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In the words of author Richelle Mead, “[the] greatest and most powerful revolutions often start very quietly, hidden in the shadows.” The Taliban, in fact, did start silently and “[hid] in the shadows.” During the Afghanistan War, religious students loosely organized to form a small group to reinforce the strict Islamic laws. Several years later, the Taliban is one of the most feared terrorist groups known to man.

The Taliban is a Sunni Islamist organization that operated mainly in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It was created in Afghanistan in 1994. Early Taliban organizations were motivated by the suffering among the Afghan people. They believed that Afghans suffered because of the power struggles between Afghan groups not following the strict Islamic law. Their main goal was to turn Afghanistan into a war-free zone and end the fighting within the country that had taken place after the Soviet invasion in 1989. They also wanted to implement the radical form of Islamic law meant to govern the lives of Afghans. After years of control, the Taliban accomplished many of the things they had planned to do. They banned female access to education and employment. They also imposed the harsh Islamic law that called for severe punishments if broken. For example, one could be stoned to death if found guilty of adultery.

The Taliban’s Islamic fundamentalism was a kind of force that had the potential to overthrow established governments and terrorize larger nations. This kind of a revolution couldn’t be started with some help, however. Unknowingly, three countries aided the creation of the Taliban. Without this help, the Taliban wouldn’t have reached the power that terrorizes other nations. Although the following countries involuntarily aided the Afghan Islamic militia movement, the United States, Afghanistan, and Pakistan were responsible for the creation of the Taliban.