Prom 2011

A thousands Splendid Suns:


Political Glosary


The majority of the story takes place in Kabul, while moments of the story occur in Herat, Afghanistan and Murree, Pakistan. This novel is settled from the soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding - that puts the violence, fear, hope and faith of this country in intimate, human terms


Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1978-1987)



1. Nur Mohammad Taraki (30 April 1978 - September 14, 1978)

2. Hafizullah Amin (September 14, 1978 - December 27, 1978)

3. Babrak Karmal (December 27, 1978 - November 24, 1986)

4. Haji Mohammad Chamkani (November 24, 1986 - September 30, 1987)

5. Mohammad Najibullah (30 September 1987 - November 30, 1987)



Republic of Afghanistan (1987-1992)



1. Mohammad Najibullah (30 November 1987 - April 16, 1992)

2. Abdul Rahim Hatef (16 April 1992 - April 28, 1992)



Islamic State of Afghanistan (1992-1996)



1. Sibghatullah Mojaddedi (April 28, 1992 - June 28, 1992)

2. Burhanuddin Rabbani (June 28, 1992 - September 27, 1996)



Taliban regime (1996-2001)



1. Mahommed Mullah Omar (September 27, 1996-November 2001)





KAHD Afgan Secret Plice

Jihad Is a religious duty of Muslims Muslims use the word in a religious context to refer to three types of struggles: an internal struggle to maintain faith, the struggle to improve the Muslim society, or the struggle in a holy war.(Pages 121-113)

Najibullah Comunist president

Soviets was a constitutionally socialist state that existed on the territory of most of the former Russian Empire in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991The Soviet Union and its satellites from the Eastern Bloc were one of two participating factions in the Cold War, a global ideological and political struggle against the United States and its allies


Islamic Muslims believe that there is only one God, called Allah in Arabic. Muslims also believe that Islam existed long before Muhammad though it was not called Islam until the revelation of Surah al-Ma'ida. Muslims consider making ritual prayer five times a day a religious duty

Al Qaeda Is a militant Islamist group founded sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad. It is considered a terrorist organization.

Al-Qaeda has attacked civilian and military targets in various countries, most notably the September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. in 2001. The U.S. government responded by launching the War on Terror.


Taliban Is a Wahhabi Islamist political movement that governed Afghanistan from 1996 until it was overthrown in late 2001. It has regrouped since 2004 and revived as a strong insurgency movement governing mainly local Pashtun areas and fighting a guerrilla war against the governments of Afghanistan. The Taliban movement is primarily made up of members belonging to ethnic Pashtun tribes. the Taliban enforced one of the strictest interpretations of Sharia law ever seen in the Muslim world,[24] and became notorious internationally for their treatment of women.[25] Women were forced to wear the burqa in public


Mullah Mohammed Omar

Is the spiritual leader of the Taliban movement that operates in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was Afghanistan's de facto head of state from 1996 to late 2001,(274)

Abdul Rashid Dostum is a former pro-Soviet fighter during the Soviet war in Afghanistan and is considered by many to be the leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community and the party Junbish-e Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan. He joined the Afghan military in 1978, fighting with the Soviets and against the mujahideen throughout the 1980s before joining the mujahideen after the Soviet withdrawal. He is a general and the Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Afghan National Army a role often viewed as ceremonial.(160)

Ahmad Shah Massoud Leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army out of Afghanista Following the 1979 invasion and occupation of Afghanistan by Soviet troops, Massoud devised a strategic plan for expelling the invaders and overthrowing the communist regime. The first task was to establish a guerilla force, supported by the people. The second phase was one of "active defense" of the Panjshir stronghold, while carrying out irregular warfare. The third phase, the "strategic offensive", would see Massoud's forces taking control of large parts of Northern Afghanistan. The fourth phase was the "general application" of Massoud's principles to the whole country, and the final demise of the Afghan communist government.(160)

Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin

The original Hezb-e-Islami was founded in 1977 by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar who is now the head of HIG. The other faction is headed by Mulavi Younas Khalis who split with Hekmatyar and established his own Hezbi Islami in 1979. It is known as the Khalis faction, and its powerbase is in Nangarhar.

Well-financed by anti-Soviet forces during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the HIG was "sidelined from Afghan politics" by the rise of the Taliban in the mid-1990s.(160)



Pashtun people

Are an Eastern Iranian ethno-linguistic group with populations primarily in Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Pashtuns played a vital role during the Great Game from the 19th century to the 20th century as they were caught between the imperialist designs of the British and Russian empires. For over 300 years, they reigned as the dominant ethnic group in Afghanistan with nearly every ruler being a Pashtun. More recently, the Pashtuns gained worldwide attention during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and with the rise and fall of the Taliban, since they are the main ethnic contingent in the movement. Pashtuns are also an important community in Pakistan, where they have attained the presidency, high positions in the military, and are the second-largest ethnic group. (130)




All information has been taken form www.wikipedia.org.

TOMAS  MELONI