering their rulers, but little did they know that the rulers they were about to put in place were far worse than what they thought was awful to begin with.

3. WHO ARE THEY? • The Taliban is not a people but an extremist religious group. • They were a favorite in the minds of the Afghani people when it came to their next ruler after the Soviets, because of their original ideas and actions on bringing back Muslim Traditions, putting a stop to violence, and bringing commerce back to Afghanistan (S.E. Smith)

4. HOW DID THEY TAKE OVER? • The Taliban took over Afghanistan in 1996 and ruled until 2001 (Laura Hayes, Borgna Brunner, Beth Rowen). • Their attempts to take control of Afghanistan were helped majorly by the people, they were pleased with the ideas of The Taliban and wanted them to take control after the Soviets were driven out (S.E. Smith).

5. THE RISE • During the Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan The Taliban was formed. • They were just another group of “freedom fighters” that wanted to take back Afghanistan and restore Muslim traditions to their home (Laura Hayes, Borgna Brunner, Beth Rowen). • Many thought the Taliban would be a good thing for Afghanistan, “Initially, the Taliban's rise to power was actually greeted with excitement by many Afghans. The group asserted that it would restore Muslim values to Afghanistan, garnering support from many Muslim nations, and it pledged to put a stop to violence.” (S.E. Smith). • The group changed into an awful tyranny shortly after taking over.

6. AMERICAN INFLUENCES • The U.S. had a big part in the uprising of the Taliban. • We, in our attempt to drive out the Soviets, funded The Taliban and helped them take control over Afghanistan.

7. UNDER THE TALIBAN • Changes to all laws in Afghanistan were made and they became a strict version of Sharia. • Men all had to have beards. • Life under the Taliban rule was incredibly tough for everyone but especially for the women.

8. WOMEN’S RESTRICTIONS • Women’s rights and treatment became unbelievably awful (Laura Hayes, Borgna Brunner, Beth Rowen). • Women were forced to wear a “Burqa”, which was a long veil that covered them from head to toe. • Many other laws were imposed upon the women of Afghanistan beyond these, including the chopping off of fingertips if their nails were painted (Some of the restrictions imposed by Taliban on women in Afghanistan).

9. THE HEAD OF THE TALIBAN • The Taliban took control of Afghanistan under the rule of their leader Mullah Muhammad Omar. • He enforced the Taliban’s practices of a very strict version of Sharia, which is Islamic Law (Laura Hayes, Borgna Brunner, Beth Rowen).

10. THE MOST RENOWNED LEADER • Osama Bin Laden is the most famous of all Taliban leaders and was the most ruthless out of them all as well. • But the U.S. put an end to his rule on May 1, 2011, he was shot and killed that day by Navy Seal Team Six.

11. SOURCE CITATIONS • Hayes, Laura. Brunner, Borgna. Rowen, Beth. “Who Are The Taliban?” infoplease.com. infoplease.com, 2007. Web. 3 March 2013 • Smith, S.E. “What Is The Taliban?” wisegeek.com. wisegeek.com, 22 January 2013. Web. 3 March 2013 • “Some of the restrictions imposed by Taliban on women in Afghanistan” rawa.org. rawa.org. Web. 3 March 2013 • All images from Google.com/images.