Summary

By the time bin Laden returned to Afghanistan, much of the country was controlled by the Taliban, an Islamist militia formed to combat the mujahideen government that had seized power following the Soviets’ withdrawal. Their leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar declared himself the ruler of all Muslims. The Taliban did not invite bin Laden to their territory and were told to hold on to him and keep him quiet by the Saudi government. The Taliban did not trust bin Laden, but hoped that he would invest in their country much as he had done in Sudan. Among his small group of remaining followers, bin Laden compared his relocation to the “hijira,” the time in the Prophet Mohammad's life when he was expelled from his home in Mecca. This was a turning point in Islamic history that revitalized the Prophet’s followers and began Islam...