Baby-Selling in Afghanistan
Most Afghan families have many children, too many, in fact, for some. On the other hand, there are childless couples for whom adoption is the only choice. In Afghanistan, this often means buying a baby from a poor family.
Don’t Do What the Mullah Does
One of my Afghan drivers never missed a chance to make sarcastic comments about religion in general and the Islamic clergy in particular whenever we passed a mosque on our long journeys across the country. One of his remarks that I recall is as follows: “Do what the mullah says,…
Afghan War
The war had been going on in Afghanistan for more than twenty years, largely unnoticed by the outside world, until the U.S.-led coalition said it was going to overthrow the Taliban regime and eliminate the al-Qaida leader, Osama ben Laden (Usama bin Laden).
How I Broke 9/11 News to Taliban Fighter
One of the Taliban prisoners-of-war I met at the Do-Ab detention center in the Panjshir Valley in mid-September 2001 was a bespectacled man with refined manners and fluent English.
Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Lion of Panjshir
The late Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Lion of Panjshir, who fought against the Soviet and Taliban armies, remains a cult figure in many parts of Afghanistan.
The First Days in Afghanistan (2001)
The final stages of Afghanistan’s civil war and the United States’ involvement in the conflict attracted hundreds of journalists from all over the world.
Religious Affairs in Afghanistan
Islam is the prevailing religion in Afghanistan. The majority of Muslims adhere to the Sunni school, while Shi’ites are in the minority. There are also some Christians, Bahais, and Hindus; in Kabul, there are two Jews (as of this writing in 2002).
