Afghan Arabs ( Arabic : أفغان عرب ; Pashto : افغان عربان ; Dari : عرب های افغان ) were the Arab Muslims who immigrated to Afghanistan and joined the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War . The term does not refer to the history of Arabs in Afghanistan before the 1970s. Despite being referred to as Afghans , they originated from the Arab world and did not hold Afghan citizenship.
211-578: It is estimated that between 8,000 and 35,000 Arabs immigrated to Afghanistan to partake in what much of the Muslim world was calling an Islamic holy war against the Soviet Union , which had militarily intervened in Afghanistan to support the ruling People's Democratic Party against the rebelling jihadists . The Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi , who was the first Arab journalist from
422-415: A South Arabian language and were known for their prowess in trade and seafaring, they controlled the southern part of Arabia and had a prosperous economy based on agriculture, commerce, and maritime trade, they were skilled in irrigation and terracing, which allowed them to cultivate crops in the arid environment. The Himyarites converted to Judaism in the 4th century CE, and their rulers became known as
633-701: A "variant of Islamist ideology based on armed struggle and extreme religious vigour" known as Salafi jihadism . The departure of the Soviets led to the start of the Afghan Civil War between Afghan Government forces and the so-called "Interim Afghan Government" , Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda participated in the failed Battle of Jalalabad , Bin Laden personally led 800 Arabs to immobilize the 7th Sarandoy regiment but failed to do so leading to many casualties. At least 300 Arabs were killed by Afghan Forces during
844-495: A 96-horse caravan bringing aid into northern Afghanistan, stealing a year's supply of medicine and cash that was to be distributed to villagers. This would have allowed the villagers to buy food. French relief officials also asserted that Thierry Niquet , an aid coordinator bringing cash to Afghan villagers, was killed by one of Hekmatyar's commanders in 1986. It is thought that two American journalists traveling with Hekmatyar in 1987, Lee Shapiro and Jim Lindelof , were killed not by
1055-677: A branch of the Azd tribe . They fought alongside the Byzantines against the Sasanians and Arab Lakhmids. Most Ghassanids were Christians, converting to Christianity in the first few centuries, and some merged with Hellenized Christian communities. After the Muslim conquest of the Levant, few Ghassanids became Muslims, and most remained Christian and joined Melkite and Syriac communities within what
1266-613: A branch of the Rabi'ah tribe , which was one of the largest Arab tribes in the pre-Islamic period. They were known for their military prowess and played a significant role in the early Islamic period, fighting in battles against the Byzantine and Sassanian empires and contributing to the expansion of the Arab empire. The Osroene Arabs , also known as the Abgarids , were in possession of
1477-517: A ceasefire with local commanders in Jalalabad , Kunar , Logar and Surobi , and stated that they should only fight foreigners. Hekmatyar was classified as a terrorist organization in Canada in 2005, and is one of two individuals on Canada's list; his party Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin was added in 2006. In May 2006, he released a video to Al Jazeera in which he accused Iran of backing the U.S. in
1688-548: A few individuals, known as the hanifs , followed a form of monotheism . Currently, around 93% of Arabs are Muslims , while the rest are mainly Arab Christians , as well as Arab groups of Druze and Baháʼís . The earliest documented use of the word Arab in reference to a people appears in the Kurkh Monoliths , an Akkadian-language record of the Assyrian conquest of Aram (9th century BCE). The Monoliths used
1899-647: A half million martyrs. We are ready to offer as many to establish a true Islamic Republic." His attacks also had a political objective: to undermine the Rabbani government by proving that Rabbani and Massoud were unable to protect the population. In 1994 Hekmatyar would shift alliances, joining with Dostum as well as Hizb-e-Wahdat , a Hazara Shi'a party, to form the Shura-i Hamahangi ("Council of coordination"). Together they laid Siege on Kabul , unleashing massive barrages of artillery and rockets that led to
2110-492: A hero of jihad. As the conflict continued, many Arab volunteers became sectarian and undisciplined in their violence, including in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, which served as the mujahideen's chief staging area and the centre of Afghan Arab activity. These later expatriate volunteers included many sectarian Salafists and Wahhabists who alienated their hosts with their aloof manner and particular disdain for Sufism , which
2321-811: A homogeneous organization that Olivier Roy described as " Leninist ", and employed the rhetoric of the Iranian Revolution . It had its operational base in the Nasir Bagh, Worsak and Shamshatoo refugee camps in Pakistan. In these camps, Hezb-i Islami formed a social and political network and operated everything from schools to prisons, with the support of the Pakistani government and their Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). From 1976 to 1977 Afghan President Daoud made overtures to Pakistan which led to reconciliation with Pakistani leader Bhutto. Bhutto's support to Hekmatyar, however, continued and when Bhutto
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#17327721166132532-567: A jihad and this is the first Islamic international brigade in the modern era. The Communists have their international brigades, the West has NATO , why can't the Muslims unite and form a common front?" The Palestinian jihadist Abdullah Yusuf Azzam , who was assassinated in Pakistan in 1989, is often credited with creating enthusiasm for the Afghan mujahideen cause in Arab countries and throughout
2743-480: A jihadist struggle against Israel was regarded with the most importance in the Arab world, for practical reasons, "it is our opinion that we should begin [jihad] with Afghanistan before Palestine ." The edict was supported by other prominent sheikhs , including the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia (the country's highest religious authority) Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah Al Baz . Sometime after 1980, Azzam established
2954-554: A large territory that extended from Yathrib in the south to parts of the Levant in the north. The Arab genealogies consider the Banu Lihyan to be Ishmaelites , and used Dadanitic language. The Kingdom of Ma'in was an ancient Arab kingdom with a hereditary monarchy system and a focus on agriculture and trade . Proposed dates range from the 15th century BCE to the 1st century CE Its history has been recorded through inscriptions and classical Greek and Roman books, although
3165-732: A major Arabic-language media organization to cover the Soviet–Afghan War, approximated that there were 10,000 Arab volunteer fighters in Afghanistan during the conflict. Among many Muslims , the Afghan Arabs achieved near hero-status for their association with the defeat of the Soviet Union in 1989 , and it was with this prestige that they were later able to exert considerable influence in mounting jihadist struggles in other countries, including their own. Their name notwithstanding, none of them were Afghans, and some who were grouped with
3376-481: A mile away from the signing ceremony. Human Rights Watch called the deal "an affront to victims of grave abuses". Hezb-i-Islami agreed to cease hostilities, cut ties to extremist groups and respect the Afghan Constitution in exchange for government recognition of the group and support for the removal of United Nations and American sanctions against Hekmatyar, who was also promised an honorary post in
3587-482: A military withdrawal from Afghanistan. As it became increasingly clear that the mujahideen's fight against the Soviet military was succeeding, it achieved more popularity with Muslims worldwide and thereby attracted more foreign volunteer fighters. Consequently, a significant amount of Arab jihadists arrived in Afghanistan when they were least needed; the late arrivals were reportedly twice the number of those who partook in
3798-784: A month later. Bin Laden then took refuge in Pakistan (with alleged Pakistani support ) until May 2011, when he was assassinated by U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six , though the American-led War in Afghanistan against the Taliban continued until August 2021. Pakistani military officer Hamid Gul , who led the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from 1987 to 1989, stated of his country's role in recruiting Muslim volunteer fighters in Afghanistan: "We are fighting
4009-711: A network of universities and libraries that became centers of learning in the Islamic world . They also promoted the arts, architecture, and literature, which flourished under their patronage. One of the most notable achievements of the Fatimids was the construction of the Al-Azhar Mosque and Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Founded in 970 CE, it is one of the oldest universities in the world and remains an important center of Islamic learning to this day. The Fatimids also had
4220-672: A number of high priests of the god El-Gabal , who were also influential in Roman politics and culture. The first ruler of the Emesene dynasty was Sampsiceramus I , who came to power in 64 CE. He was succeeded by his son, Iamblichus , who was followed by his own son, Sampsiceramus II . Under Sampsiceramus II, Emesa became a client kingdom of the Roman Empire , and the dynasty became more closely tied to Roman political and cultural traditions. The Ghassanids , Lakhmids and Kindites were
4431-545: A pejorative, and this resentment is thought by some ( Marc Sageman ) to have played a role in the relative ease with which the United States toppled the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan . In the "great gathering" of international Islamists —Arabs, Afghans, and others—at camps and training centers around Peshawar, ideas were exchanged and "many unexpected ideological cross-fertilizations" took place, particularly
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#17327721166134642-588: A period of diplomatic tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan, due to Daoud's revival of the Pashtunistan issue. Under the patronage of Pakistani General Naseerullah Babar , then governor of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , and with the blessing of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto , camps were set up to train Hekmatyar and other anti-Daoud Islamists. The Islamist movement had two main tendencies:
4853-593: A period of exemplary leadership and guidance. In 661, the Rashidun Caliphate fell into the hands of the Umayyad dynasty and Damascus was established as the empire's capital. The Umayyads were proud of their Arab identity and sponsored the poetry and culture of pre-Islamic Arabia. They established garrison towns at Ramla , Raqqa , Basra , Kufa , Mosul and Samarra , all of which developed into major cities. Caliph Abd al-Malik established Arabic as
5064-547: A population explosion among the poor or a pious middle class that most Muslim countries had. The Afghan Arab veterans formed a El-Mudzahidun regiment in August 1993 but hurt the Bosnian image internationally with "photographs of grinning Arab warriors brandishing the freshly severed heads of 'Christian Serbs'". The volunteers also took upon themselves Hisbah ("commanding right and forbidding wrong") and also attempted to impose
5275-696: A powerful windstorm as punishment for their disobedience to God . ʿĀd is regarded as one of the original Arab tribes. The historian Herodotus provided extensive information about Arabia, describing the spices , terrain , folklore , trade , clothing , and weapons of the Arabs. In his third book, he mentioned the Arabs (Άραβες) as a force to be reckoned with in the north of the Arabian Peninsula just before Cambyses ’ campaign against Egypt. Other Greek and Latin authors who wrote about Arabia include Theophrastus , Strabo , Diodorus Siculus , and Pliny
5486-518: A propitious time for insurgency, following the killing of Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah , when some elements of the Taliban were becoming "disorganized and frustrated." HIG claimed responsibility for and is thought to have at least assisted in a 27 April 2008 attempt on the life of President Karzai in Kabul that killed three Afghan citizens, including a member of parliament. Other attacks for which it
5697-440: A protective canopy over the Muslim warriors in Afghanistan. Estimates of the number of Afghan Arab that came from around the world to fight in Afghanistan include 8,000, 10,000, 20,000 and 35,000. In the camps of the foreign volunteers, Azzam was said to be "able to exercise a strong influence on the unpredictable jihadists". His slogan was "Jihad and the rifle alone: no negotiations, no conferences and no dialogues." He emphasized
5908-449: A province in the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht inscription of the second Sasanian King of Kings ( shahanshah ) Shapur I ( r. 240–270 ), which was erected in c. 262. The Emesene were a dynasty of Arab priest-kings that ruled the city of Emesa (modern-day Homs , Syria) in the Roman province of Syria from the 1st century CE to the 3rd century CE. The dynasty is notable for producing
6119-401: A sermon in Kabul that the talks of Bonn (2001) and Doha (2019–2020) failed to bring peace to Afghanistan because of the influence of "foreigners". He proposed intra-Afghan talks to form an inclusive government to replace the current interim Taliban government. In 2024, the Taliban cracked down on Hekmatyar, forcing him out of his government residence and shutting down his weekly sermons and
6330-685: A significant impact on the development of Islamic theology and jurisprudence . They were known for their support of Shia Islam and their promotion of the Ismaili branch of Shia Islam. Despite their many achievements, the Fatimids faced numerous challenges during their reign. They were constantly at war with neighboring empires, including the Abbasid Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire . They also faced internal conflicts and rebellions, which weakened their empire over time. In 1171 CE,
6541-808: A vital role in trade between Mesopotamia, and the Mediterranean . Other prominent tribes include Midian , ʿĀd , and Thamud mentioned in the Bible and Quran . Later, in 900 BCE, the Qedarites enjoyed close relations with the nearby Canaanite and Aramaean states, and their territory extended from Lower Egypt to the Southern Levant. From 1200 BCE to 110 BCE, powerful kingdoms emerged such as Saba , Lihyan , Minaean , Qataban , Hadhramaut , Awsan , and Homerite emerged in Arabia. According to
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6752-607: Is a term widely used by early Syriac , Greek , and Armenian to describe the early Arab conquerors of Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt, refers to the descendants of Hagar, who bore a son named Ishmael to Abraham in the Old Testament. In the Bible, the Hagarenes referred to as "Ishmaelites" or "Arabs." The Arab conquests in the 7th century was a sudden and dramatic conquest led by Arab armies, which quickly conquered much of
6963-565: Is also mentioned in Quranic verses, referring to people who were living in Madina and it might be a south Arabian loanword into Quranic language. The oldest surviving indication of an Arab national identity is an inscription made in an archaic form of Arabic in 328 CE using the Nabataean alphabet , which refers to Imru' al-Qays ibn 'Amr as 'King of all the Arabs'. Herodotus refers to
7174-518: Is believed to have converted to Christianity . The Abgarids played an important role in the early history of Christianity in the region, and Edessa became a center of Christian learning and scholarship . The Kingdom of Hatra was an ancient city located in the region of Mesopotamia , it was founded in the 2nd or 3rd century BCE and flourished as a major center of trade and culture during the Parthian Empire . The rulers of Hatra were known as
7385-479: Is held in high regard in Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent . While the first Arab Afghans were "for the most part" welcomed by native Afghan mujahideen fighters, by the end of the conflict with the Soviets, there was a great deal of mutual antagonism between the two ethnic groups. The Afghan mujahideen resented "being told they were not good Muslims" and called the expatriate volunteers " Ikhwanis " or "Wahhabis" as
7596-579: Is now Jordan, Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon. The Salihids were Arab foederati in the 5th century, were ardent Christians, and their period is less documented than the preceding and succeeding periods due to a scarcity of sources. Most references to the Salihids in Arabic sources derive from the work of Hisham ibn al-Kalbi , with the Tarikh of Ya'qubi considered valuable for determining the Salihids' fall and
7807-520: Is regarded as one of the oldest ancient civilizations in the Middle East . which arose around the 4th millennium BCE and lasted to 538 BCE. Gerrha was an ancient city of Eastern Arabia , on the west side of the Gulf, Gerrha was the center of an Arab kingdom from approximately 650 BCE to circa CE 300. Thamud , which arose around the 1st millennium BCE and lasted to about 300 CE. From the beginning of
8018-482: Is said to have resided for almost six years. Isolated from Afghanistan he is reported to have "lost ... his power base back home" to defections or inactivity of former members. He was also distrusted by the Iranian Government, who found him too unpredictable, unreliable, and an unnecessary liability, considering its tense relations at the time with the Taliban and the Pakistani government. Despite his pleas,
8229-614: Is the founder and current leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin political party, so called after Mohammad Yunus Khalis split from Hezbi Islami in 1979 to found Hezb-i Islami Khalis . He twice served as prime minister during the 1990s. Hekmatyar joined the Muslim Youth organization as a student in the early 1970s, where he was known for his Islamic radicalism rejected by much of the organization. He spent time in Pakistan before returning to Afghanistan when
8440-456: Is used to refer to Bedouins today, in contrast to ʿArab which refers to Arabs in general. Both terms are mentioned around 40 times in pre-Islamic Sabaean inscriptions. The term ʿarab ('Arab') occurs also in the titles of the Himyarite kings from the time of 'Abu Karab Asad until MadiKarib Ya'fur. According to Sabaean grammar, the term ʾaʿrāb is derived from the term ʿarab . The term
8651-472: Is why Hekmatyar is one of the suspects for his demise alongside KhAD . Afghan Arabs have been described as strongly motivated by hopes for martyrdom. Rahimullah Yusufzai , the Peshawar bureau chief for the Pakistani daily News , remarked on his amazement that one camp of Arab Afghans pitched white tents on the front lines, where they were easy marks for Soviet bombers, then attacking the camp. When he asked
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8862-503: Is why one has to treat the cancer first. – Ahmad Shah Massoud following a truce with the Soviet Army, c. 1983 Hezb-e-Islami distinguished itself among the mujahideen by its practice of takfir , or pronouncing apostasy against other Muslims. On that basis it regularly attacked other mujahideen factions as well as the Soviet occupation. Hekmatyar's conflict with Jamiat-e Islami and its commander Ahmad Shah Massoud
9073-737: The Abrahamic tradition, Arabs are descendants of Abraham through his son Ishmael . During classical antiquity , the Nabataeans established their kingdom with Petra as the capital in 300 BCE, by 271 CE, the Palmyrene Empire with the capital Palmyra , led by Queen Zenobia , encompassed the Syria Palaestina , Arabia Petraea , and Egypt , as well as large parts of Anatolia . The Arab Itureans inhabited Lebanon , Syria , and northern Palestine ( Galilee ) during
9284-509: The Afghan civil war . All the different parties participated in the destruction, but Hekmatyar's group was responsible for most of the damage, because of his practice of deliberately targeting civilian areas. Hekmatyar is thought to have bombarded Kabul in retaliation for what he considered its inhabitants' collaboration with the Soviets, and out of religious conviction. He once told a New York Times journalist that Afghanistan "already had one and
9495-560: The Akkadians who entered Mesopotamia around the late 4th millennium BCE. The origins of Semitic peoples are thought to include various regions Mesopotamia , the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, and North Africa . Some view that Semitic may have originated in the Levant around 3800 BCE and subsequently spread to the Horn of Africa around 800 BCE from Arabia, as well as to North Africa. According to Arab– Islamic–Jewish traditions, Ishmael ,
9706-836: The Arab world in West Asia and North Africa . A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years. In the 9th century BCE, the Assyrians made written references to Arabs as inhabitants of the Levant , Mesopotamia , and Arabia . Throughout the Ancient Near East , Arabs established influential civilizations starting from 3000 BCE onwards, such as Dilmun , Gerrha , and Magan , playing
9917-448: The Battle of Edessa in 260 CE. Valerian's capture by the Sassanian king Shapur I was a significant blow to Rome, and it left the empire vulnerable to further attacks. Zenobia was able to capture most of the Near East, including Egypt and parts of Asia Minor. However, their empire was short-lived, as Aurelian was able to defeat the Palmyrenes and recover the lost territories. The Palmyrenes were helped by their Arab allies, but Aurelian
10128-430: The Far East ," fought for the Afghan Mujahideen. Tens of thousand more foreign Muslim radicals came to study in the hundreds of new madrassas in Pakistan and along the Afghan border, that the Pakistan government funded. Eventually "more than 100,000 Muslim radicals were to have direct contact with Pakistan and Afghanistan and be influenced by the jihad." The Mujahideen of Afghanistan were divided into several factions and
10339-439: The First Intifada ; the Egyptian Islamic Jihad , with whose leader Ayman al-Zawahiri he had an emerging rivalry; or Afghanistan's KhAD , possibly to cause infighting among the jihadist cause during the Soviet–Afghan War. While there was generous financial aid to Afghan guerillas throughout the 1980s, most foreign Muslim fighters did not arrive in Afghanistan until the mid-1980s. By 1986, the Soviet Union had begun contemplating
10550-461: The Hellenistic and Roman periods. The Osroene and Hatran were Arab kingdoms in Upper Mesopotamia around 200 CE. In 164 CE, the Sasanians recognized the Arabs as " Arbayistan ", meaning "land of the Arabs," as they were part of Adiabene in upper Mesopotamia. The Arab Emesenes ruled by 46 BCE Emesa ( Homs ), Syria . During late antiquity , the Tanukhids , Salihids , Lakhmids , Kinda , and Ghassanids were dominant Arab tribes in
10761-425: The Hijra . Muhammad spent the last ten years of his life engaged in a series of battles to establish and expand the Muslim community. From 622 to 632, he led the Muslims in a state of war against the Meccans. During this period, the Arabs conquered the region of Basra , and under the leadership of Umar , they established a base and built a mosque there. Another conquest was Midian , but due to its harsh environment,
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#173277211661310972-399: The Iranian Revolutionary Guards refused to establish a proxy through any of his organizations or assist him in any way. Allegedly, they even cut his phone lines and turned away anyone who wished to see him in his villa in North Tehran. After the 9/11 attacks in the United States Hekmatyar, who had allegedly "worked closely" with bin Laden in the early 1990s, declared his opposition to
11183-400: The Jamiat-e islami ("Islamic society") led by Burhanuddin Rabbani , that advocated a gradualist strategy to gain power, through infiltration of society and the state apparatus. Rabbani advocated for the "building of a widely based movement that would create popular support". The other movement, called Hezb-i Islami ("Islamic Party"), was led by Hekmatyar, who favored a radical approach in
11394-480: The Kutama , in the West of the North African littoral, in Algeria, in 909 conquering Raqqada , the Aghlabid capital. In 921 the Fatimids established the Tunisian city of Mahdia as their new capital. In 948 they shifted their capital to Al-Mansuriya , near Kairouan in Tunisia, and in 969 they conquered Egypt and established Cairo as the capital of their caliphate. The Fatimids were known for their religious tolerance and intellectual achievements, they established
11605-449: The Maktab al-Khidamat to organize guest houses in Peshawar , a Pakistani city near the Afghan border , as well as jihadist training camps in Afghanistan to prepare international recruits for confrontations with the Soviet Armed Forces . With financing from Saudi Arabia, including from Bin Laden, Maktab al-Khadamat paid for "air tickets and accommodation, dealt with paperwork with Pakistani authorities and provided other such services for
11816-446: The Philippines , Burma , South Yemen , Tashkent , Andalusia ... Sometime after August 1988, Azzam was replaced by Bin Laden as the leader of the Arab Afghans in Peshawar. In November 1989, Azzam was assassinated by a roadside bomb in an attack that is variously suspected to have been organized by one of three (or four) actors: Israel's Mossad and the United States' Central Intelligence Agency , owing to his ties with Hamas during
12027-512: The Sazman-i Jawanan-i Musulman ("Organization of Muslim Youth") which was gaining influence because of its opposition to the Soviet influence in Afghanistan increasing through the PDPA elements in Daoud's government. He was one of the foundational members of the organization. He may have also been influenced by the ideological teachings of Muslim Brotherhood member Sayyid Qutb . By his own account he became an Islamist when he heard of Qutb's death in 1966, on radio, and also contradicts that he
12238-486: The Semitic languages . with some scholars investigating if its origins are in the Levant . The ancient Semitic-speaking peoples lived in the ancient Near East , including the Levant, Mesopotamia, and the Arabian Peninsula from the 3rd millennium BCE to the end of antiquity. Proto-Semitic likely reached the Arabian Peninsula by the 4th millennium BCE, and its daughter languages spread outward from there, while Old Arabic began to differentiate from Central Semitic by
12449-510: The Sinai Peninsula . The Qedarites were influential in the ancient Near East , and their kingdom played a significant role in the political and economic affairs of the region for several centuries. Sheba ( Arabic : سَبَأٌ Saba ) is kingdom mentioned in the Hebrew Bible ( Old Testament ) and the Quran , though Sabaean was a South Arabian languaged and not an Arabic one. Sheba features in Jewish , Muslim , and Christian traditions, whose lineage goes back to Qahtan son of Hud , one of
12660-413: The Soviet–Afghan War began in 1979, at which time the CIA began funding his rapidly growing Hezb-e Islami organization through the Pakistani intelligence service, ISI , one of the largest of the Afghan mujahideen . He received more CIA funding than any other mujahideen leader during the Soviet-Afghan War. In the late 1980s Hekmatyar and his organization used the funds and weapons provided to them by
12871-448: The Taliban takeover of Kabul forced him to flee to Iran 's capital Tehran . Sometime after the Taliban's fall in 2001 he went to Pakistan, leading his paramilitary forces into an unsuccessful armed campaign against Hamid Karzai 's government and the international coalition in Afghanistan. In 2016, he signed a peace deal with the Afghan government and was allowed to return to Afghanistan after almost 20 years in exile. Following
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#173277211661313082-427: The Wādī Sirḥān in the Syrian Desert . They were known for their nomadic lifestyle and for their role in the caravan trade that linked the Arabian Peninsula with the Mediterranean world. The Qedarites gradually expanded their territory over the course of the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, and by the 6th century BCE, they had consolidated into a kingdom that covered a large area in northern Arabia, southern Palestine, and
13293-429: The cultural heritage that has been preserved through the archaeological sites like Ḥajar Asfal. The destruction of the city in the 7th century BCE by the king and Mukarrib of Saba' Karab El Watar is a significant event in the history of South Arabia. It highlights the complex political and social dynamics that characterized the region at the time and the power struggles between different kingdoms and rulers. The victory of
13504-436: The new government and, with other warlords , engaged in the Afghan civil war , leading to the death of around 50,000 civilians in Kabul alone. Hekmatyar was accused of bearing the most responsibility for the rocket attacks on the city. In the meantime, as part of the peace and power-sharing efforts led by Ahmad Shah Massoud , Hekmatyar became Prime Minister of Afghanistan from 1993 to 1994 and again briefly in 1996, before
13715-416: The river of Egypt to the river Euphrates ; and they built Mecca ." Josephus also lists the sons and states that they "...inhabit the lands which are between Euphrates and the Red Sea , the name of which country is Nabathæa . The Targum Onkelos annotates ( Genesis 25:16 ), describing the extent of their settlements: The Ishmaelites lived from Hindekaia ( India ) to Chalutsa (possibly in Arabia), by
13926-402: The "Arabs" who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Petraea (Levant) and Arabia Deserta (Arabia). The Christians of Iberia used the term Moor to describe all the Arabs and Muslims of that time. Arabs of Medina referred to the nomadic tribes of the deserts as the A'raab, and considered themselves sedentary, but were aware of their close racial bonds. Hagarenes
14137-420: The "Islamic Society" split between supporters of Massoud and Burhanuddin Rabbani , who led the Jamiat-e Islami, and elements surrounding Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who then founded the Hezb-i Islami . Akbarzadeh and Yasmeen describe Hekmatyar's approach as "radical" and antagonistic as opposed to an "inclusive" and "moderate" strategy by Rabbani. The arrival of Afghan opposition militants in Peshawar coincided with
14348-505: The "Kings of the Jews", this conversion was likely influenced by their trade connections with the Jewish communities of the Red Sea region and the Levant, however, the Himyarites also tolerated other religions, including Christianity and the local pagan religions. The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who settled in a territory centred around their capital of Petra in what is now Jordan. Their early inscriptions were in Aramaic , but gradually switched to Arabic, and since they had writing, it
14559-519: The 10th century; afterwards, in the 1190s, there was a revival of their power, which was ended by the Mongols , who conquered Baghdad in 1258 and killed the Caliph Al-Musta'sim . Members of the Abbasid royal family escaped the massacre and resorted to Cairo, which had broken from the Abbasid rule two years earlier; the Mamluk generals taking the political side of the kingdom while Abbasid Caliphs were engaged in civil activities and continued patronizing science, arts and literature. The Fatimid caliphate
14770-423: The 2nd century BCE, from their base around Mount Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley , they came to dominate vast stretches of Syrian territory , and appear to have penetrated into northern parts of Palestine as far as the Galilee . Tanukhids were an Arab tribal confederation that lived in the central and eastern Arabian Peninsula during the late ancient and early medieval periods. As mentioned earlier, they were
14981-460: The 2nd century CE, when it controlled much of the southern Arabian Peninsula. The kingdom was known for its impressive architecture , particularly its distinctive towers, which were used as watchtowers, defensive structures, and homes for wealthy families. The people of Hadhramaut were skilled in agriculture, especially in growing frankincense and myrrh. They had a strong maritime culture and traded with India, East Africa, and Southeast Asia. Although
15192-522: The 2nd century CE. Arabs are first recorded in Palmyra in the late first millennium BCE. The soldiers of the sheikh Zabdibel, who aided the Seleucids in the battle of Raphia (217 BCE), were described as Arabs; Zabdibel and his men were not actually identified as Palmyrenes in the texts, but the name "Zabdibel" is a Palmyrene name leading to the conclusion that the sheikh hailed from Palmyra. After
15403-452: The 6th century BCE in Yemen include the term 'Arab'. The most popular Arab account holds that the word Arab came from an eponymous father named Ya'rub , who was supposedly the first to speak Arabic. Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani had another view; he states that Arabs were called gharab ('westerners') by Mesopotamians because Bedouins originally resided to the west of Mesopotamia;
15614-577: The 8th century, described the Arabs as having Ishmaelite origins. The Quran mentions that Ibrahim (Abraham) and his wife Hajar (Hagar) bore a prophetic child named Ishmael, who was gifted by God a favor above other nations. God ordered Ibrahim to bring Hajar and Ishmael to Mecca , where he prayed for them to be provided with water and fruits. Hajar ran between the hills of Safa and Marwa in search of water, and an angel appeared to them and provided them with water. Ishmael grew up in Mecca. Ibrahim
15825-512: The Afghan Arabs jihadis who flocked to Afghanistan, however, saw themselves as opponents of the West every bit as much as of Communism . French writer Olivier Roy , who spent some years in Afghanistan, and served with the United Nations Office for Coordinating Relief in Afghanistan (UNOCA), has written that the jihadis "did not become anti-Western after 1991 – they had always been so." All westerners, like me, who encountered
16036-413: The Afghan Arabs helped some factions much more than others. Factions led by Abdul Rasul Sayyaf and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar are described as having had good relations with Arab foreign fighters, Bin Laden would personally finance the 1990 Afghan Coup attempt by Hardline Communist Khalqists and Gulbuddin's Hezbi Islami . The faction led by Ahmad Shah Massoud , had good relations with Abdullah Azzam which
16247-506: The Afghan Arabs in Afghanistan as a fighting force has been scoffed at, called a "curious sideshow to the real fighting," Estimates are there were about 2000 Arab Afghans fighting "at any one time", compared with about a 250,000 Afghan fighters and 125,000 Soviet troops. Marc Sageman , a Foreign Service Officer who was based in Islamabad from 1987 to 1989, and worked closely with Afghanistan's Mujahideen, says Contemporaneous accounts of
16458-458: The Afghan conflict and said he was ready to fight alongside Osama bin Laden and blamed the ongoing conflicts in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan on U.S. interference. In an audiotape released the same month, he called for revolt against U.S. forces and Karzai's "puppet government", and directly threatened to kill Lt. General Karl Eikenberry . In September 2006, he was reported as captured, but
16669-529: The Afghan refugees." In contrast according to former British Defence Secretary Michael Portillo , late Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto told him said Osama bin Laden was initially pro-American. According to Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia, on the one occasion he met and talked to Osama bin Laden, bin Laden thanked him for his "efforts to bring the Americans, our friends, to help us against
16880-767: The Afghans, neighbouring countries and the west in the 1990s." This was followed by al Qaeda 1998 American embassy bombings in African countries and the September 11, 2001 attacks . Following the attacks of September 11, 2001 , America invaded Afghanistan , deposing the Taliban, ending the heyday of the Afghan Arabs. During the American campaign in Afghanistan in late 2001, many coherent units of Arab fighters were destroyed by JDAMs . Some Arab fighters have been held by Afghan tribesman for ransom paid by Americans. Perhaps
17091-624: The Arab was an Arab man who opposed Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible ( Neh . 2:19 , 6:1 ). He was likely the chief of the Arab tribe "Gushamu" and have been a powerful ruler with influence stretching from northern Arabia to Judah. The Arabs and the Samaritans made efforts to hinder Nehemiah's rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem . The term " Saracens " was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to
17302-502: The Arab Afghans" by fall of 1989. Others returned "with their experience, ideology, and weapons," to their home (or other Muslim) countries, often proceeding to fight jihad against the government there. However minimal the impact of the "Afghan" Arabs on the war against the Soviets, the return of the volunteers to their home countries was often not. In Foreign Affairs Peter Bergen writes: The foreign volunteers in Afghanistan saw
17513-482: The Arab empire expanded significantly, conquering territories such as Egypt, Syria , and Iraq . The reign of Uthman ibn Affan was marked by internal dissent and rebellion, which ultimately led to his assassination. Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad , succeeded Uthman as caliph but faced opposition from some members of the Islamic community who believed he was not rightfully appointed. Despite these challenges,
17724-534: The Arab-Afghans and their [the Taliban's] pan-Islamic ideology was non-existent." By 1996 and 1998, al Qaeda felt comfortable enough in the sanctuary given them to issue a declaration of war against Americans and later a fatwa to kill Americans and their allies. "The Arab-Afghans had come full circle. From being mere appendages of the Afghan jihad and the Cold War in the 1980s they had taken centre stage for
17935-478: The Arabia. Magan ( Arabic : مِجَانُ , Majan ), known for its production of copper and other metals, the region was an important trading center in ancient times and is mentioned in the Qur'an as a place where Musa ( Moses ) traveled during his lifetime. Midian ( Arabic : مَدْيَن , Madyan ), on the other hand, was a region located in the northwestern part of the Arabia, the people of Midian are mentioned in
18146-402: The Arabs as a distinct group is from an Assyrian scribe recording a battle in 853 BCE. The history of the Arabs during the pre-Islamic period in various regions, including Arabia, Levant, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. The Arabs were mentioned by their neighbors, such as Assyrian and Babylonian Royal Inscriptions from 9th to 6th century BCE, mention the king of Qedar as king of the Arabs and King of
18357-731: The Arabs in the Sinai, southern Palestine, and the frankincense region (Southern Arabia). Other Ancient-Greek historians like Agatharchides , Diodorus Siculus and Strabo mention Arabs living in Mesopotamia (along the Euphrates ), in Egypt (the Sinai and the Red Sea), southern Jordan (the Nabataeans ), the Syrian steppe and in eastern Arabia (the people of Gerrha ). Inscriptions dating to
18568-745: The Arabs might use the resource to manufacture weapons against the Assyrian army. The history of the Arabs in relation to the Bible shows that they were a significant part of the region and played a role in the lives of the Israelites. The study asserts that the Arab nation is an ancient and significant entity; however, it highlights that the Arabs lacked a collective awareness of their unity. They did not inscribe their identity as Arabs or assert exclusive ownership over specific territories. Magan , Midian , and ʿĀd are all ancient tribes or civilizations that are mentioned in Arabic literature and have roots in
18779-404: The Arabs of Adiabene which was an ancient kingdom in northern Mesopotamia , its chief city was Arbela ( Arba-ilu ), where Mar Uqba had a school, or the neighboring Hazzah, by which name the later Arabs also called Arbela. This elaborate Arab presence in upper Mesopotamia was acknowledged by the Sasanians , who called the region Arbayistan , meaning "land of the Arabs", is first attested as
18990-434: The Arabs why, they replied: "We want them to bomb us! We want to die!" Bin Laden himself has said: "I wish I could raid and be slain, and then raid and be slain, and then raid and be slain." The Afghan resistance "had been considerably romanticized in the American press and had made tours through American churches, where they were lauded for their spiritual courage in the common fight against Marxism and godlessness". Some of
19201-571: The Arsacid dynasty, which was a branch of the Parthian ruling family. However, in the 2nd century CE, the Arab tribe of Banu Tanukh seized control of Hatra and established their own dynasty. The Arab rulers of Hatra assumed the title of "malka," which means king in Arabic, and they often referred to themselves as the "King of the Arabs." The Osroeni and Hatrans were part of several Arab groups or communities in upper Mesopotamia, which also included
19412-587: The Battle. The President of Afghanistan, Mohammad Najibullah was highly critical of Arab involvement in Afghanistan, claiming Wahabi Arabs would destroy Afghan values and culture and lead to an American invasion in the future. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Najibullah Government lost its most important trading partner. The new Russian government under Boris Yeltsin cut exports to Najibullah's Government and in 1992 President Najibullah
19623-518: The CIA and ISI to establish his organization as one of the leading heroin producers in the Middle East. Hekmatyar first became involved in the narcotics trade in the summer of 1988, as it became apparent that the Soviets were intending to withdraw. Initially becoming involved in trafficking opium, Hekmatyar's was the first of the mujahideen groups to establish and operate heroin production factories in
19834-452: The CIA to start trafficking opium , and later moved into manufacturing heroin . He established himself and his group amongst the leading heroin suppliers in the Middle East. Given the CIA's connection, this became a subject of diplomatic embarrassment for the US foreign service. Following the ouster of Soviet-backed Afghan President Mohammad Najibullah in 1992, Hekmatyar declined to form part of
20045-581: The Caliphate's official language in 686. Caliph Umar II strove to resolve the conflict when he came to power in 717. He rectified the disparity, demanding that all Muslims be treated as equals, but his intended reforms did not take effect, as he died after only three years of rule. By now, discontent with the Umayyads swept the region and an uprising occurred in which the Abbasids came to power and moved
20256-934: The Central Arabian tribes with the Kindites with the Lakhmids eventually destroying the Kingdom of Kinda in 540 after the fall of their main ally Himyar . The Persian Sassanids dissolved the Lakhmid dynasty in 602, being under puppet kings, then under their direct control. The Kindites migrated from Yemen along with the Ghassanids and Lakhmids, but were turned back in Bahrain by the Abdul Qais Rabi'a tribe. They returned to Yemen and allied themselves with
20467-588: The Coptic Christian minority , and by 1992 had broadened their targets to police and tourists, causing serious harm to Egypt's economy. Violence in Egypt reached its peak in the November 1997 Luxor massacre of 60 people most of whom were tourists. In the mid- and late-1990s, the Afghan Arabs, in the form of the Wahhabi -oriented Al-Qaeda , became more influential in Afghanistan helping and influencing
20678-551: The Elder . The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote about the Arabs and their king, mentioning their relationship with Cleopatra , the queen of Egypt. The tribute paid by the Arab king to Cleopatra was collected by Herod , the king of the Jews, but the Arab king later became slow in his payments and refused to pay without further deductions. This sheds some light on the relations between the Arabs, Jews, and Egypt at that time. Geshem
20889-659: The Fatimid Caliphate was conquered by the Ayyubid dynasty , led by Saladin . Although the Fatimid dynasty came to an end, its legacy continued to influence Arab-Islamic culture and society for centuries to come. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar This is an accepted version of this page Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (born 1 August 1949) is an Afghan politician, and former mujahideen leader and drug trafficker. He
21100-705: The Hezb-e Islami local commanders joined the Taliban, "both out of ideological sympathy and for reason of tribal solidarity." Those that did not were expelled by the Taliban. In Pakistan, Hezb-e Islami training camps "were taken over by the Taliban and handed over" to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) groups such as the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP). Hekmatyar then fled to Massoud's stronghold in Panjshir who, despite Hekmatyar's history of animosity towards him, helped him flee to Iran in 1997, where he
21311-561: The Himyarites who installed them as a vassal kingdom that ruled Central Arabia from "Qaryah Dhat Kahl" (the present-day called Qaryat al-Faw). They ruled much of the Northern/Central Arabian peninsula, until they were destroyed by the Lakhmid king Al-Mundhir , and his son 'Amr . The Ghassanids were an Arab tribe in the Levant in the early third century. According to Arab genealogical tradition, they were considered
21522-455: The Hizb party ... Hekmatyar's party had the dubious distinction of never winning a significant battle during the war, training a variety of militant Islamists from around the world, killing significant numbers of mujahideen from other parties, and taking a virulently anti-Western line. In addition to hundreds of millions of dollars of American aid, Hekmatyar also received the lion's share of aid from
21733-684: The Ishmaelites. Of the names of the sons of Ishmael the names "Nabat, Kedar, Abdeel, Dumah, Massa, and Teman" were mentioned in the Assyrian Royal Inscriptions as tribes of the Ishmaelites. Jesur was mentioned in Greek inscriptions in the 1st century BCE. There are also records from Sargon's reign that mention sellers of iron to people called Arabs in Ḫuzaza in Babylon , causing Sargon to prohibit such trade out of fear that
21944-602: The Islamist movement lost popular support and the government prevailed. Bosnia was a major issue in the Muslim World which saw it as an aggression of Christians against Muslims and proof of Western double standards on human rights. About 4000 Jihadists from Peshawar and new international recruits went to fight in Bosnia, but their calls for Jihad and re-Islamization often fell on deaf ears among Bosnian Muslims which lacked
22155-799: The Levant, Mesopotamia, and Arabia, they predominantly embraced Christianity . During the Middle Ages , Islam fostered a vast Arab union, leading to significant Arab migrations to the Maghreb , the Levant , and neighbouring territories under the rule of Arab empires such as the Rashidun , Umayyad , Abbasid , and Fatimid , ultimately leading to the decline of the Byzantine and Sasanian empires. At its peak, Arab territories stretched from southern France to western China , forming one of history's largest empires . The Great Arab Revolt in
22366-617: The Middle East, North Africa, and Spain. It was a significant moment for Islam , which saw itself as the successor of Judaism and Christianity. The term ʾiʿrāb has the same root refers to the Bedouin tribes of the desert who rejected Islam and resisted Muhammad.( Quran 9:97 ) The 14th century Kebra Nagast says "And therefore the children of Ishmael became kings over Tereb , and over Kebet , and over Nôbâ , and Sôba , and Kuergue , and Kîfî , and Mâkâ , and Môrnâ , and Fînḳânâ , and ’Arsîbânâ , and Lîbâ , and Mase'a , for they were
22577-486: The Muslim world, but also the United States in search of funding and young Muslim recruits. He inspired young Muslims with stories of miraculous deeds: mujahideen who defeated vast columns of Soviet troops virtually single-handed, who had been run over by tanks and survived, who were shot and still unscathed by bullets; while angels were said to ride into battle on horseback, and falling bombs were said to be intercepted by birds, which raced ahead of Soviet fighter jets to form
22788-465: The Pakistanis began turning towards the predominantly Pashtun Taliban . After capturing Kandahar in November 1994, the Taliban made rapid progress towards Kabul, making inroads into Hezb-e Islami positions. They captured Wardak on 2 February 1995, and moved on to Maidan Shahr on 10 February and Mohammed Agha the next day. Very soon, Hekmatyar found himself caught between the advancing Taliban and
22999-515: The Parcham government. In addition, there were frequent reports throughout the war of Hekmatyar's commanders negotiating and dealing with pro-Communist local militias in northern Afghanistan. Overall, Hekmatyar has been accused of spending "more time fighting other Mujahideen than killing Soviets." Through the anti-Soviet war and beyond, he remained a controversial yet persistently influential figure whom The New York Times described as "perhaps
23210-502: The Qur'an as having worshiped idols and having been punished by God for their disobedience. Moses also lived in Midian for a time, where he married and worked as a shepherd. ʿĀd ( Arabic : عَادَ , ʿĀd ), as mentioned earlier, was an ancient tribe that lived in the southern Arabia, the tribe was known for its wealth, power, and advanced technology, but they were ultimately destroyed by
23421-765: The Rashidun Empire, the Umayyad Empire, the Abbasid Empire, the Fatimid Empire, among others. These empires were characterized by their expansion, scientific achievements, and cultural flourishing, extended from Spain to India . The region was vibrant and dynamic during the Middle Ages and left a lasting impact on the world. The rise of Islam began when Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina in an event known as
23632-595: The Rashidun era is remembered as a time of great progress and achievement in Arab and Islamic history, the caliphs established a system of governance that emphasized justice and equality for all members of the Islamic community. They also oversaw the compilation of the Quran into a single text and spread Arabic teachings and principles throughout the empire. Overall, the Rashidun era played a crucial role in shaping Arab history and continues to be revered by Muslims worldwide as
23843-411: The Rashidun era, the Arab community expanded rapidly, conquering many territories and establishing a vast Arab empire, which is marked by the reign of the first four caliphs, or leaders, of the Arab community. These caliphs are Abu Bakr , Umar , Uthman and Ali , who are collectively known as the Rashidun, meaning "rightly guided." The Rashidun era is significant in Arab and Islamic history as it marks
24054-487: The Sabaeans over Awsān is also a testament to the military might and strategic prowess of the Sabaeans, who were one of the most powerful and influential kingdoms in the region. The Himyarite Kingdom or Himyar, was an ancient kingdom that existed from around the 2nd century BCE to the 6th century CE. It was centered in the city of Zafar , which is located in present-day Yemen. The Himyarites were an Arab people who spoke
24265-594: The Sadat assassination, Ibrahim el-Mekkawi , maintained training camps and other bases near the Afghan-Pakistan border and directed the Islamic campaign in Egypt from Pakistan according to authorities in Cairo. Egypt's institutions had more political strength and religious credibility than Algeria's, and hundreds rather than thousands were killed in the terror campaign before it was crushed in 1997–8. Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya militants harassed and murdered members of
24476-524: The Saudis." Hekmatyar's constant scheming against all of the mujahideen factions led Pakistani general and leader Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq to warn Hekmatyar that it was Pakistan that made him an Afghan leader and that Pakistan could and would destroy him if he resisted operational control by ISI. As the Soviet-Afghan War was coming to its end, Hekmatyar used the funds and weapons provided to him by
24687-422: The Soviet defeat as a victory for Islam against a superpower that had invaded a Muslim country. Estimates of the number of foreign fighters who fought in Afghanistan begin in the low thousands; some spent years in combat, while others came only for what amounted to a jihad vacation. The jihadists gained legitimacy and prestige from their triumph both within the militant community and among ordinary Muslims, as well as
24898-523: The Soviets, as Hekmatyar's men claimed, but during a firefight initiated by Hekmatyar's forces against another mujahideen group. Hekmatyar made an unlikely alliance with hardline communist and Minister of Defence Shahnawaz Tanai who launched a failed coup attempt in March 1990 against President Najibullah . Many senior members of his party resigned in protest of the coalition, and other Mujahideen groups ridiculed Hekmatyar for uniting with Khalqists to oust
25109-528: The Taliban to end their insurgency and lay down arms. Hekmatyar ran in the 2019 Afghan presidential election and finished a distant third. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and his organization are reported to have joined the Council of Reconciliation formed by the Taliban. He voiced his support of the Taliban in September 2021 even if he and his party will not be included in governance. In October 2022, Hekmatyar told
25320-532: The Taliban. Several hundred Arab-Afghans participated in the 1997 and 1998 Taliban offensives in the north and helped the Taliban carry out the massacres of the Shia Hazaras there. Several hundred more Arab-Afghans, based in the Rishkor army garrison outside Kabul, fought on the Kabul front against General Ahmad Shah Massoud . At the same time the Taliban's ideology changed. Until the "Taliban's contact with
25531-429: The Taliban. Hekmatyar took office on 26 June, and immediately started issuing severe decrees on women's dress that struck a sharp contrast with the relatively liberal policy that Massoud had followed until then. The Taliban responded to the agreement with a further spate of rocket attacks on the capital. The Rabbani/Hekmatyar regime lasted only a few months before the Taliban took control of Kabul in September 1996. Many of
25742-790: The U.S. army near Spin Boldak . On February 19, 2003, the United States State Department and the United States Treasury Department jointly designated Hekmatyar a "global terrorist." This designation meant that any assets Hekmatyar held in the U.S., or held through companies based in the U.S., would be frozen. The U.S. also requested the United Nations Committee on Terrorism to follow suit, and designate Hekmatyar an associate of Osama bin Laden. In October 2003, he declared
25953-480: The U.S. government agree on. They all agree that they didn't have a relationship in the 1980s. And they wouldn't have needed to. Bin Laden had his own money, he was anti-American and he was operating secretly and independently. Arabs The Arabs ( Arabic : عَرَب , DIN 31635 : ʿarab , Arabic pronunciation : [ˈʕɑ.rɑb] ), also known as the Arab people ( الشَّعْبَ الْعَرَبِيّ ), are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting
26164-512: The US campaign in Afghanistan and criticized Pakistan for assisting the United States. After the U.S. entry into the anti-Taliban alliance and the fall of the Taliban , Hekmatyar rejected the U.N. -brokered accord of 5 December 2001 negotiated in Germany as a post-Taliban interim government for Afghanistan. As a result of pressure by the U.S. and the Karzai administration, on 10 February 2002 all
26375-550: The ancestors of the Arabs, Sheba was mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions and in the writings of Greek and Roman writers. One of the ancient written references that also spoke of Sheba is the Old Testament, which stated that the people of Sheba supplied Syria and Egypt with incense, especially frankincense, and exported gold and precious stones to them. The Queen of Sheba who travelled to Jerusalem to question King Solomon , great caravan of camels , carrying gifts of gold , precious stones , and spices , when she arrived, she
26586-455: The atheists, he said the communists." Robin Cook , former leader of the British House of Commons and Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001, wrote in The Guardian on Friday, July 8, 2005, Bin Laden was, though, a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies. Throughout the 80s he was armed by the CIA and funded by the Saudis to wage jihad against the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. Al-Qaida, literally "the database",
26797-424: The beginning of the Arab empire and the spread of Islam beyond the Arabian Peninsula. During this time, the Arab community faced numerous challenges, including internal divisions and external threats from neighboring empires. Under the leadership of Abu Bakr, the Arab community successfully quelled a rebellion by some tribes who refused to pay Zakat , or Islamic charity. During the reign of Umar ibn al-Khattab,
27008-543: The benefit of Pakistani interests. The plan was delayed until 1992 due to US pressure to cancel that plan. In April 1992, as the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan began to collapse, government officials joined the mujahideen, choosing different parties according to their ethnic and political affinities. For the most part, the members of the khalq faction of the PDPA , who were predominantly Pashtuns, joined with Hekmatyar. With their help, he began on 24 April to infiltrate troops into Kabul, and announced that he had seized
27219-463: The broader Muslim world. Upon the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in 1979, Azzam issued a fatwa ( Defense of the Muslim Lands, the First Obligation after Faith ) declaring that jihad against the Soviet Union was fard 'ayn (a personal obligation) for every able-bodied Muslim man: "Whoever can, from among the Arabs, fight jihad in Palestine , then he must start there. And, if he is not capable, then he must set out for Afghanistan." Although waging
27430-406: The capital to Baghdad . Umayyads expanded their Empire westwards capturing North Africa from the Byzantines. Before the Arab conquest, North Africa was conquered or settled by various people including Punics , Vandals and Romans. After the Abbasid Revolution , the Umayyads lost most of their territories with the exception of Iberia. Their last holding became known as the Emirate of Córdoba . It
27641-510: The caves and led them to a safe place." In May 2008, the Jamestown Foundation reported that after being "sidelined from Afghan politics" since the mid-1990s, Gulbuddin's HIG group had "recently reemerged as an aggressive militant group, claiming responsibility for many bloody attacks against Coalition forces at the time, primarily the International Security Assistance Force and the administration of President Hamid Karzai ." The re-emergence of him as an "experienced guerrilla strategist" came at
27852-435: The city of Baghdad and declared it the capital of the Caliphate. Unlike the Umayyads, the Abbasids had the support of non-Arab subjects. The Islamic Golden Age was inaugurated by the middle of the 8th century by the ascension of the Abbasid Caliphate and the transfer of the capital from Damascus to the newly founded city of Baghdad . The Abbasids were influenced by the Quranic injunctions and hadith such as "The ink of
28063-419: The city of Edessa in the ancient Near East for a significant period of time. Edessa was located in the region of Osroene, which was an ancient kingdom that existed from the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century CE. They established a dynasty known as the Abgarids, which ruled Edessa for several centuries. The most famous ruler of the dynasty was Abgar V , who is said to have corresponded with Jesus Christ and
28274-435: The city, and that should any other leaders try to fly into Kabul, he would shoot their plane down. The new leader of the "Islamic Interim Government of Afghanistan", Sibghatullah Mojaddedi , appointed Ahmad Shah Massoud as defense minister, and urged him to take action. This he did, taking the offensive on 25 April, and after two days heavy fighting, the Hezb-i Islami and its allies were expelled from Kabul. A peace agreement
28485-411: The collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan , on 17 August 2021, Hekmatyar met with both Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah , former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation and former chief executive , in Doha seeking to form a government. However they were subdued as the Taliban formed a non-inclusive government in September 2021. Hekmatyar remains in Kabul. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
28696-426: The community were not even Arabs—a number of the foreign jihadists in Afghanistan were Turkic or Malay , among other ethnicities. To the Western world , the most notorious Afghan Arab fighter was Osama bin Laden , who immigrated to Afghanistan from Saudi Arabia and founded al-Qaeda , which carried out the September 11 attacks against the United States in 2001, prompting the American invasion of Afghanistan
28907-422: The confidence of government supporters. Conversely, the morale of the mujahideen involved in the attack slumped and many local commanders of Hekmatyar concluded truces with the government. Over 300 Arab foreign fighters were killed by Afghan Forces during the Battle. According to one source, some "35,000 Muslim radicals from 43 Islamic countries in the Middle East , North and East Africa , Central Asia and
29118-492: The confidence to carry their jihad to other countries where they believed Muslims required assistance. When veterans of the guerrilla campaign returned home with their experience, ideology, and weapons, they destabilized once-tranquil countries and inflamed already unstable ones. Three countries where Afghan Arabs had the biggest impact immediately following the war were Bosnia-Herzegovina , where they fought against Bosnian Serbs and Croats , Algeria and Egypt , where they fought
29329-486: The country, Hekmatyar appeared less reluctant. On 10 February 2014, Gulbuddin's HIG group executed an attack which killed two US civilians, Paul Goins and Michael Hughes, and wounded two other Americans and seven Afghan nationals. HIG was also responsible for a 16 May 2013 suicide VBIED attack in Kabul, which destroyed a US armored SUV and killed two US soldiers, four US civilian contractors, eight Afghans—including two children—and wounded at least 37 others. The attack marked
29540-402: The deadliest incident against US personnel in Kabul in 2013. On 22 September 2016, Hekmatyar was pardoned by the Afghan government as part of a peace deal between Hezb-i-Islami and the government. The deal also allowed for the release of Hezb-i-Islami prisoners and the return of Hekmatyar to public life. The deal led a group of young activists to organise a protest against the pardoning less than
29751-446: The death of Muhammad in 632, Rashidun armies launched campaigns of conquest, establishing the Caliphate , or Islamic Empire, one of the largest empires in history . It was larger and lasted longer than the previous Arab empire Tanukhids of Queen Mawia or the Arab Palmyrene Empire . The Rashidun state was a completely new state and unlike the Arab kingdoms of its century such as the Himyarite , Lakhmids or Ghassanids . During
29962-436: The early 1st millennium BCE till the late 1st or 2nd centuries CE. It developed into a centralized state in the 6th century BCE with two co-kings ruling poles. Qataban expanded its territory, including the conquest of Ma'in and successful campaigns against the Sabaeans. It challenged the supremacy of the Sabaeans in the region and waged a successful war against Hadramawt in the 3rd century BCE. Qataban's power declined in
30173-414: The early 20th century aided in dismantling the Ottoman Empire , ultimately leading to the formation of the Arab League on 22 March 1945, with its Charter endorsing the principle of a " unified Arab homeland ". Arabs from Morocco to Iraq share a common bond based on ethnicity, language , culture , history , identity , ancestry , nationalism , geography , unity , and politics , which give
30384-403: The emergence of the name. It is also possible that some forms were metathetical from ʿ-B-R , 'moving around' (Arabic: ʿ-B-R , 'traverse') and hence, it is alleged, 'nomadic'. Arabic is a Semitic language that belongs to the Afroasiatic language family . The majority of scholars accept the " Arabian peninsula " has long been accepted as the original Urheimat (linguistic homeland) of
30595-449: The end of the 1990s the group was spent, somewhere between 40,000 and 200,000 lives had been lost, and the once broad and enthusiastic support by voters for the anti-government Islamism was replaced "with a deep fear of instability". Algeria was one of the few in the Arab world not to participate in the Arab Spring . In Egypt, "fundamentalists fighting the government in the 1990s included "several hundred 'Afghan' guerrillas". The main group
30806-438: The entire Sassanid Empire and more than two-thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire . However, the reign of Ali ibn Abi Talib , the fourth caliph, was marred by the First Fitna , or the First Islamic Civil War, which lasted throughout his rule. After a peace treaty with Hassan ibn Ali and the suppression of early Kharijite disturbances, Muawiyah I became the Caliph. This marked a significant transition in leadership. After
31017-538: The evacuation of U.N. personnel from Kabul, and caused several government members to abandon their posts. However the new alliance did not spell victory for Hekmatyar, and in June 1994, Massoud had driven Dostum's troops from the capital. The Pakistani military had supported Hekmatyar until then in the hope of installing a Pashtun-dominated government in Kabul, which would be friendly to their interests. By 1994, it had become clear that Hekmatyar would never achieve this, and that his extremism had antagonised most Pashtuns, so
31228-427: The exact start and end dates of the kingdom are still debated. The Ma'in people had a local governance system with councils called "Mazood," and each city had its own temple that housed one or more gods. They also adopted the Phoenician alphabet and used it to write their language. The kingdom eventually fell to the Arab Sabaean people. Qataban was an ancient kingdom located in the South Arabia , which existed from
31439-420: The fighting against the Soviets at the height of the conflict. Many of the later volunteers were different than the early "Afghan" Arab volunteers, who were inspired by Azzam, and have been criticized for being less serious: Some Saudi tourists came to earn their jihad credentials. Their tour was organized so that they could step inside Afghanistan, get photographed discharging a gun, and promptly return home as
31650-465: The first major victory of the Civil War. The battle was an international embarrassment for the Pakistanis whom had supported the "Interim Afghan Government" causing the sacking of ISI head Hamid Gul In the words of Brigadier-General Mohammed Yousaf, an officer of the ISI, "the jihad never recovered from Jalalabad". Contrary to American and Pakistani expectations, this battle proved that the Afghan Army could fight without Soviet help, and greatly increased
31861-448: The first millennium BCE, Proto-Arabic , or Ancient North Arabian , texts give a clearer picture of the Arabs' emergence. The earliest are written in variants of epigraphic south Arabian musnad script, including the 8th century BCE Hasaean inscriptions of eastern Saudi Arabia, the Thamudic texts found throughout the Arabian Peninsula and Sinai . The Qedarites were a largely nomadic ancient Arab tribal confederation centred in
32072-402: The following centuries, leading to its annexation by Hadramawt and Ḥimyar in the 1st century CE. The Kingdom of Hadhramaut it was known for its rich cultural heritage , as well as its strategic location along important trade routes that connected the Middle East , South Asia , and East Africa . The Kingdom was established around the 3rd century BCE, and it reached its peak during
32283-405: The form of violent armed conflict. Pakistani support largely went to Hekmatyar's group, who, in October 1975, undertook to instigate an uprising against the government. Without popular support, the rebellion ended in complete failure, and hundreds of militants were arrested. Hekmatyar's Hezb-e-Islami was formed as an elitist avant-garde based on a strictly disciplined Islamist ideology within
32494-420: The government forces, and the morale of his men collapsed. On 14 February, he was forced to abandon his headquarters at Charasiab, from where rockets were fired at Kabul, and flee in disorder to Surobi . Nonetheless, in May 1996, Rabbani and Hekmatyar finally formed a power-sharing government in which Hekmatyar was made prime minister. Rabbani was anxious to enhance the legitimacy of his government by enlisting
32705-635: The government in the Algerian Civil War after the army intervened to prevent the leading Islamist party from winning elections scheduled for January 1992. Sief Allah Djafar, aka Djafar al-Afghani, spent two years in Afghanistan and in 1993 became "amir" of the GIA. Providing doctrinal justifications for the GIA and a "steady stream of pro-GIA publicity" for Muslims outside Algeria (until June 1996 when GIA atrocities became too much) were two other Afghan veterans, Abu Mousab (a Spanish Syrian) and Abu Qatada (a Palestinian). The GIA slogan—"no agreement, no truce, no dialogue"—echoed that of Abdullah Azzam. The group
32916-417: The government" and hints that they would be offered official posts "such as deputy minister or head of department", were thought to be directed at Hekmatyar. It was reported in 2008 that Hekmatyar lived in an unknown location in southeastern Afghanistan, close to the Pakistani border. In 2008, he denied any links with the Taliban or al-Qaeda and was even considered for prime minister. At the time, Hekmatyar
33127-417: The government. The agreement was formalised on 29 September 2016 with both Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Hekmatyar, who appeared via a video link in the presidential palace, signing the agreement. UN sanctions on him were formally lifted on 3 February 2017. On 4 May 2017, he returned to Kabul along with his fighters to meet President Ghani after spending two decades in hiding. He has then called on
33338-549: The importance of jihad: "those who believe that Islam can flourish [and] be victorious without jihad, fighting, and blood are deluded and have no understanding of the nature of this religion," and that Afghanistan was only the beginning: This duty [i.e., jihad] shall not lapse with victory in Afghanistan, and the jihad will remain an individual obligation until all other lands which formerly were Muslim come back to us and Islam reigns within them once again. Before us lie Palestine , Bukhara , Lebanon , Chad , Eritrea , Somalia ,
33549-494: The jihad fighters" who had come from all over the Muslim world. During the 1980s, Azzam had forged close links with two of the Afghan mujahideen's faction leaders: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar , who was favoured by the Pakistani government; and Abdulrab Rasul Sayyaf , who was receiving close support from Saudi Arabian authorities for the purpose of spreading Wahhabism (a stream of Islamic revivalism that originated in 18th-century Saudi Arabia) throughout Afghanistan. Azzam toured not only
33760-422: The kingdom declined in the 4th century, Hadhramaut remained a cultural and economic center. Its legacy can still be seen today. The ancient Kingdom of Awsān (8th–7th century BCE) was indeed one of the most important small kingdoms of South Arabia , and its capital Ḥajar Yaḥirr was a significant center of trade and commerce in the ancient world. It is fascinating to learn about the rich history of this region and
33971-452: The last major migration of pre-Islamic Arabs out of Yemen to the north. The Ghassanids increased the Semitic presence in then-Hellenized Syria , the majority of Semites were Aramaic peoples. They mainly settled in the Hauran region and spread to modern Lebanon , Palestine and Jordan . Greeks and Romans referred to all the nomadic population of the desert in the Near East as Arabi. The Romans called Yemen " Arabia Felix ". The Romans called
34182-422: The major contribution of the more serious Afghan Arab volunteers was humanitarian aid —- the setting up of hospitals around Peshawar and Quetta and providing funds for supply caravans to travel to the interior of the country. Abdullah Anas, himself one of the most famous of these Afghan-Arabs fighters, said that "90 percent were teachers, cooks, accountants, doctors [over the border in Pakistan]." The effectiveness of
34393-451: The most brutal of a generally brutal group". A highly controversial commander, Hekmatyar has been dubbed the "Butcher of Kabul", accused of being responsible for the destruction and civilian deaths Kabul experienced in the early 1990s. According to the U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan in 1989–1992, Peter Tomsen , Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was hired in 1990 by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to conquer and rule Afghanistan in
34604-413: The news, he had said that he was available to aid them. However, in a video released by Hekmatyar 1 September 2003, he denied forming alliances with the Taliban or al-Qaeda, but praised attacks against U.S. and international forces. On 10 February 2003, the Afghan government reported that Hekmatyar was planning an alliance with Taliban and al-Qaeda factions. His group was involved in an intense battle with
34815-570: The number one security threat, ahead of the Taliban or al-Qaeda . He was also a suspect behind the 5 September 2002 assassination attempt on Karzai in Kandahar and a bomb the same day that killed more than a dozen people in Kabul. That same month, he released newsletters and tape messages calling for jihad against the United States. One of his commanders commented that there "will be suicide attacks [...] against soldiers". On 25 December 2002, news broke that American spy organizations had discovered Hekmatyar attempting to join al-Qaeda. According to
35026-441: The offices of Hezb-e-Islami were closed in Iran and Hekmatyar was expelled by his Iranian hosts. The United States accused Hekmatyar of urging Taliban fighters to re-form and fight against Coalition troops in Afghanistan. He was also accused of offering bounties for those who kill U.S. troops. He has been labeled a war criminal by members of the U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai 's government. ISAF identified Hekmatyar in 2002 as
35237-659: The region a distinct identity and distinguish it from other parts of the Muslim world . They also have their own customs, literature , music , dance , media , food , clothing , society, sports , architecture , art and, mythology . Arabs have significantly influenced and contributed to human progress in many fields, including science , technology , philosophy , ethics , literature , politics , business , art , music , comedy , theatre, cinema , architecture , food , medicine , and religion . Before Islam , most Arabs followed polytheistic Semitic religion , while some tribes adopted Judaism or Christianity and
35448-447: The region. Hekmatyar's involvement in the production and distribution of illegal narcotics became a subject of diplomatic embarrassment for the United States Foreign Service . The CIA officer with responsibility for its operations in Afghanistan at the time, Charles Cogan , said "Every situation has its fallout...There was fallout in terms of drugs, yes. But the main objective was accomplished." Hezb-i Islami men are like cancer, that
35659-409: The remains back to the besieged city in a truck with the message that this would be the fate awaiting the infidels. Despite apologies and assurances of safety from Afghan resistance leaders, the Communists ended their negotiations of surrender, spurred them on to break the siege of Jalalabad launching over 400 Scud Ballistic Missiles at Mujahedeen(Interim Afghan Government) positions leading them to win
35870-461: The report was later retracted. In December 2006, a video was released in Pakistan, where Gulbuddin Hekmatyar claimed "the fate Soviet Union faced is awaiting America as well." In January 2007 CNN reported that Hekmatyar claimed "that his fighters helped Osama bin Laden escape from the mountains of Tora Bora five years ago." BBC news reported a quote from a December 2006 interview broadcast on GEO TV , "We helped them [bin Laden and Zawahiri] get out of
36081-407: The respective governments. According to Compass, 2,000 Egyptians and 2,800 Algerians were trained for combat in the Pakistan border area though not all of these volunteers saw action in Afghanistan. Several hundred had recently returned home by 1992. In Bosnia the war ended with peace accords and American peacekeeping troops rather than sharia law. In both Algeria and Egypt after much blood letting
36292-618: The scholar is more holy than the blood of martyrs" stressing the value of knowledge. During this period the Arab Empire became an intellectual centre for science, philosophy, medicine and education as the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge and established the " House of Wisdom " ( Arabic : بيت الحكمة ) in Baghdad. Rival dynasties such as the Fatimids of Egypt and the Umayyads of al-Andalus were also major intellectual centres with cities such as Cairo and Córdoba rivaling Baghdad . The Abbasids ruled for 200 years before they lost their central control when Wilayas began to fracture in
36503-445: The seed of Shem ." Limited local historical coverage of these civilizations means that archaeological evidence, foreign accounts and Arab oral traditions are largely relied on to reconstruct this period. Prominent civilizations at the time included, Dilmun civilization was an important trading centre which at the height of its power controlled the Arabian Gulf trading routes. The Sumerians regarded Dilmun as holy land . Dilmun
36714-439: The settlers eventually moved to Kufa . Umar successfully defeated rebellions by various Arab tribes, bringing stability to the entire Arabian peninsula and unifying it. Under the leadership of Uthman , the Arab empire expanded through the conquest of Persia , with the capture of Fars in 650 and parts of Khorasan in 651. The conquest of Armenia also began in the 640s. During this time, the Rashidun Empire extended its rule over
36925-400: The side of Mizraim (Egypt), and from the area around Arthur ( Assyria ) up towards the north. This description suggests that the Ishmaelites were a widely dispersed group with a presence across a significant portion of the ancient Near East. The nomads of Arabia have been spreading through the desert fringes of the Fertile Crescent since at least 3000 BCE, but the first known reference to
37136-547: The so-called "Arabs" inside Afghanistan during the war of resistance were struck (sometimes physically) by their hostility. The Arabs constantly asked the Afghan mujahideen commanders to get rid of the "infidels" and to choose only good Muslims as supporters, and called for the expulsion of Western NGOs ... in many areas the mujahideen had to intervene to prevent physical assaults on westerners. Author Gilles Kepel writes that in Peshwar Pakistan, some Afghan Arabs attacked "Europe and American humanitarian agencies ... trying to help
37347-447: The son of Abraham and Hagar was "father of the Arabs". The Book of Genesis narrates that God promised Hagar to beget from Ishmael twelve princes and turn his descendants into a " great nation" . Ishmael was considered the ancestor of the Islamic prophet Muhammad , the founder of Islam . The tribes of Central West Arabia called themselves the "people of Abraham and the offspring of Ishmael." Ibn Khaldun , an Arab scholar in
37558-405: The start of the 1st millennium BCE. Central Semitic is a branch of the Semitic language includes Arabic, Aramaic , Canaanite , Phoenician , Hebrew and others. The origins of Proto-Semitic may lie in the Arabian Peninsula, with the language spreading from there to other regions. This theory proposes that Semitic peoples reached Mesopotamia and other areas from the deserts to the west, such as
37769-485: The support of Pashtun leaders. However, the Mahipar agreement did not bring any such benefits to him as Hekmatyar had little grassroots support, but did have many adverse effects: it caused outrage among Jamiat supporters, and among the population of Kabul, who had endured Hekmatyar's attacks for the last four years. Moreover, the agreement was clearly not what the Pakistanis wanted, and convinced them of Hekmatyar's weakness, and that they should shift their aid entirely over to
37980-440: The term to refer to Bedouins of the Arabian Peninsula under King Gindibu , who fought as part of a coalition opposed to Assyria . Listed among the booty captured by the army of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III in the Battle of Qarqar (853 BCE) are 1000 camels of " Gîndibuʾ the Arbâya " or "[the man] Gindibu belonging to the Arabs " ( ar-ba-a-a being an adjectival nisba of the noun ʿArab ). The related word ʾaʿrāb
38191-548: The term was then corrupted into Arab . Yet another view is held by al-Masudi that the word Arab was initially applied to the Ishmaelites of the Arabah valley. In Biblical etymology, Arab (Hebrew: arvi ) comes from the desert origin of the Bedouins it originally described ( arava means 'wilderness'). The root ʿ-r-b has several additional meanings in Semitic languages—including 'west, sunset', 'desert', 'mingle', 'mixed', 'merchant' and 'raven'—and are "comprehensible" with all of these having varying degrees of relevance to
38402-449: The terms of their foedus with the Byzantines. During the Middle Ages , Arab civilization flourished and the Arabs made significant contributions to the fields of science , mathematics , medicine , philosophy , and literature , with the rise of great cities like Baghdad , Cairo , and Cordoba , they became centers of learning, attracting scholars, scientists, and intellectuals. Arabs forged many empires and dynasties, most notably,
38613-422: The territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina and were replaced by NATO peacekeeping forces, a "bitter experience" for Afghan Arab jihadist-salafists. According to Gilles Kepel as of 2003, the only thing left of their presence are "a few naturalized Arab subjects married to Bosnian women." Several veterans of jihad in Afghanistan were important in the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria or GIA—one of two insurgent groups fighting
38824-445: The vassal nomadic states within the Roman Empire Arabia Petraea , after the city of Petra , and called unconquered deserts bordering the empire to the south and east Arabia Magna . The Lakhmids as a dynasty inherited their power from the Tanukhids , the mid Tigris region around their capital Al-Hira . They ended up allying with the Sassanids against the Ghassanids and the Byzantine Empire . The Lakhmids contested control of
39035-448: The veil on women and the beard on men and in addition engaged in causing disturbances in the ceremonies of [Sufi] brotherhoods they deemed to be deviant, ... smashing up cafes, and ... [organizing] sharia marriages to Bosnian girls that were not declared to the civil authorities. After the 1995 Dayton Agreement (which gave Bosniaks control of 30% of the Bosnia and Herzegovina) were signed, all foreign volunteers were invited to leave
39246-486: The war against the Afghan Marxist government following the Soviet withdrawal. The March 1989 the Pakistani/American sponsored Battle for Jalalabad , was supposed to be the beginning of the end for the Afghan Communist government forces , the PDPA Government began negotiations with the "Interim Afghan Government" . Unfortunately, radical non-Afghan salafists became involved, executing some 60 surrendering Communists, cutting their corpses into small pieces, and sending
39457-416: The war do not even mention [the Afghan Arabs]. Many were not serious about the war. ... Very few were involved in actual fighting. For most of the war, they were scattered among the Afghan groups associated with the four Afghan fundamentalist parties. One instance where the foreign volunteers did participate in the fighting is reported to have backfired disastrously, hurting the Afghan resistance by prolonging
39668-533: Was a communist during his youth. Although some believe that Hekmatyar threw acid at multiple female students, others have attributed this claim to the Soviet KGB 's black propaganda . Hekmatyar's radicalism put him in confrontation with elements in the Muslim Youth surrounding Ahmad Shah Massoud , also an engineering student at Kabul University. In 1975, trying to assassinate a rival for the second time in three years, Hekmatyar with Pakistani help tried to assassinate Massoud, then 22 years old, but failed. In 1975,
39879-439: Was a powerful and highly organized ancient Arab kingdom that played a vital cultural and economic role in the north-western region of the Arabian Peninsula and used Dadanitic language. The Lihyanites were known for their advanced organization and governance, and they played a significant role in the cultural and economic life of the region. The kingdom was centered around the city of Dedan (modern-day Al Ula ), and it controlled
40090-404: Was also able to leverage his own alliances to defeat Zenobia and her army. Ultimately, the Palmyrene Empire lasted only a few years, but it had a significant impact on the history of the Roman Empire and the Near East. Most scholars identify the Itureans as an Arab people who inhabited the region of Iturea, emerged as a prominent power in the region after the decline of the Seleucid Empire in
40301-487: Was based on his record as an effective anti-Soviet military commander in Afghanistan. Others describe his position as the result of having "almost no grassroots support and no military base inside Afghanistan", and thus being the much more "dependent on Pakistani President Zia-ul-Haq 's protection and financial largesse" than other mujahideen factions. Author Peter Bergen states that "by the most conservative estimates, $ 600 million" in American aid through Pakistan "went to
40512-455: Was based on the cultivation of frankincense and myrrh, these highly valued aromatic resins were exported to Egypt, Greece, and Rome , making the Sabaeans wealthy and powerful, they also traded in spices, textiles, and other luxury goods. The Maʾrib Dam was one of the greatest engineering achievements of the ancient world, and it provided water for the city of Maʾrib and the surrounding agricultural lands. Lihyan also called Dadān or Dedan
40723-519: Was believed to shuttle between hideouts in Pakistan's mountainous tribal areas and northeast Afghanistan. In January 2010, he was still considered one of the three main leaders of the Afghan insurgency . By then, he held out the possibility of negotiations with President Karzai and outlined a roadmap for political reconciliation. This contrasted with the views of Taliban leader Mullah Omar and allied insurgent chief Sirajuddin Haqqani , who refused any talks with Kabul as long as foreign troops remained in
40934-438: Was born in 1949 in Imam Saheb , Kunduz province , in the north of what was then the Kingdom of Afghanistan , a member of the Kharoti tribe of Ghilji Pashtuns . His father, Ghulam Qader, who migrated to Kunduz, is originally from the Ghazni province . Afghan businessman and Kharoti tribal leader Gholam Serwar Nasher deemed Hekmatyar to be a bright young man and sent him to the Mahtab Qala military academy in 1968, but he
41145-432: Was committed to overthrowing the "impious" Algerian government and worked to prevent any compromise between them and the Islamist FIS party . Under Djafar, the GIA broadened its attacks to include civilians who refused to live by their prohibitions, and then foreigners living in Algeria. By the end of 1993 26 foreigners had been killed. In November 1993 it kidnapped and executed Sheik Mohamed Bouslimani "a popular figure who
41356-415: Was divided into small kingdoms . The Abbasids were the descendants of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib , one of the youngest uncles of Muhammad and of the same Banu Hashim clan. The Abbasids led a revolt against the Umayyads and defeated them in the Battle of the Zab effectively ending their rule in all parts of the Empire with the exception of al-Andalus. In 762, the second Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur founded
41567-544: Was expelled due to his political views two years later. From 1969 to 1972, Hekmatyar attended Kabul University 's engineering department. During his first year at the university he wrote a 149-page book entitled The Priority of Sense Over Matter , where he refutes communists denying the existence of God by quoting European philosophers and scientists like Hegel or Francesco Redi . Though he did not complete his degree, his followers still address him as "Engineer Hekmatyar". During his years in university, Hekmatyar joined
41778-418: Was founded by al-Mahdi Billah , a descendant of Fatimah , the daughter of Muhammad, the Fatimid Caliphate was a Shia that existed from 909 to 1171 CE. The empire was based in North Africa, with its capital in Cairo , and at its height, it controlled a vast territory that included parts of modern-day Egypt , Libya , Tunisia , Algeria , Morocco , Syria , and Palestine . The Fatimid state took shape among
41989-602: Was impressed by the wisdom and wealth of King Solomon, and she posed a series of difficult questions to him. King Solomon was able to answer all of her questions, and the Queen of Sheba was impressed by his wisdom and his wealth.( 1 Kings 10 ) Sabaeans are mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible . In the Quran , they are described as either Sabaʾ ( سَبَأ , not to be confused with Ṣābiʾ , صَابِئ ), or as Qawm Tubbaʿ (Arabic: قَوْم تُبَّع , lit. 'People of Tubbaʿ'). They were known for their prosperous trade and agricultural economy, which
42200-443: Was later ordered to sacrifice Ishmael in a dream, but God intervened and replaced him with a goat. Ibrahim and Ishmael then built the Kaaba in Mecca, which was originally constructed by Adam . According to the Samaritan book Asaṭīr adds: "And after the death of Abraham, Ishmael reigned twenty-seven years; And all the children of Nebaot ruled for one year in the lifetime of Ishmael; And for thirty years after his death from
42411-430: Was led by Ayman al-Zawahiri and Mohammed Shawky al-Istambouli—brother of the army lieutenant who led the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in October 1981. Al-Istambouli established a base in Jalalabad , in eastern Afghanistan, during the war. (The Islamist terror group al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya still had about 200 men there in 1994.) A former army colonel and "prominent fundamentalist" who fled Egypt after
42622-422: Was not until the rule of the grandson of the founder of this new emirate that the state entered a new phase as the Caliphate of Córdoba . This new state was characterized by an expansion of trade, culture and knowledge, and saw the construction of masterpieces of al-Andalus architecture and the library of Al-Ḥakam II which housed over 400,000 volumes. With the collapse of the Umayyad state in 1031 CE, Al-Andalus
42833-506: Was originally the computer file of the thousands of mujahideen who were recruited and trained with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians. However the notion that the CIA had any contact with non-Afghan mujahideen and specifically bin Laden is disputed by a number of sources. According to Peter Bergen of CNN the story that the CIA funded bin Laden or trained bin Laden—is simply a folk myth. There's no evidence of this. In fact, there are very few things that bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and
43044-528: Was particularly contentious. Massoud was arrested in Pakistan for espionage in 1976 with Hekmatyar's cooperation. Later Massoud and Hekmatyar agreed to stage a takeover operation in the Panjshir valley . Hekmatyar at the last minute refused to engage his part of the offensive, leaving Massoud open and vulnerable. Massoud's forces barely escaped with their lives. In July 1989 Hezb-e-Islami commander Sayyed Jamal ambushed and killed 30 commanders of Massoud's Shura-ye-Nazar at Farkhar in Takhar province . The attack
43255-567: Was prominent" in the moderate Islamist Algerian Hamas party who refused "to issue a fatwa endorsing the GIA's tactics." Djafar was killed February 26, 1994, but GIA continued to escalate violence, massacring whole villages of peasants for their alleged apostasy from Islam manifested by their failure to support GIA's jihad. Though the "undisputed principal Islamist force" in Algeria in 1994, by 1996, militants were deserting "in droves", alienated by its execution of civilians and Islamists leaders and believing it to be infiltrated by government agents. By
43466-503: Was removed from power by 4 of his Generals and the Homeland Party government in Kabul ceased to exist in April 1992. After this, some foreign mujahideen stayed in Afghanistan participating in the following Civil War caused by the power vacuum left behind from the dissolved Afghan Military . These Arab foreign fighters served as the essential core of the foot soldiers of Osama bin Laden 's Al Qaeda , bin Laden being seen, according to journalist Lawrence Wright, as "the undisputed leader of
43677-430: Was removed from power in Pakistan by Zia-ul-Haq in 1977, Zia continued supporting Hekmatyar. During the Soviet–Afghan War , Hekmatyar received large amounts of aid from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United States. Hekmatyar also gained the support of the British MI6 and even met Margaret Thatcher in Downing Street. According to the ISI, their decision to allocate the highest percentage of covert aid to Hekmatyar
43888-481: Was signed with Massoud on 25 May 1992, which made Hekmatyar Prime Minister. However, the agreement fell apart when he was blamed for a rocket attack on President Mojaddedi's plane. The following day, fighting resumed between Burhanuddin Rabbani 's and Ahmed Shah Massoud's Jamiat, Abdul Rashid Dostum 's Jumbish forces and Hekmatyar's Hezb-i Islami forces. From 1992 to 1996, the warring factions destroyed most of Kabul and killed thousands, many of them civilians, during
44099-575: Was they who made the first inscriptions in Arabic. The Nabataean alphabet was adopted by Arabs to the south, and evolved into modern Arabic script around the 4th century. This is attested by Safaitic inscriptions (beginning in the 1st century BCE) and the many Arabic personal names in Nabataean inscriptions. From about the 2nd century BCE, a few inscriptions from Qaryat al-Faw reveal a dialect no longer considered proto-Arabic , but pre-classical Arabic . Five Syriac inscriptions mentioning Arabs have been found at Sumatar Harabesi , one of which dates to
44310-467: Was thought to be responsible included the 2 January 2008 shooting down in Laghman province of a helicopter containing foreign troops; the shooting and forcing down of a U.S. military helicopter in Sarubi district of Kabul on 22 January; and blowing up a Kabul police vehicle in March 2008, killing 10 soldiers. In interviews he demanded "all foreign forces to leave immediately unconditionally." Offers by President Hamid Karzai to open talks with "opponents of
44521-524: Was typical of Hekmatyar's strategy of trying to cripple rival factions, and incurred widespread condemnation among the mujahideen. Hekmatyar's faction also attacked non-combatants such as British cameraman Andy Skrzypkowiak, who was killed in 1987 while carrying footage of Massoud's successes to the West. Despite protests from British representatives, Hekmatyar did not punish the culprits, and instead rewarded them with gifts. The same year Médecins Sans Frontières reported that Hekmatyar's guerrillas hijacked
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