The movement called the Taliban now control about 85-90% of Afghanistan and without question support Osama bin Laden. Who are they? What are their goals? Why would they harbor and support Osama bin Laden?

Taliban means "students of religion." The movement began in 1994, two years after the mujahadeen fighters had overthrown the Soviet puppet regime. This was a time when local warlords and bandits were vying for power throughout the land. According to their tradition, the Taliban movement began with a gang rape in the spring of 1994. Two young girls were abducted by a group of these bandits in lawless Afghanistan.

Outrage reached Muhammad Omar, a village mullah who ran a small Islamic school nearby. He collected 30 Taliban, or religious students, and came to the rescue of these girls, attacking the base, freeing the girls and hanging the commander. Continued pleas for similar assistance encouraged these students when Pakistan began to lend financial support. The Taliban became an armed militia, attracting more recruits mainly from religious schools and increased aid flowed from Pakistan. The Taliban then imposed their ultrarigid beliefs on the areas they controlled, forbidding women to go to school, requiring men to grow beards, outlawing neckties. Although they captured Kabul in 1996, they never completely gained control of the countryside and still do not today.

The Taliban insists that its power really lies with God and the Afghan people. In recent months, Mullah Omar, "The supreme leader of the Muslim faithful," has implemented several controversial decisions that reflect the political agenda of bin Laden and his Arab- Afghan friends. These include a new school curriculum emphasizing Arabic, the prosecution of two Americans and six European aid workers for spreading Christianity, and the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan.

In the words of one analyst, "bin Laden controls the Taliban." This is true because bin Laden has provided Mullah Omar with millions of dollars and a terrorist network that has trained several thousand Arab-Afghan guerillas, some of whom fight the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. Further, it was probably bin Laden who organized the assassination of the Northen Alliance's top general, Ahmed Shah Massoud. It is really bin Laden's support that has helped the Taliban remain in power. They owe him!!!

The goal of the Taliban is to institute a rigid form of Islam where women cannot work, theft is punished by amputation and "idolatry" is forbidden. (Hence the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan.) Afghans who convert to Christianity can be executed and evangelization is strictly forbidden. Television is banned and few telephones are permitted. Further, use of the Internet is forbidden. The initial success of the Taliban was due to their ability to bring order out of chaos after the exit of the USSR.

For most Afghans the benefits of law and order were worth the price of relinquishing freedom. But the Taliban has in effect ruined Afghanistan. The country is suffering its worst drought, famine is imminent and the sanctions imposed by the UN to pressure the surrender of bin Laden are crushing the country. What was once a beautiful, rugged country of Southwest Asia is destroyed. There is really nothing left for the US to bomb and there are really no targets for destruction. Bin Laden hides in caves and his camps are in the most rugged parts of the country. The Taliban and bin Laden are linked inextricably and it will be most difficult for the US to find bin Laden, let alone destroy his organization.

See Newsweek (1 October 2001), pp. 30-32 and
The New York Times (19 September 2001).

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A CLASH OF WORLDVIEWS

A letter, found in the wreckage of the Pennsylvania jet, in the luggage of one of the highjackers, Muhammad Atta, and in a rental car used by the highjackers at Dulles International Airport, depicts a mind of both Islamic piety and murderous resolve. The author is unknown but it reflects what in reality may be the most important issue of this monstrous evil: The United States, and indeed the world, is at war with a worldview that is diametrically opposed to everything organized civilization holds dear.

The letter's opening sentences, written as a list of injunctions, specify the manner in which the terrorists were to prepare themselves mentally, spiritually and even in their clothing for death! It reminds the terrorists to bring their suitcases, examine their weapons, and be certain their shoes and socks fit properly. The letter exhorts the terrorists to "cleanse your heart and purify it from impurities and forget anything related to this world for the time of play is past and the time of truth has come, for we have wasted much of our lives. Shouldn't we spend those remaining hours in offering repentance and obedience?" It concludes with these chilling words: "Open your chest welcoming death in the path of God and utter your prayers seconds before you go to your target. Let your words be, 'There is no God but God and Muhammad is his messenger.' Then, God willing, you will be in heavens."

In his book, The Clash of Civilizations, Samuel P. Huntington argues that with the passing of the Cold War there is an end to serious competition between nation-states. Instead, the nature of the competition is between the world's civilizations. Ideologies like communism, capitalism, etc. are irrelevant in this new era. Religion, ethnicity and culture define the nature of the new struggle. The most ominous of these struggles is between the West and radical Islam. This clash is one of worldviews, rooted in a radical Islam that seeks to destroy all dimensions of Western civilization, which bin Laden and the Taliban so detest.

Further, the developments that radicalized bin Laden the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, the American presence in the holy land of Saudi Arabia and the nation of Israel are radicalizing a generation of young Muslims in Afghanistan and throughout the 10-40 window. The suicidal passions of the 19 highjackers could be repeated again and again. The United States must convince this new generation of radicalized Muslims that we are not the enemy. But this is a "war" that puts the US at a distinct disadvantage. The radical Muslim uses our technology to destroy and terrorize us cell phones, the Internet and modern weapons and planes.

It is a war for the heart, soul and mind of a whole generation of young Muslims. Despite their contradictions and prostitution of the Koran, their fanaticism is appealing and their successes enrapturing to this young, radicalized generation. That is why the US and other western nations must help the traditionalist Muslims win the theological struggle within Islamic civilization. If not, then the West may face what bin Laden and other extremists really want a ferocious clash of civilizations!

See the letter printed in The New York Times (28 September 2001) and
US News and World Report (1 October 2001).

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GEO-POLITICAL DANGERS FOR THE UNITED STATES

When the mujahadeen defeated the Soviets, then the US had little interest in Afghanistan. It pulled back and watched the nation deteriorate. The nation was ruined, with 1.5 million dead, millions more as refugees and a nation strewn with 15 million mines. No significant foreign aid followed, and the Afghans felt betrayed and abandoned by the West because they viewed themselves as partners and allies in defeating the Soviets. But that chance for friendship and allegiance is gone. What the West faces now is winning a nation of partisans in a bitter struggle for the heart, soul and mind on not only Afghanistan but for Islam.

What are the dangers:

1. For Pakistan, which has taken an enormous risk in allying itself with the US, there is the possibility of the extremists overthrowing the government of General Musharraf. The danger here of course is that Pakistan has nuclear weapons.

2. The same is true for the moderate Islamic nations Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and especially Egypt, where the Egyptian Jihad is one of the most radical and violent terrorist organizations, already aligned with al Qaeda.

3. The US has already gotten support from the Sudan, which has a history of radicalism and is current persecuting Christians of the south in large numbers. How can the US work with such a regime that persecutes Christians and yet is standing against Afghanistan? It is a dangerous tightrope we are walking.

4. Further, the US is considering some kind of unofficial allegiance with Iran, a nation historically aligned with extreme Islam. Iran detests the Taliban, but it is hard to view allegiance with Iran as helpful. It is a terrorist nation and will use this conflict to pursue its own ends.

In short, the realities of this are incredibly complex and difficult. There will no doubt be unintended consequences to all that the US is doing. Please be praying for the President, for his Cabinet, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Congress. These are extremely difficult times as the world community is beginning a war on terrorism. The dangers and the resulting consequences are real; wisdom and much discernment are needed. May God help us!

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