Reading the Taliban: Himal Magazine article

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An article I wrote for Himal Magazine in 2014 about understanding the Taliban through their own primary sources—statements, poems, and internal memos—rather than through simplified Islamist or ethnic frameworks.
Author

Alex Strick van Linschoten

Published

December 2, 2016

An article I wrote for Himal Magazine back in 2014 has just been released on their website in a digital format. It’s a bit dated, and there have since been a number of significant developments in terms of the availability of primary sources, but I wouldn’t change the overall shape of the argument. The nub of what I tried to say was this:

“These sources allow for a far fuller and rounded portrayal of the Taliban, both as individuals and as a movement. It is only through understanding the viewpoints of those in senior leadership positions – as expressed in statements, poems or internal memos – that one can arrive at an understanding of why certain decisions were taken, and get more of a sense of the Taliban’s social identity. It is not enough to view the Taliban through an Islamist lens, or a Pashtun lens for that matter. From the 1980s onwards, the Taliban’s identity was subject to change, with different groups and individuals following different paths in the ever-changing environment the movement found itself in. These processes continued after 9/11, and a nuanced and detailed understanding of the evolution of the Taliban and their identity will prove to be a valuable and instructive exercise.”

This also happens to be the justification for my current work finishing up The Taliban Reader, a sourcebook and reference tool which will hit bookshelves in the spring. For the full Himal article, go here.