The Conflict

Afghanistan, having been divided and torn apart by two decades of war, was taken over in 1996 by a group of religious students professing to set up a pure Islamic state. The Taliban was harsh and oppressive, but put a stop to the violence and chaos that was rampant in Afghanistan's cities. The Taliban has repeatedly enraged the international community with a variety of offensive acts, openly defying the United Nations and its neighbors as well as the West.

Religious

• The Taliban imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law on Afghanistan in its mission to create a pure Islamic state. To most Westerners and the majority of Muslims its rule has been repressive and has denied basic human rights to a large portion of the population, but there are Muslims around the world who revere the ideals the Taliban...