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166-737: During Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Supreme Court have been chaired by Nizamuddin Tahzib then by Abdul Karim Shadan. The Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was the court of last resort in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan . It was created by the Constitution of Afghanistan , which was approved on January 4, 2004. Its creation was called for by the Bonn Agreement , which read in part: At

332-699: A Khalqist stronghold, controlled the Sarandoy , or officially, the "Defenders of the Revolution", which was a militarized Gendarmerie force. The Ministry of Tribes and Frontiers controlled, until 1983 under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence, the frontier troops and the tribal militia. According to the Afghan government, the Sarandoy mustered an estimated 115,000 males at its peak. Those who worked in

498-420: A broader notion of Islamism as a form of identity politics , involving "support for [Muslim] identity, authenticity, broader regionalism, revivalism, [and] revitalization of the community." Islamists themselves prefer terms such as "Islamic movement", or "Islamic activism" to "Islamism", objecting to the insinuation that Islamism is anything other than Islam renewed and revived. In public and academic contexts,

664-574: A coalition government. The new parliament was bicameral , and consisted of a Senate (Sena) and a House of Representatives ( Wolesi Jirga ). The president was to be indirectly elected to a 7-year term. A parliamentary election was held in 1988 . The PDPA won 46 seats in the House of Representatives and controlled the government with support from the National Front , which won 45 seats, and from various newly recognized left-wing parties, which had won

830-627: A commission working on a new constitution was established. There were 65 members of this commission, and they came from all walks of life. Due to his death, his constitution was never finished. In April 1980, under Babrak Karmal , the Fundamental Principles of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan were made law. The constitution was devoid of any references to socialism or communism , and instead laid emphasis on independence, Islam and liberal democracy . Religion

996-682: A decade of warfare, the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan in February 1989, but continued to back the PDPA, which was facing mounting resistance from the opposition. By 1990, another constitution was introduced, stating that Afghanistan's true nature was that of an Islamic republic and transforming the PDPA into the Watan Party . On the military front, the government still proved to be capable of performing in open combat, as demonstrated in

1162-587: A deliberate power-sharing between the two bodies; few Presidium members were ministers. It was the PDPA (perhaps with the involvement of the Soviets) which appointed and decided the membership of the Council of Ministers. An Afghan dissident who had previously worked in the office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers reported that all topics up for discussion in the Council of Ministers had to be approved by

1328-451: A different school of Islam, such as a "phase between fundamentalism and Islamism". Originally a reformist movement of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Muhammad Abdul, and Rashid Rida, that rejected maraboutism (Sufism), the established schools of fiqh , and demanded individual interpretation ( ijtihad ) of the Quran and Sunnah ; it evolved into a movement embracing the conservative doctrines of

1494-619: A fervent opponent of Westernization , Zionism and nationalism , advocated Sunni internationalism through revolutionary restoration of a pan-Islamic Caliphate to politically unite the Muslim world . Riḍā was a strong exponent of Islamic vanguardism, the belief that Muslim community should be guided by clerical elites ( ulema ) who steered the efforts for religious education and Islamic revival . Riḍā's Salafi - Arabist synthesis and Islamist ideals greatly influenced his disciples like Hasan al-Banna, an Egyptian schoolteacher who founded

1660-602: A formal abandonment of their original vision of implementing sharia (also termed Post-Islamism ) – done by the Ennahda Movement of Tunisia, and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) of Indonesia. Others, such as the National Congress of Sudan, have implemented the sharia with support from wealthy, conservative states (primarily Saudi Arabia). According to one theory – "inclusion-moderation"—the interdependence of political outcome with strategy means that

1826-494: A inability to equip the estimated 170 thousand strong militias Najibullah set up through his reconciliation policies. In March 1992, Najibullah offered his government's immediate resignation, and following an agreement with the United Nations (UN), his government was replaced by an interim government. In mid-April Najibullah accepted a UN plan to hand power to a seven-man council. A few days later, on 14 April, Najibullah

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1992-506: A large percentage of the population remained illiterate. Beginning with the Soviet intervention in 1979, successive wars virtually destroyed the nation's education system. Most teachers fled during the wars to neighboring countries. Afghan refugees are Afghan nationals who have fled their country as a result of the ongoing Afghan conflict . An estimated 6 million people have fled the country, most to neighbouring Pakistan and Iran, making it

2158-461: A member of the front. The National Fatherland Front (NFF) held its founding congress in June 1981, after being postponed on several occasions. The founding congress, which was planned to last four days, lasted only one. Within one month of its founding, 27 senior members had been assassinated by the mujahideen . Due to this, the organisation took time to establish itself; its first Provincial Committee

2324-475: A modern ideology that owes more to European utopian political ideologies and "isms" than to the traditional Islamic religion. According to Salman Sayyid, "Islamism is not a replacement of Islam akin to the way it could be argued that communism and fascism are secularized substitutes for Christianity." Rather, it is "a constellation of political projects that seek to position Islam in the centre of any social order ". The modern revival of Islamic devotion and

2490-641: A modern nation-state. The reaction to new realities of the modern world gave birth to Islamist ideologues like Rashid Rida and Abul A'la Maududi and organizations such as Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam in India. Rashid Rida, a prominent Syrian-born Salafi theologian based in Egypt , was known as a revivalist of Hadith studies in Sunni seminaries and a pioneering theoretician of Islamism in

2656-638: A natural opening for the left, was instead the beginning of major victories for the Islamist Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) party. The reason being the corruption and economic malfunction of the policies of the Third World socialist ruling party (FNL) had "largely discredited" the "vocabulary of socialism". In the post-colonial era, many Muslim-majority states such as Indonesia, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, were ruled by authoritarian regimes which were often continuously dominated by

2822-539: A possible 344th Commando Brigade in 1980. The 26th Airborne Battalion was created from the 242nd and 455th Commando Battalions after the Saur Revolution. They were deemed politically unreliable, and on 5 August 1979, they (along with soldiers from the 444th Commando Brigade) initiated a rebellion against the PDPA government, the Bala Hissar uprising . As a result of the rebellion, the 26th Airborne Battalion

2988-683: A power struggle developed between them for control of the Afghan Army. Following the 1979 Herat uprising , the Revolutionary Council and the PDPA Politburo established the Homeland Higher Defence Council. Taraki was elected its chairman, while Amin became its deputy. Amin's appointment, and the acquisition of the premiership (as Chairman of the Council of Ministers), was not a step further up

3154-457: A purge and violations of democratic principles by the Erdoğan regime . Critics of the concept – which include both Islamists who reject democracy and anti-Islamists – hold that Islamist aspirations are fundamentally incompatible with the democratic principles. [REDACTED] Politics portal The contemporary Salafi movement is sometimes described as a variety of Islamism and sometimes as

3320-476: A redoubling of faith and devotion by the faithful was called for to reverse this tide. The connection between the lack of an Islamic spirit and the lack of victory was underscored by the disastrous defeat of Arab nationalist-led armies fighting Israel under the slogan "Land, Sea and Air" in the 1967 Six-Day War , compared to the (perceived) near-victory of the Yom Kippur War six years later. In that war

3486-543: A report, that the new government would be ambivalent, or even worse hostile, towards the United States. Almost immediately after the Soviet withdrawal, the Battle of Jalalabad was fought between Afghan government forces and the mujahideen ; the government forces, to the surprise of many, repulsed the attack and won the battle. This trend would not continue, and by the summer of 1990, the Afghan government forces were on

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3652-559: A revival of Islam , but others believe that Islamism is a modern deviation from Islam which should either be denounced or dismissed. A writer for the International Crisis Group maintains that "the conception of 'political Islam'" is a creation of Americans to explain the Iranian Islamic Revolution , ignoring the fact that (according to the writer) Islam is by definition political. In fact it

3818-577: A thousand years, from the first Moorish landing in Spain to the second Turkish siege of Vienna, Europe was under constant threat from Islam. In the early centuries it was a double threat—not only of invasion and conquest, but also of conversion and assimilation. All but the easternmost provinces of the Islamic realm had been taken from Christian rulers, and the vast majority of the first Muslims west of Iran and Arabia were converts from Christianity ... Their loss

3984-543: A total of 24 seats. Although the election was boycotted by the Mujahideen , the government left 50 of the 234 seats in the House of Representatives, as well as a small number of seats in the Senate, vacant in the hope that the guerrillas would end their armed struggle and participate in the government. The only armed opposition party to make peace with the government was Hizbollah, a small Shi'a party not to be confused with

4150-450: A very close relationship at the beginning, the relationship soon deteriorated. Amin, who had helped to create a personality cult centered on Taraki, soon became disgusted with the shape it took and with Taraki, who had begun to believe in his own brilliance. Taraki began dismissing Amin's suggestions, fostering in Amin a deep sense of resentment. As their relationship turned increasingly sour,

4316-493: Is quietist /non-political Islam, not Islamism, that requires explanation, which the author gives—calling it an historical fluke of the "short-lived era of the heyday of secular Arab nationalism between 1945 and 1970". Hayri Abaza argues that the failure to distinguish Islam from Islamism leads many in the West to equate the two; they think that by supporting illiberal Islamic (Islamist) regimes, they are being respectful of Islam, to

4482-444: Is for impartiality, but if used in reference to a certain person or group in particular without others, it implies that the author is either unsure whether to affirm or negate their attribution to Islam, or trying to insinuate his disapproval of the attribution without controversy. In contrast, referring to a person as a Muslim or a Kafir implies an explicit affirmation or a negation of that person's attribution to Islam. To evade

4648-582: Is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism, liberal democracy, capitalism, and other alternatives in achieving a just, successful society. Islamism is generally considered anti-Zionist, anti-capitalist, anti-colonialist and anti-communist; Islamists support family values, sharia, reformation of interest-based finance, and the broad Quranic command of ' enjoining goodness and forbidding evil .' The advocates of Islamism, also known as "al-Islamiyyun", are dedicated to realizing their ideological interpretation of Islam within

4814-644: The Afghan Air Force and heavy artillery regiments that lasted until June. As with the army, the majority of officers in the Afghan Air Force were Khalqists , but Parchamites held all the senior positions. Many in the Air Force were given education and training in the Soviet Union. The Air Force had throughout its history always been smaller than the Army. The Afghan Air Force was considered

4980-784: The Battle of Jalalabad . However, with growing internal difficulties, such as the 1990 Khalqist coup d'état attempt , and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the Najibullah government was unable to sustain itself and ultimately lost the First Afghan Civil War in April 1992, which, in turn, triggered the Second Afghan Civil War . A distinct faction known as the Taliban emerged from among

5146-492: The Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union, and one-child families or low earners. Unfortunately for the government, most people tried to evade conscription. So the government was forced to send army or police gangs to recruit civilians to service. Even so, some people carried fake papers so they could evade conscription. A side effect of the lack of recruits was that veterans were forced into longer service, or re-recruited. Of

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5312-734: The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , and Alexei Kosygin , the Soviet Chairman of the Council of Ministers , congratulated Karmal on his "election" as leader, before any Afghan state or party organ had elected him to anything. When he came to power, Karmal promised an end to executions, the establishment of democratic institutions and free elections,

5478-778: The Homeland Party government in Kabul. The last Soviet aid came in October, with all Russian aid being cut by the new President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin in January 1992. Correctly fearing that a Mujahedeen victory could lead to the new government backing Islamists against the former Soviet Central Asian republics, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan provided food aid to the Najibullah government. The end of weapon exports however led to

5644-633: The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). ISIL has been rejected as blasphemous by the majority of Islamists. Originally the term Islamism was simply used to mean the religion of Islam, not an ideology or movement. It first appeared in the English language as Islamismus in 1696, and as Islamism in 1712. The term appears in the U.S. Supreme Court decision in In Re Ross (1891). By

5810-559: The KGB Chairman , supported this position. This stance, if implemented, would be a betrayal of the Geneva Accords just signed. Najibullah was against any type of Soviet withdrawal. A few Soviet troops remained after the Soviet withdrawal; for instance, parachutists who protected the Soviet embassy staff, military advisors and special forces and reconnaissance troops still operated in the "outlying provinces", especially along

5976-606: The Kar faction led by Dastagir Panjsheri , who later became a Khalqist, and Settam-e-Melli formed and led by Tahir Badakhshi . The Settam-e-Melli was a part of the insurgency against the PDPA government. In 1979, a Settam-e-Melli group killed Adolph Dubs , the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan . Ideologically Settam-e-Melli was very close to the Khalqist faction, but Settam-e-Melli opposed what they saw as

6142-604: The Muslim Brotherhood and the Ennahda were excluded from democratic political participation. At least in part for that reason, Islamists attempted to overthrow the government in the Algerian Civil War (1991–2002) and waged a terror campaign in Egypt in the 90s. These attempts were crushed and in the 21st century, Islamists turned increasingly to non-violent methods, and "moderate Islamists" now make up

6308-676: The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt during the 50s and 60s). Qutbism argued that not only was sharia essential for Islam, but that since it was not in force, Islam did not really exist in the Muslim world, which was in Jahiliyya (the state of pre-Islamic ignorance). To remedy this situation he urged a two-pronged attack of 1) preaching to convert, and 2) jihad to forcibly eliminate the "structures" of Jahiliyya . Defensive jihad against Jahiliyya Muslim governments would not be enough. "Truth and falsehood cannot coexist on this earth", so offensive Jihad

6474-632: The Muslim Brotherhood movement, and Hajji Amin al-Husayni , the anti-Zionist Grand Mufti of Jerusalem . Al-Banna and Maududi called for a " reformist " strategy to re-Islamizing society through grassroots social and political activism. Other Islamists (Al-Turabi) are proponents of a " revolutionary " strategy of Islamizing society through exercise of state power, or ( Sayyid Qutb ) for combining grassroots Islamization with armed revolution. The term has been applied to non-state reform movements, political parties, militias and revolutionary groups. At least one author ( Graham E. Fuller ) has argued for

6640-595: The Republic of Afghanistan , was the Afghan state between 1978 and 1992 . It was bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, by Iran to the west, by the Soviet Union to the north, and by China to the northeast. Established by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) following the Saur Revolution in April 1978, it came to rely heavily on the Soviet Union for financial and military assistance and

6806-618: The Western world . For instance: In 2006, President Hamid Karzai appointed several new, more moderate members to the court. However, he also chose to renominate Faisal Ahmad Shinwari as Chief Justice. Despite controversy surrounding the validity of Shinwari's legal credentials, his nomination was allowed to continue, but ultimately failed when voted on in the National Assembly. Karzai then chose his legal counsel, Abdul Salam Azimi , to succeed Shinwari. Azimi's nomination passed, and

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6972-399: The shahada , an Islamic creed. Taraki's Government initiated a land reform on 1 January 1979, which attempted to limit the amount of land a family could own. Those whose landholdings exceeded the limit saw their property requisitioned by the government without compensation. The Afghan leadership believed the reform would meet with popular approval among the rural population while weakening

7138-512: The 1960s in these countries "went out of their way to impress upon children that socialism was simply Islam properly understood." Olivier Roy writes that the "failure of the 'Arab socialist' model ... left room for new protest ideologies to emerge in deconstructed societies ..." Gilles Kepel notes that when a collapse in oil prices led to widespread violent and destructive rioting by the urban poor in Algeria in 1988, what might have appeared to be

7304-508: The 1988 Geneva Accords , and the Soviet Union and the United States signed as guarantors; the treaty specifically stated that the Soviet military had to withdraw from Afghanistan by 15 February 1989. During a Politburo meeting Eduard Shevardnadze said "We will leave the country in a deplorable situation", and talked further about economic collapse, and the need to keep at least 10,000 to 15,000 troops in Afghanistan. Vladimir Kryuchkov ,

7470-498: The 60 people who graduated from Kabul University in 1982, (few male Afghans attended Kabul University between 1980 and 1983), 15 of them fled to Pakistan or began working for the mujahideen. The army's approach to conscription was carrot-and-stick . This policy was partially successful, and each year the government managed to induce 10,000 to 18,000 into the army. A general amnesty was announced in 1980 to army draft deserters from previous administrations. In 1982, students who served in

7636-608: The 666th Commando Brigade would be entirely decimated during the Battle of Khost in 1991. In 1980, the DRA also introduced three special forces battalions, one for each of the army corps. The 203rd Special Purpose Battalion was tied to the 1st Central Army Corps in Kabul , the 213th Special Purpose Battalion was tied to the 2nd Army Corps in Kandahar and the 230th Special Purpose Battalion

7802-413: The Afghan government and the Soviet military decided to solve the conflict militarily. The change from a political to a military solution came gradually. It began in January 1981: Karmal doubled wages for military personnel, issued several promotions, and one general and thirteen colonels were decorated. The draft age was lowered, the obligatory length of military duty was extended, and the age for reservists

7968-479: The Afghan government, and the Soviet military—the degeneration of training for new military recruits; new recruits were being rushed into service, because the Afghan government and the Soviet military feared a total collapse of the government. Western analysts expected the Afghan Army to lose the Battle of Jalalabad , but contrary to their expectations, managed to repel the Mujahideen and Pakistani forces (who had

8134-406: The Afghan people. The red star, the book and communist symbols in general, were removed from the flag in 1987 under Najibullah. The new emblem, which replaced Daoud's eagle emblem, was introduced together with the flag in 1978. When Karmal introduced a new emblem in 1980, he said "it is from the pulpit that thousands of the faithful are led to the right path." The book depicted in the emblem (and

8300-636: The Afghan–Soviet border. Pakistan, under Zia ul-Haq , continued to support the Afghan mujahideen even though it was a contravention of the Geneva Accords. At the beginning most observers expected the Najibullah government to collapse immediately, and to be replaced with an Islamic fundamentalist government. Following the Soviet withdrawal the morale of the Afghan Military was said to have actually increased. The Central Intelligence Agency stated in

8466-406: The Air Force. Other Soviet equipment and weapons were used by the government. The Czech L-39 jet trainers were the only non-Soviet equipment. The IL-28 bombers remained in very limited service, with their roles mostly being replaced by the Su-17 and Su-22 MiG-17s remained grounded by the end of the 1980s with the more modern MiG-21s taking on the mantle. The Ministry of Interior Affairs ,

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8632-413: The Khalq faction's "Pashtun chauvinism." Settam-e-Melli followed the ideology of Maoism . When Karmal ascended to power, the Settamites relationship with the government improved, mostly due to Karmal's former good relationship with Badakhshi, who was killed by government forces in 1979. In 1983, Bashir Baghlani , a Settam-e-Melli member, was appointed Minister of Justice . Karmal had first mentioned

8798-436: The Middle East more than any trend since the modern states gained independence", redefining "politics and even borders". Central and prominent figures in 20th-century Islamism include Sayyid Rashid Riḍā , Hassan al-Banna (founder of the Muslim Brotherhood ), Sayyid Qutb , Abul A'la Maududi , Ruhollah Khomeini (founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran), Hassan Al-Turabi . Syrian Sunni cleric Muhammad Rashid Riḍā,

8964-401: The Muslim world. Compared to other societies around the globe, "[w]hat is striking about the Islamic world is that ... it seems to have been the least penetrated by irreligion ". Where other peoples may look to the physical or social sciences for answers in areas which their ancestors regarded as best left to scripture, in the Muslim world, religion has become more encompassing, not less, as "in

9130-436: The Muslim world." By the late 1960s, non-Soviet Muslim-majority countries had won their independence and they tended to fall into one of the two cold-war blocs – with "Nasser's Egypt, Baathist Syria and Iraq, Muammar el-Qaddafi's Libya, Algeria under Ahmed Ben Bella and Houari Boumedienne, Southern Yemen , and Sukarno's Indonesia" aligned with Moscow. Aware of the close attachment of the population with Islam, "school books of

9296-482: The NFF had amassed 700,000 members after its founding, which later increased to one million. The majority of its members were already members of affiliated organisations, such as the Women's Council , the Democratic Youth Organisation and the trade unions, all of which were controlled by the PDPA. The membership numbers were in any case inflated . In 1984 the NFF had 67,000 members, and in 1986 its membership peaked at 112,209. In 1985 Zeary stepped down as NFF leader, and

9462-457: The Ottoman capital, Constantinople (now Istanbul ), on 17 November 1922. The legal position was solidified with the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne on 24 July 1923. In March 1924, the Caliphate was abolished legally by the Turkish National Assembly, marking the end of Ottoman influence. This shocked the Sunni clerical world, and many felt the need to present Islam not as a traditional religion but as an innovative socio-political ideology of

9628-430: The PDPA Politburo. The Karmal government was "a new evolutionary phase of the great Saur Revolution ." The Fundamental Principles was not implemented in practice, and it was replaced by the 1987 constitution in a loya jirga under Muhammad Najibullah but did not have support of opposition parties. Islamic principles were embedded in the 1987 constitution. For instance, Article 2 of the constitution stated that Islam

9794-543: The PDPA agenda included: massive land reform program; the abolition of bride price; and raising the marriage age to 16 for girls and to 18 for boys. However, the mullahs and tribal chiefs in the interiors viewed compulsory education, especially for women, as going against the grain of tradition, as anti-religious, and as a challenge to male authority. This resulted in an increase in shootings of women in Western clothes, killing of PDPA reformers in rural areas, and general harassment of women social workers. Despite improvements,

9960-425: The PDPA government reformed the education system; education was stressed for both sexes, and widespread literacy programmes were set up. By 1988, women made up 40 percent of the doctors and 60 percent of the teachers at Kabul University; 440,000 female students were enrolled in different educational institutions and 80,000 more in literacy programs. In addition to introducing mass literacy campaigns for women and men,

10126-411: The PDPA government's attempt to introduce state atheism . It was shown to the public for the first time in an official rally in Kabul. The red flag introduced under Taraki was replaced in 1980, shortly after the Soviet intervention, to the more traditional colours black, red and green. The PDPA flag, which was red with a yellow seal, was retained to emphasise the difference between the party and state to

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10292-431: The Parchamites, the term Parcham was, according to Taraki, a word synonymous with factionalism. On 27 June, three months after the revolution, Amin managed to outmaneuver the Parchamites at a Central Committee meeting. The meeting decided that the Khalqists had the exclusive right to formulate and decide policy, which left the Parchamites impotent. Karmal was exiled. Later, a coup planned by the Parchamites and led by Karmal

10458-413: The President of the Republic of Afghanistan from 1973 to 1978, was ousted during the Saur Revolution (April Revolution) following the death of Mir Akbar Khyber , a Parchamite politician from the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), who died under mysterious circumstances. Hafizullah Amin , a Khalqist , was the coup's chief architect. Nur Muhammad Taraki , the leader of the Khalqists,

10624-610: The Sarandoy were paid 162 dollars a month, a wage which was higher than that of Deputy Minister of National Defence before the Saur Revolution . However, the militia was less disciplined than the regular Afghan Army and were sometimes described as ruthless thugs. KhAD also had their own paramilitary forces and elite units. KhAD ran a program of creating tribal militias. Notable militias include that of General Abdul Jabar Qahraman 's Helmand and Paktia militia, General Ismatullah Muslim Achakzai Kandahar Militia and General Abdul Rashid Dostum 's Junbish Militia . During communist rule,

10790-399: The Soviet Union continued, as did bilateral trade. He also encouraged the development of the private sector in industry. The Five-Year Economic and Social Development Plan, which was introduced in January 1986, continued until March 1991, one year before the government's fall. According to the plan, the economy, which had grown less than 2 percent annually until 1985, would grow 25 percent under

10956-402: The Soviet Union to give economic, military and political assistance. Even if Karmal indeed wanted all this, it would be impossible to put it into practice in the presence of the Soviet Union. Most Afghans mistrusted the government at this time. Many still remembered that Karmal had said he would protect private capital in 1978, a promise later proven to be a lie. When a political solution failed,

11122-450: The Soviet Union until the very end, despite the deterioration of official relations with the Soviet Union. When the Afghan intelligence service handed Amin a report that the Soviet Union would invade the country and topple him, Amin claimed the report was a product of imperialism . His view can be explained by the fact that the Soviet Union, after several months, decided to send troops into Afghanistan. Contrary to normal Western beliefs, Amin

11288-404: The Soviet Union, and of them, between 5 and 10 percent were members of the PDPA or communists. By the time of the Soviet intervention, the officer corps had decreased to 1,100 members. This decrease can be explained by the number of purges centered on the armed forces. The purge of the military began immediately after the PDPA took power. According to Mohammad Ayub Osmani, an officer who defected to

11454-429: The Soviet Union, the Special Commission of the Politburo on Afghanistan, which consisted of Yuri Andropov , Andrei Gromyko , Dmitriy Ustinov and Boris Ponomarev , wanted to end the impression that the Soviet government supported Amin's leadership and policies. Andropov fought hard for Soviet intervention, telling Leonid Brezhnev that Amin's policies had destroyed the military and the government's capability to handle

11620-486: The Soviet and Afghan militaries fought against the Afghan mujahideen , which had been bolstered by military aid from the Muslim world and the Western Bloc , the country rapidly destabilized, resulting in widespread civilian casualties and the creation of millions of refugees , most of whom fled to Pakistan and Iran. In April 1980, the "Fundamental Principles" (comprising a constitution) were introduced by Karmal's administration, and several non-PDPA members were allowed into

11786-440: The Soviets were afraid that they would contact the enemy. In Afghan helicopter flights a Soviet adviser was always present, and commanded the Afghan pilot who flew the helicopter. Among the fixed-wing aircraft in use were MiG-17 and MiG-21 fighters, Su-7 , Su-17 , and Su-22 fighter-bombers, IL-28 bombers and An-2 , An-24 and An-26 transport aircraft. MI-2 , MI-4 , MI-8 , MI-24 and MI-35 helicopters were used by

11952-568: The Soviets. Under Karmal, the Khalqist's were purged and replaced by the Parcham majority in the Council of Ministers. Of the 24 members of the Council of Ministers under Karmal's chairmanship, only four were Khalqists. The PDPA constitution was written during the party's First Congress in 1965. The constitution regulated all party activities and modelled itself after the Leninist party model;

12118-725: The Supreme Commander, who also held the posts of PDPA General Secretary and head of state. The order of precedence continued with the Minister of National Defense , the Deputy Minister of National Defence, Chief of General Staff , Chief of Army Operations, Air and Air Defence Commander and ended with the Chief of Intelligence. Of the 8,000 strong officer corps in 1978, between 600 and 800 were communists . An estimated 40 to 45 percent of these officers were educated in

12284-531: The appointment of military officers to the PDPA leadership, altered his position; he now supported their elevation. The PDPA Politburo voted in favour of giving membership to the military officers; the victors (the Khalqists) portrayed the Parchamites as opportunists (they implied that the Parchamites had ridden the revolutionary wave, but not actually participated in the revolution). To make matters worse for

12450-584: The attraction to things Islamic can be traced to several events. By the end of World War I, most Muslim states were seen to be dominated by the Christian-leaning Western states. Explanations offered were: that the claims of Islam were false and the Christian or post-Christian West had finally come up with another system that was superior; or Islam had failed through not being true to itself. The second explanation being preferred by Muslims,

12616-669: The bigger party in Iran. The Council of Ministers was the Afghan cabinet, and its chairman was the head of government. It was the most important government body in PDPA Afghanistan, and it ran the governmental ministries. The Council of Ministers was responsible to the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council, and after the adoption of the 1987 constitution, to the President and House of Representatives. There seems to have been

12782-719: The bulk of the Parchamite ranks, while also exiling most of the prominent Parcham leaders to the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc . Following the Khalq–Parcham conflict, a power struggle arose within the Khalq faction itself, as Taraki and Amin increasingly contested each other's influence. Amin gained the upper hand among the Khalqists and later had Taraki killed on his orders. Due to his earlier reforms, however, Amin's rule proved to be unpopular throughout most of Afghanistan, with

12948-528: The conservative "guardians of the tradition" ( Salafis , such as those in the Wahhabi movement) and the revolutionary "vanguard of change and Islamic reform" centered around the Muslim Brotherhood . Olivier Roy argues that " Sunni pan-Islamism underwent a remarkable shift in the second half of the 20th century" when the Muslim Brotherhood movement and its focus on Islamisation of pan-Arabism

13114-631: The constitution or other standing laws shall be judged by the Hanafi jurisprudence . The judiciary shall apply the Shia school of law in cases dealing with personal matters of those who are of the Shia sect, where applicable. The Court was previously dominated by conservative religious figures and the former Chief Justice, Fazal Hadi Shinwari , in particular was described as "ultra conservative." Several of its rulings disappointed reform-minded Afghans and people in

13280-765: The context of the state or society. The majority of them are affiliated with Islamic institutions or social mobilization movements. Islamists emphasize the implementation of sharia , pan-Islamic political unity, and the creation of Islamic states . In its original formulation, Islamism described an ideology seeking to revive Islam to its past assertiveness and glory, purifying it of foreign elements, reasserting its role into "social and political as well as personal life"; and in particular "reordering government and society in accordance with laws prescribed by Islam" (i.e. Sharia). According to at least one observer (author Robin Wright ), Islamist movements have "arguably altered

13446-542: The country's emerging instability prompting the Soviet government to begin planning for a direct military intervention in favour of the Parchamites. On 27 December 1979, the Soviet Union launched Operation Storm-333 , assaulting the Tajbeg Palace in Kabul and assassinating Amin, who was then replaced by Karmal. The Karmal era, which lasted from 1979 to 1986, was marked by the height of the Soviet–Afghan War. As

13612-545: The country's infrastructure was destroyed, and normal patterns of economic activity were disrupted. The gross national product (GNP) fell substantially during Karmal's rule because of the conflict; trade and transport were disrupted along with the loss of labor and capital. In 1981 the Afghan GDP stood at 154.3 billion Afghan afghanis , a drop from 159,7 billion in 1978. GNP per capita decreased from 7,370 in 1978 to 6,852 in 1981. The most dominant form of economic activity

13778-413: The creation of a constitution, the legalisation of parties other than the PDPA, and respect for individual and personal property. Prisoners incarcerated under the two previous governments would be freed in a general amnesty. He even promised that a coalition government was going to be established that was not going to espouse socialism . At the same time, he told the Afghan people that he had negotiated with

13944-402: The crisis by use of mass repression. The plan, according to Andropov, was to assemble a small force to intervene and remove Amin from power and replace him with Karmal. The Soviet Union declared its plan to intervene in Afghanistan on 12 December 1979, and the Soviet leadership initiated Operation Storm-333 (the first phase of the intervention ) on 27 December 1979. Amin remained trustful of

14110-491: The defensive again. By the beginning of 1991, the government controlled only 10 percent of Afghanistan, the eleven-year Siege of Khost had ended in a mujahideen victory and the morale of the Afghan military slumped. In 1991 a coup led by members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to remove Gorbachev failed resulting in the removal of many Soviet politicians and military officers that favored continuing aid to

14276-554: The democratic and political process as well as armed attacks by their powerful paramilitary wings. Jihadist organizations like al-Qaeda and the Egyptian Islamic Jihad , and groups such as the Taliban , entirely reject democracy, seeing it as a form of kufr (disbelief) calling for offensive jihad on a religious basis. Another major division within Islamism is between what Graham E. Fuller has described as

14442-709: The democratic process include parties like the Tunisian Ennahda Movement . Some Islamists can be religious populists or far-right. Jamaat-e-Islami of Pakistan is basically a socio-political and " vanguard party " working with in Pakistan's Democratic political process, but has also gained political influence through military coup d'états in the past. Other Islamist groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine claim to participate in

14608-463: The democratic public square in places like Turkey , Tunisia , Malaysia and Indonesia ". Islamism is not a united movement and takes different forms and spans a wide range of strategies and tactics towards the powers in place—"destruction, opposition, collaboration, indifference" —not because (or not just because) of differences of opinions, but because it varies as circumstances change. Moderate and reformist Islamists who accept and work within

14774-502: The detriment of those who seek to separate religion from politics . Another source distinguishes Islamist from Islam by emphasizing the fact that Islam "refers to a religion and culture in existence over a millennium ", whereas Islamism "is a political/religious phenomenon linked to the great events of the 20th century". Islamists have, at least at times, defined themselves as "Islamiyyoun/Islamists" to differentiate themselves from "Muslimun/Muslims". Daniel Pipes describes Islamism as

14940-552: The early stages of PDPA rule. One of the main reasons for the small size was that the Soviet military were afraid the Afghan army would defect en masse to the enemy if total personnel increased. There were several sympathisers of the mujahideen within the Afghan Armed Forces . Even so, there were several elite units under the command of the Afghan army, such as the 37th, 38th, 444th, 466th, 666th, 84th, 85th Commando Brigades. Additionally, there could have also been

15106-422: The enactment of religious bylaws to counter the popularity of Islamist oppositions. In Egypt, during the short period of the democratic experiment , Muslim Brotherhood seized the momentum by being the most cohesive political movement among the opposition. Few observers contest the immense influence of Islamism within the Muslim world . Following the collapse of the Soviet Union , political movements based on

15272-568: The enemy, of the 282 Afghan officers who attended the Malinovsky Military Armored Forces Academy in Moscow, an estimated 126 were executed by the authorities. Most of the officer corps, during the Soviet war and the ensuing civil war, were new recruits. The majority of officers were Khalqists, but after the Parchamites' ascension to power, Khalqists held no position of significance. The Parchamites, who were

15438-488: The final fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021. Kabul would suffer destruction following Najibullah's resignation as many factions fought for control . The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan described the Saur Revolution as a democratic revolution signifying "a victory of the honourable working people of Afghanistan" and the "manifestation of the real will and interests of workers, peasants and toilers." While

15604-452: The flag) was generally considered to be Das Kapital , a work by Karl Marx , and not the Quran , the central Islamic text. The last emblem was introduced in 1987 by the Najibullah government. This emblem was, in contrast to the previous ones, influenced by Islam . The Red Star and Das Kapital were removed from the emblem (and the flag). The emblem depicted the mihrab , the minbar and

15770-657: The globe. Sayyid Rashid Rida had visited India in 1912 and was impressed by the Deoband and Nadwatul Ulama seminaries. These seminaries carried the legacy of Sayyid Ahmad Shahid and his pre-modern Islamic emirate. In British India , the Khilafat movement (1919–24) following World War I led by Shaukat Ali , Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar , Hakim Ajmal Khan and Abul Kalam Azad came to exemplify South Asian Muslims' aspirations for Caliphate . Muslim alienation from Western ways, including its political ways. For almost

15936-399: The government to broaden the country's support base. However, these policies ultimately failed to bring peace to Afghanistan, and in 1986, Karmal was succeeded by Mohammad Najibullah . Najibullah pursued a policy known as National Reconciliation : a new constitution was introduced in 1987 and democratic elections were held in 1988 , though they were boycotted by the mujahideen. After almost

16102-544: The government. At the end of 1986, Najibullah called for a six-month ceasefire and talks between the various opposition forces, as part of his policy of National Reconciliation . The discussions, if fruitful, would have led to the establishment of a coalition government and be the end of the PDPA's monopoly on power. The programme failed, but the government was able to recruit disillusioned mujahideen fighters as government militias. The National Reconciliation did lead an increasing number of urban dwellers to support his rule, and to

16268-402: The government; the Khalq faction was answerable to Amin, the Parchamites were answerable to Karmal and the military officers (who were Parchamites) were answerable to Watanjar. The first conflict between the Khalqists and Parchamites arose when the Khalqists wanted to give PDPA Central Committee membership to military officers who participated in the Saur Revolution. Amin, who previously opposed

16434-532: The hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth obtained from the Persian Gulf's huge oil deposits were nothing less than a gift from God to the Islamic faithful. As the Islamic revival gained momentum, governments such as Egypt's, which had previously repressed (and was still continuing to repress) Islamists, joined the bandwagon. They banned alcohol and flooded the airwaves with religious programming, giving

16600-551: The idea of moving Afghanistan toward socialism was proclaimed, completing the task was seen as an arduous road. Thus, Afghanistan's foreign minister commented that Afghanistan was a democratic but not yet socialist republic, while a member of the Politburo of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan predicted that "Afghanistan will not see socialism in my lifetime" in an interview with a British journalist in 1981. Afghanistan

16766-661: The intention of establishing an interim government in Nangarhar Province ) and maintain control of the city. In April 1990, the DRA Armed Forces further proved their ability to fight without direct Soviet assistance when they successfully assaulted a fortified complex in Paghman . The Afghan Army, spearheaded by Junbish-i-Mili , the militia led by Abdul Rashid Dostum , were able to clear mujahideen entrenchments with constant assaults and heavy bombardment from

16932-406: The invasion the army could field 100,000 troops, after the invasion only 25,000. Desertion was pandemic, and the recruitment campaigns for young people often led them to flee to the opposition. To better organise the military, seven military zones were established, each with its own Defence Council. The Defence Council was established at the national, provincial and district level to devolve powers to

17098-417: The labour force. The balance of payments , which had improved in the pre-communist administration of Mohammed Daoud Khan ; the surplus decreased and became a deficit by 1982, which reached minus $ US70.3 million. The only economic activity that grew substantially during Karmal's rule was export and import . Najibullah continued Karmal's economic policies. The augmenting of links with the Eastern Bloc and

17264-455: The ladder as one might assume; due to constitutional reforms, Amin's new offices were more or less powerless. There was a failed assassination attempt led by the Gang of Four , which consisted of Watanjar , Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy , Sherjan Mazdoryar and Assadullah Sarwari . This assassination attempt prompted Amin to conspire against Taraki, and when Taraki returned from a trip to Havana , he

17430-406: The largest producer of refugees in the world. Many of these refugees would later be the basis for the Taliban movement. Islamism Political Militant [REDACTED] Islam portal Islamism refers to religious and political ideological movements that believe Islam should influence political systems, and generally oppose secularism . Its proponents believe Islam

17596-553: The last few decades, it has been the fundamentalists who have increasingly represented the cutting edge" of Muslim culture. Writing in 2009, German journalist Sonja Zekri described Islamists in Egypt and other Muslim countries as "extremely influential. ... They determine how one dresses, what one eats. In these areas, they are incredibly successful. ... Even if the Islamists never come to power, they have transformed their countries." Political Islamists were described as "competing in

17762-469: The liberal ideology of free expression and democratic rule have led the opposition in other parts of the world such as Latin America, Eastern Europe and many parts of Asia; however "the simple fact is that political Islam currently reigns [circa 2002-3] as the most powerful ideological force across the Muslim world today". The strength of Islamism also draws from the strength of religiosity in general in

17928-616: The lies. At the time of the Parchamite takeover of the state and party, an estimated 80 percent of military officers were Khalqists. In the party's history, only two congresses were held; the founding congress in 1965 and the Second Congress in June 1990, which transformed the PDPA into the Watan Party, which has survived to this today in the shape of the Democratic Watan Party . The Second Congress renamed

18094-469: The local PDPA. It is estimated that the Afghan government spent as much as 40 percent of government revenue on defence. Karmal was forced to resign from his post as PDPA General Secretary in May 1986, due to increasing pressure from the Soviet leadership, and was succeeded by Najibullah, the former Minister of State Security . He continued to have influence in the upper echelons of the party and state until he

18260-434: The majority of the contemporary Islamist movements. Among some Islamists, Democracy has been harmonized with Islam by means of Shura (consultation). The tradition of consultation by the ruler being considered Sunnah of the prophet Muhammad , ( Majlis-ash-Shura being a common name for legislative bodies in Islamic countries). Among the varying goals, strategies, and outcomes of "moderate Islamist movements" are

18426-447: The masses a channel to express their economic grievances and frustration toward the lack of democratic processes. As a result, in the post-Cold War era , civil society-based Islamist movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood were the only organizations capable to provide avenues of protest. The dynamic was repeated after the states had gone through a democratic transition . In Indonesia, some secular political parties have contributed to

18592-523: The medieval Hanbali theologian Ibn Taymiyyah . While all salafi believe Islam covers every aspect of life, that sharia law must be implemented completely and that the Caliphate must be recreated to rule the Muslim world, they differ in strategies and priorities, which generally fall into three groups: Qutbism refers to the Jihadist ideology formulated by Sayyid Qutb , (an influential figure of

18758-545: The military's slogan was "God is Great". Along with the Yom Kippur War came the Arab oil embargo where the (Muslim) Persian Gulf oil-producing states' dramatic decision to cut back on production and quadruple the price of oil, made the terms oil, Arabs and Islam synonymous with power throughout the world, and especially in the Muslim world's public imagination. Many Muslims believe as Saudi Prince Saud al Faisal did that

18924-488: The military, and graduated 10th grade in high school, would pass 11th and 12th grade and be given a scholarship. People who were conscripted after the 12th grade, could, after military service, attend whichever higher education facility they wanted. To stop army desertions, soldiers were quickly promoted to higher ranks. The army consisted of 14 divisions, of these 11 were infantry and another three were armored, which were part of three military corps. While an infantry division

19090-410: The minority, held the positions of power. Of the 1,100 large officer corps, only an estimated 200 were party members. According to Abdul Qadir , one-fifth of military personnel were party members, which meant that, if the military stood at 47,000, 9,000 were members of the PDPA. This number was, according to J. Bruce Amtstutz, an exaggeration. The strength of the Afghan Army was greatly weakened during

19256-469: The modern age. During 1922–1923, Rida published a series of articles in seminal Al-Manar magazine titled " The Caliphate or the Supreme Imamate ". In this highly influential treatise, Rida advocates for the restoration of Caliphate guided by Islamic jurists and proposes gradualist measures of education, reformation and purification through the efforts of Salafiyya reform movements across

19422-474: The months following the coup, Taraki and other party leaders initiated other policies that challenged both traditional Afghan values and well-established traditional power structures in rural areas. Taraki introduced women to political life and legislated an end to forced marriage. The strength of the anti-reform backlash would ultimately lead to the Afghan Civil War . While Amin and Taraki had

19588-539: The more moderate the Islamists become, the more likely they are to be politically included (or unsuppressed); and the more accommodating the government is, the less "extreme" Islamists become. A prototype of harmonizing Islamist principles within the modern state framework was the " Turkish model ", based on the apparent success of the rule of the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan . Turkish model, however, came "unstuck" after

19754-598: The most loyal element of the Communist regime. Following the Soviet intervention, the Soviets grounded the Air Force. Afghans were not allowed in security zones at Afghan airports by the Soviets. Afghans were generally not allowed to fly the airplanes of the Afghan Air Force, but the Soviets could. Afghan helicopters were assigned to tasks considered non-sensitive by the Soviets, and the majority of Air Force personnel were not told about missions beforehand, because

19920-868: The movement even more exposure. The abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on 1 November 1922 ended the Ottoman Empire , which had lasted since 1299. On 11 November 1922, at the Conference of Lausanne , the sovereignty of the Grand National Assembly exercised by the Government in Angora (now Ankara ) over Turkey was recognized. The last sultan, Mehmed VI , departed

20086-735: The mujahideen's ranks during this period and eventually seized most of the country, establishing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan , which fought the Northern Alliance during the Third Afghan Civil War before collapsing to the United States invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. This Islamic Emirate would be re-established after the end of the War in Afghanistan in August 2021. Mohammad Daoud Khan ,

20252-460: The new court was sworn in on August 5, 2006. On January 17, 2021, 2 female judges working at the Afghan supreme court were killed as they were driving to work. The Supreme Court is housed in a four storey office building on Great Massoud Road next to Massoud Circle . On February 7, 2017, a suicide bomber killed 20 people outside the building. Democratic Republic of Afghanistan The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan , later known as

20418-465: The opposite of the Soviet Union's; Najibullah was opposed to a Soviet withdrawal, the Soviet Union wanted a withdrawal. This was understandable, since it was thought that the Afghan military was on the brink of dissolution. Najibullah thought his only means of survival was to retain the Soviet presence. In July 1986 six Soviet regiments, up to 15,000 troops, were withdrawn from Afghanistan. The aim of this early withdrawal was, according to Gorbachev, to show

20584-437: The party and tried to revitalise it by admitting to past mistakes and evolving ideologically. The policy of national reconciliation was given a major ideologically role, since the party now looked for a peaceful solution to the conflict; class struggle was still emphasised. The party also decided to support and further develop the market economy in Afghanistan. Throughout PDPA history there were also other factions, such as

20750-481: The party was based on the principles of democratic centralism and Marxism–Leninism was the party's official ideology. In theory, the Central Committee of the PDPA ruled Afghanistan by electing the members to the Revolutionary Council , Secretariat, and the Politburo of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan , the key decision-making bodies of state and party. After the Soviet intervention,

20916-448: The plan. Industry would grow 28 percent, agriculture 14–16 percent, domestic trade by 150 percent and foreign trade by 15 percent. None of these predictions were successful, and economic growth continued at 2%. The 1990 constitution gave attention to the private sector . Article 20 covered the establishment of private firms, and Article 25 encouraged foreign investment in the private sector. The military 's chain of command began with

21082-502: The political landscape in areas under government control. Political parties could be established as long as they opposed colonialism , imperialism , neo-colonialism , Zionism , racial discrimination , apartheid , and fascism . The Revolutionary Council was abolished, and replaced by the National Assembly of Afghanistan , a democratically elected parliament. The government announced its willingness to share power, and form

21248-494: The possibility of establishing a "broad national front" in March 1980, but given the situation the country was in, the campaign for the establishment of such an organisation began only in January 1981. A "spontaneous" demonstration in support of establishing such an organisation was held that month. The first pre-front institution to be established was a tribal jirga in May 1981 by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. This jirga later became

21414-443: The power of the bourgeoisie . The reform was declared complete in mid-1979 and the government proclaimed that 665,000 hectares (approximately 1,632,500 acres) had been redistributed. The government also declared that only 40,000 families, or 4 percent of the population, had been negatively affected by the land reform. Contrary to government expectations the reform was neither popular nor productive. Agricultural harvests plummeted and

21580-527: The powers of the PDPA decreased because of the government's increased unpopularity amongst the masses. Soviet advisers took over nearly all aspects of Afghan administration; according to critics, the Afghans became the advisors and the Soviet became the advised. The Soviet intervention had forced Karmal upon the party and state. While trying to portray the new government as a Khalq – Parcham coalition, most members (the majority of whom were Khalqists), saw through

21746-470: The problem resulting from the confusion between the Western and Arabic usage of the term Islamist, Arab journalists invented the term Islamawi ( Islamian ) instead of Islami ( Islamist ) in reference to the political movement, though this term is sometimes criticized as grammatically incorrect. Islamism has been defined as: Islamists simply believe that their movement is either a corrected version or

21912-453: The promotion of socialism . Amin, in particular, built upon Khan's reforms with even more radical legislation for Afghanistan's conservative Muslim society, such as universal education and equal rights for women . Soon afterwards, a power struggle began between two PDPA factions: the hardline Khalq , led by Taraki and Amin; and the moderate Parcham , led by Babrak Karmal . The Khalqists eventually emerged victorious and subsequently purged

22078-401: The reform itself led to rising discontent amongst Afghans. When Taraki realized the degree of popular dissatisfaction with the reform he quickly abandoned the policy. However, the land reform was gradually implemented under the later Karmal administration, although the proportion of land area affected by the reform is unclear. During the civil war, and the ensuing Soviet–Afghan War , most of

22244-408: The reform, causing agricultural harvests to plummet and rising discontent amongst Afghans. When Taraki realized the degree of popular dissatisfaction with the reform he began to curtail the policy. Afghanistan's long history of resistance to any type of strong centralized governmental control further undermined his authority. Consequently, much of the land reform did not get implemented nationwide. In

22410-438: The same individuals or their cadres for decades. Simultaneously, the military played a significant part in the government decisions in many of these states ( the outsized role played by the military could be seen also in democratic Turkey). The authoritarian regimes, backed by military support, took extra measures to silence leftist opposition forces, often with the help of foreign powers. Silencing of leftist opposition deprived

22576-404: The same time, their popularity is such that no government can call itself democratic that excludes mainstream Islamist groups. Arguing distinctions between "radical/moderate" or "violent/peaceful" Islamism were "simplistic", circa 2017, scholar Morten Valbjørn put forth these "much more sophisticated typologies" of Islamism: Throughout the 80s and 90s, major moderate Islamist movements such as

22742-452: The stabilisation of the Afghan defence forces. While Najibullah may have been the de jure leader of Afghanistan, Soviet advisers still did most of the work after Najibullah took power. As Gorbachev remarked "We're still doing everything ourselves   ... That's all our people know how to do. They've tied Najibullah hand and foot." Fikryat Tabeev, the Soviet ambassador to Afghanistan ,

22908-562: The term Islamist (m. sing.: Islami , pl. nom/acc: Islamiyyun , gen. Islamiyyin; f. sing/pl: Islamiyyah ) was already being used in traditional Arabic scholarship in a theological sense as in relating to the religion of Islam, not a political ideology. In heresiographical, theological and historical works, such as al-Ash'ari 's well-known encyclopaedia Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn ( The Opinions of The Islamists ), an Islamist refers to any person who attributes himself to Islam without affirming nor negating that attribution. If used consistently, it

23074-462: The term "Islamism" has been criticized as having been given connotations of violence, extremism, and violations of human rights, by the Western mass media, leading to Islamophobia and stereotyping. Following the Arab Spring , many post-Islamist currents became heavily involved in democratic politics, while others spawned "the most aggressive and ambitious Islamist militia " to date, such as

23240-576: The time of its dissolution, the court was made up of the following justices: The nine justices on the tribunal are appointed for 10-year terms by the President of Afghanistan , with the approval of the Wolesi Jirga , the lower house of the nation's legislature. The President selects one of the nine members to serve as Chief Justice . The constitution allows for judges to be trained in either civil or Islamic law . Matters of law with no provision in

23406-540: The turn of the twentieth century the shorter and purely Arabic term "Islam" had begun to displace it, and by 1938, when Orientalist scholars completed The Encyclopaedia of Islam , Islamism seems to have virtually disappeared from English usage. The term remained "practically absent from the vocabulary" of scholars, writers or journalists until the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1978–79, which brought Ayatollah Khomeini 's concept of "Islamic government" to Iran. This new usage appeared without taking into consideration how

23572-558: The unelected autocrat Mohammad Daoud Khan , who had become president by leading the 1973 Afghan coup d'état ; he was succeeded by Nur Muhammad Taraki as the head of state and government on 30 April 1978. Both Taraki and his successor Hafizullah Amin , who had organized the Saur Revolution as the General Secretary of the PDPA, introduced several contentious reforms during their time in office, such as land and marriage reforms and an enforced policy of de- Islamization vis-à-vis

23738-559: The world that the Soviet leadership was serious about leaving Afghanistan. The Soviets told the United States Government that they were planning to withdraw, but the United States Government didn't believe it. When Gorbachev met with Ronald Reagan during his visit the United States, Reagan called, bizarrely, for the dissolution of the Afghan Military . On 14 April the Afghan and Pakistani governments signed

23904-512: Was accused of acting like a Governor General by Gorbachev, and he was recalled from Afghanistan in July 1986. But while Gorbachev called for the end of Soviet management of Afghanistan, he could not resist doing some managing himself. At a Soviet Politburo meeting, Gorbachev said, "It's difficult to build a new building out of old material   ... I hope to God that we haven't made a mistake with Najibullah." As time would prove, Najibullah's aims were

24070-417: Was considered by the Soviet Union as a state with a socialist orientation. The Soviets, in mid-1979, initially proclaimed Afghanistan as not merely a progressive ally, but a fully fledged member of the socialist community of nations. In contrast, later Soviet rhetoric invariably referred to the Saur Revolution as a democratic turn, but stopped short of recognizing a socialist society. Under Hafizullah Amin ,

24236-472: Was discovered by the Khalqist leadership, prompting a swift reaction; a purge of Parchamites began. Parchamite ambassadors were recalled, but few returned; for instance, Karmal and Mohammad Najibullah stayed in their respective countries. During Taraki's rule, an unpopular land reform was introduced, leading to the requisitioning of land by the government without compensation; it disrupted lines of credit and led to some crop buyers boycotting beneficiaries of

24402-575: Was eclipsed by the Salafi movement with its emphasis on "sharia rather than the building of Islamic institutions". Following the Arab Spring (starting in 2011), Roy has described Islamism as "increasingly interdependent" with democracy in much of the Arab Muslim world , such that "neither can now survive without the other." While Islamist political culture itself may not be democratic, Islamists need democratic elections to maintain their legitimacy. At

24568-750: Was elected Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council , Chairman of the Council of Ministers and retained his post as General Secretary of the PDPA Central Committee . Under him was Babrak Karmal , the leader of the Parcham faction, as Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Council and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Amin as Council of Ministers deputy chairman and Minister of Foreign Affairs , and Mohammad Aslam Watanjar as Council of Ministers deputy chairman. The appointment of Karmal, Amin and Watanjar as Council of Ministers deputy chairmen proved unstable, and it led to three different governments being established within

24734-541: Was established in November, and its first jirga in December. It was not until 1983 that the NFF became an active, and important organisation. The aim of the NFF was to establish a pro-PDPA organisation for those who did not support the PDPA ideologically. Its first leader was Salah Mohammad Zeary, a prominent politician within the PDPA. Zeary's selection had wider implications: the PDPA dominated all NFF activities. Officially,

24900-561: Was forced to resign by 4 of his generals, because of the loss of Bagram airbase and the town of Charikar . Abdul Rahim Hatef became acting head of state following Najibullah's resignation. Najibullah, not long before Kabul's fall, appealed to the UN for amnesty, which he was granted. But Najibullah was hindered by Abdul Rashid Dostum from escaping; instead, Najibullah sought haven in the local UN headquarters in Kabul. The war in Afghanistan did not end with Najibullah's ouster, and continued until

25066-514: Was forced to resign from his post of Revolutionary Council Chairman in November 1986, being succeeded by Haji Mohammad Chamkani , who was not a PDPA member. In September 1986 the National Compromise Commission (NCC) was established on the orders of Najibullah. The NCC's goal was to contact counter-revolutionaries "in order to complete the Saur Revolution in its new phase." An estimated 40,000 rebels were contacted by

25232-472: Was increased to thirty-five years of age. In June, Assadullah Sarwari lost his seat in the PDPA Politburo, and in his place were appointed Mohammad Aslam Watanjar , a former tank commander and the then Minister of Communications , Major General Mohammad Rafi , the Minister of Defence and KHAD Chairman Mohammad Najibullah . These measures were introduced due to the collapse of the army; before

25398-561: Was informed of the Soviet decision to send troops into Afghanistan. Amin was killed by Soviet forces on 27 December 1979. Karmal ascended to power following Amin's assassination. On 27 December Radio Kabul broadcast Karmal's pre-recorded speech, which stated "Today the torture machine of Amin has been smashed, his accomplices – the primitive executioners, usurpers and murderers of tens of thousand of our fellow countrymen – fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters, children and old people   ...". On 1 January Leonid Brezhnev ,

25564-460: Was needed to eliminate Jahiliyya not only from the Islamic homeland but from the face of the Earth. In addition, vigilance against Western and Jewish conspiracies against Islam would-be needed. Although Qutb was executed before he could fully spell out his ideology, his ideas were disseminated and expanded on by the later generations, among them Abdullah Yusuf Azzam and Ayman Al-Zawahiri , who

25730-417: Was not liked by the Afghan people. During his rule, opposition to the communist regime increased, and the government lost control of the countryside. The state of the Afghan Armed Forces deteriorated under Amin; due to desertions the number of military personnel in the Afghan Army decreased from 100,000, in the immediate aftermath of the Saur Revolution, to somewhere between 50,000 and 70,000. Another problem

25896-472: Was ousted, and later suffocated on Amin's orders. During his 104 days in power, Amin became committed to establishing a collective leadership . When Taraki was ousted, Amin promised "from now on there will be no one-man government   ...". Prior to the Soviet intervention , the PDPA executed between 1,000 and 27,000 people, mostly at Pul-e-Charkhi prison . Between 17,000 and 25,000 people were arrested during Taraki's and Amin's rules combined. Amin

26062-762: Was sorely felt and it heightened the fear that a similar fate was in store for Europe. Islamism is described by Graham E. Fuller as part of identity politics , specifically the religiously oriented nationalism that emerged in the Third World in the 1970s: " resurgent Hinduism in India, Religious Zionism in Israel, militant Buddhism in Sri Lanka , resurgent Sikh nationalism in the Punjab , ' Liberation Theology ' of Catholicism in Latin America, and Islamism in

26228-485: Was succeeded by Abdul Rahim Hatef , who was not a member of the PDPA. The ascension of Hatef proved more successful, and in 1985–86 the NFF succeeded in recruiting several "good Muslims". The NFF was renamed the National Front in 1987. On 19 October 1978 the PDPA government introduced a new flag, a red flag with a yellow seal, and it was similar to the flags of the Soviet Central Asian republics. The new flag stirred popular resentment, as many Afghans saw it as proof of

26394-456: Was supposed to be composed of 4,000 to 8,000 men, between 1980 and 1983 a division normally mustered between 2,000 and 2,500. The strength of armored divisions in contrast were maintained, and stood at 4,000. During the Soviet war, the Afghan army used light weapons, and used neglected equipment. During the counter-insurgency, heavy equipment, tanks and artillery were most of the time, but not always, used and fired by Soviet soldiers. A problem faced

26560-494: Was that the KGB had penetrated the PDPA, the military and the government bureaucracy. While his position in Afghanistan was becoming more perilous by the day, his enemies who were exiled in the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc were agitating for his removal. Babrak Karmal , the Parchamite leader, met several leading Eastern Bloc figures during this period, and Mohammad Aslam Watanjar , Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy and Assadullah Sarwari wanted to exact revenge on Amin. Meantime in

26726-446: Was the agricultural sector . Agriculture accounted for 63 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1981; 56 percent of the labour force worked in agriculture in 1982. Industry accounted for 21 percent of GDP in 1982, and employed 10 percent of the labour force. All industrial enterprises were government-owned . The service sector, the smallest of the three, accounted for 10 percent of GDP in 1981, and employed an estimated one-third of

26892-410: Was the state religion , and Article 73 stated that the head of state had to be born into a Muslim Afghan family. In 1990, the 1987 constitution was amended to state that Afghanistan was an Islamic republic , and the last references to communism were removed. Article 1 of the amended constitution said that Afghanistan was an "independent, unitary and Islamic state." The 1987 constitution liberalized

27058-439: Was therefore widely considered to be a Soviet satellite state . The PDPA's rise to power is seen as the beginning of the ongoing Afghan conflict , and the majority of the country's years in existence were marked by the Soviet–Afghan War . It collapsed by the end of the First Afghan Civil War in April 1992, having lasted only four months after the dissolution of the Soviet Union . The PDPA began ruling Afghanistan after ousting

27224-451: Was tied to the 3rd Army Corps in Gardez. Most soldiers were recruited for a three-year term, later extended to four-year terms in 1984. Each year, the Afghan army lost an estimated 15,000 soldiers, 10,000 from desertion and 5,000 from casualties sustained in battle. Everyone between 19 and 39 was eligible for conscription, the only exceptions were certain party members, or party members in certain tasks, Afghans who studied abroad, mostly in

27390-400: Was to be respected, the exception being when religion threatened the security of society. The Fundamental Principles were, in many ways, similar to Mohammad Daoud Khan 's 1977 constitution. While official ideology was de-emphasized, the PDPA did not lose its monopoly on power, and the Revolutionary Council continued to be ruled through its Presidium, the majority of Presidium members were from

27556-406: Was transformed into the 37th Commando Brigade. The Commando Brigades were, in contrast, considered reliable and were used as mobile strike forces until they sustained excessive casualties. After sustaining these casualties, the Commando Brigades were turned into battalions. The airborne capabilities of the Afghan commando brigades would cease in 1988, during the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, and

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