Tag Archives : Pashtun

Friday Mosque in Herat Image: Koldo Hormaza Wikitravel Herat was one of the largest cultural and Islamic centers in Central Asia in the 14th till the 16th centuries. Today, it is the third largest city in Afghanistan. It is located in the western part of the country, bordered with Iran. Herat was the Timurid center of art, poetry, and miniature painting [...]

It’s the classic tight spot between the devil and the deep blue sea. Afghans are caught between having a corrupt and election-cheating Karzai as president and a historical scenario dominated by the likes of Mullah Omar, languishing in a civil war, or the Soviet regime. By Afghan standards, these are better times in Afghanistan. In fact, given the [...]

The Taliban have apparently been fighting for the institutionalization of the Muslim Sharia law, imposing extremist views on the population. These militants and religious fundamentalists forced ‘their ultraconservative brand of Islam in and around the Swat.’ In the process, they have also been ‘displacing centuries-old traditions,’ as claimed [...]