PACT News

Say “Taliban” and people around the world think instantly of thickly bearded, gun-toting men in turbans. However, the word “Taliban” is far older than the armed movement that appeared in 1994.

"Taliban" was originally used simply as a term to describe students studying in Madrassahs.

Naveed Yousafzai, Deputy Head of PACT Radio, talked to ordinary people living on the Pak-Afghan border about what the word “Taliban” now means to them. The following are excerpts from a PACT Radio broadcast:

“A Talib is one who is learning,” says second Khatib and Qari, Noor Hassan, from Bajaur Agency, “whether they are studying Quranic studies, Hadith or other modern subjects, such as science and technology. I think everyone working in any field is a Talib in his own way because the process of learning never ends.”

“They were madrassah students until they seized the reigns of power in Afghanistan and became known as the Taliban,” says a resident of Nawagai – a small town in Bajaur Agency – on condition of anonymity. “The only difference between them and other students was that they had power and were fighting wars, rather than studying in their madrassahs. Still,” he adds, “one who kills innocent people is not a Talib, he is a terrorist.”

“A student learning in a religious madrassah or state school is a Talib,” says Hafiz Muhammad from Peshawar. “The national and international media are wrong to use this word to describe criminals.”

“Before, the word Talib was used only to describe madrassah students,” says Qalandar from Peshawar. “Nowadays it is used mostly to describe persons involved in unlawful activities.”

“A real Talib gives and spreads the lesson of peace in this world,” says Amin Jan from Khyber Agency. “Militants do the opposite: they destroy peace in our community and beyond.”

“There is only one kind of Taliban, says a man from Peshawar, on condition of anonymity, “those that are studying in madrassahs, schools and colleges. The other so-called Taliban are militants and criminals. It is unfortunate that the word ‘Taliban’, which has for centuries stood for peace and learning, is today so misused.”

“After the fall of Dr Najeeb [a former president of Afghanistan]”, says a man from Nangarhar Province in Afghanistan, on condition of anonymity, “the armed group that seized power became famous and so the name ‘Taliban’ stuck, but nowadays there are so many criminal groups, often referred to by the media as ‘Taliban’, who are just fighting for their own interests.”

“I don’t know who is responsible for giving this name to the militants,” says Muhammad Ilyas from Chaman, a town in Balochistan, “but I will say that it has created many problems for madrassah students like me. The media is also providing the militants with publicity, by highlighting their acts of violence and giving them extraordinary exposure on front pages all over the world.”

“It is twisted to think that all madrassah students are militants,” says Abdul Baseer, “if some are involved in militancy, it does not mean that all are militants.”

“Some militants, Taliban, may be educated people – madrassah students,” says one man from Peshawar, on condition of anonymity, “others may not be. There are plenty of both kinds. If they arm themselves and go out to fight against injustice and cruelty, with the idea of benefiting their society, they may be educated. If they arm themselves for making trouble or getting money, they are probably less educated. If they are kidnapping boys to make them suicide bombers against innocents, they are surely uneducated. One cannot make generalisations or give yes or no answers – it is more complicated. Also, I believe that education begins at home. A person’s upbringing, his parents and family, will have a big impact on whether that person decides to become a militant.”

“In madrassahs we learn about the holy Quran and Hadith,” says a man from Bajaur, on condition of anonymity. “These never teach us to kill innocent people. Madrassahs are a kind of Islamic NGO, they have been providing people with Islamic learning for centuries.”

“People’s understanding of the word ‘Taliban’ depends very much on where they live and on their level of understanding,” says one man from Peshawar, on condition of anonymity. “I think in western countries people think that militants and Taliban are one and the same thing. The general public hear only bad things about the Taliban so, of course, they believe that they are all evil, violent, dangerous and brutal, and that therefore imprisoning and even killing them is justified. On the other hand, I suspect that in some Pashtun areas, people have a very different concept, that the ‘Taliban’ are pious and brave fighters at war with foreign invaders and the corrupt warlords who support them. Other people may hold beliefs somewhere between these two extremes – it depends on their level of knowledge and to what extent they generalise about this ‘Talib’ concept, which is, anyway, just a label. My own view is that there are many kinds of people currently operating under the ‘Talib’ label, from the pious and peaceful religious students who want only to make other people happy and to help their communities, to those ignorant and evil perverts who kidnap young boys in order to turn them into suicide bombers, to go out and kill and maim innocent men, women and children."