Customer Reviews

The Taliban: War, Religion and the New Order in Afghanistan

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In light of the tragedy in the United States of America, this book may become popular as more people attempt to learn more about Afghanistan and the Taliban. I was able to read this book in a couple of hours; it is very short. The material itself sheds light on the Taliban, religious law, history, politics and its relationship with international agencies. In our modern-day North American society, it is difficult to comprehend women being ejected from the workplace under religious law, but as the author points out, it is a fact.

While the book did provide some concrete knowledge on the Taliban, I found there were parts of the book that did not thoroughly address the issues presented, and at the end of the book, I was left with more questions than answers. It touched on many issues but seemed to only very briefly skim the surface and the reader was left feeling there was more left out than said. For this reason, the book lost stars in the rating.

I found this book to be more "textbookish" than the other books I have read recently about the Taliban. It has a more dry academic style than the other two books that I'd recommend about the subject: The New Jackals: Ramsi Yousef, Osama bin Laden, and the Future of Terrorism, by Simon Reeve, and Taliban, Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, by Ahmed Rashid. However, I felt that this book was still valuable. It has a more indepth discussion of the history of Afghanistan than the other two, and much more detail about the Northern Alliance, and makes it clear how difficult it will be to unite the Afghan people even after the Taliban are gone. As I read about the various factions there, I began to feel that I needed to write out a cast of characters, just to keep track of them all, and I also gained a sense that none of the various factions involved are particularly savory. Since it is several years old, recent events such as destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas, and of course, the WTC, are not discussed, but the book still presents a valuable overview of the backgrounds of the war we are facing now.

I just read Peter Marsden's book _The Taliban: War, Religion, and the New Order in Afghanistan_. It's a short, well-reasoned introduction to the Taliban.

Chapters on The Mujahaddin illuminate the Afghan-Soviet War, and the Islamic Resistance. Marsden comes to tell how several specific factions within Afghanistan were recognized by the government of Pakistan...then, American weaponry was channeled through Pakistan to those groups. After the Soviet-Afghan war, those groups fought among themselves for power in Afghanistan. Years later, out of the chaos sprang the Taliban.

There are other good chapters on the history of Afghanistan in general, The Taliban creed, earlier movements in Afghanistan, Taliban's relationship with the rest of the world, esp. humanitarian agencies in Afghanistan, and the gender policies of the Taliban.

Marsden's angle is definitely one of cultural relativism. He repeatedly asserts that the Taliban are operating out of a totally different value system than the "liberal" or "Western" world. Humanitarian agencies are serving in a country where women cannot vote, work as they wish, drive, or walk uncovered in public. Indeed, women have been beaten for violating the strict public dress code. However, Marsden states, common ground must be found, if there is to be any humanitarian aid at all. The author also reminds us that our view of Islam and The Taliban is colored by our place in the world, our "Western" biases, et cetera.

All in all, this is a good introduction to the Taliban. I'm not sure if I can agree with the author's assessment of how many Afghans actually support the Taliban, but generally this is a good introductory book on the subject. The book is short and to the point. There is a helpful chronology in the front, and a short bibliography and index are in the back.

If you're only going to read one book on The Taliban, you could do worse.

Ken32

Written in 1998 this book will seem dated to those who have become CNN junkies over the past weeks. Good coverage of the rise and roots of the Taliban but, Ahmed Rashid's Taliban:Militant Islam,Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia is more up to date and detailed.(also cheaper...)

Good coverage of NGO and UN relations with the Taliban that you will not find covered as well elsewhere.

Reading this book made me wish I had read it before I read Ahmed Rashid's book, Taliban. It puts many issues in focus, giving the reader a basic starting point for further research, but that is all it really does. His bibliography was limited to 13 book resources and the text is scattered with clips from Taliban radio but it doesn't really "break out the box" per se, giving no real indepth viewpoints any more than a school textbook. And it is much related to a school textbook because those book sources seem mostly to be secondary sources. He mentions Osama Bin Laden in only one paragraph and never at all speaks of Al Qaeda forces.
But in the conclusion he mentions the purpose of his book being to rid people of stereotypes about Islamic movements and to show the conflict in communication between Islam and the West. In the case of the former, he pretty much succeeds. In the later, I'd read Rashid for a better anwer than Marsden.

This is a brilliantly written account of the Taliban that has just the right mix of Afghani history. It is very concise and well-written and avoids the anti-muslim hysteria that pervades most articles or books about the Taliban but rather takes a more balanced look at the Taliban as a product of history and politics. Clearly, Mr. Marsden is an expert in his field and deserves praise for this gem.

This was a good and fast read, but did not contain a whole lot of material. It needs to be read in conjunction with other books on the Taliban, as it will back up specific events that make history come alive. A good read, but over priced for the book.

It is up to you if you wish to buy it. Remember, no book is a complete loss, if for nothing more than its subjective opinion.

Jimmy

The book reads factual, and a tad dry. The truth is when you want to know about something as such you have to live it. I have been to this part of the world, there is so much more Peter could have researched out by actually being a part of this life. I strongly recommend reading SB 1 or God By Karl Mark Maddox.

Recommended SB 1 or God