Poetry of the Taliban (Columbia/Hurst)

Overlooked by many as mere propaganda, the poetry of the Afghan Taliban offers unparalleled insight into the organization s wider worldview. These two hundred poems, bound together in this collection, draw upon both Afghan tradition and the nation s recent past, and seamlessly connect with the long history of Persian, Urdu, and Pashto verse. The contrast between the severity of the Taliban s ideology and its long-standing poetic tradition is nothing short of remarkable. Unrequited love, vengeance, the thrill of battle, religion, and nationalism even a yearning for nonviolence are expressed through images of wine, powerful women, and pastoral beauty, providing a fascinating perspective on the hearts and minds of Western civilization s redoubtable adversaries. Whether they are describing a wedding party annihilated by an air strike or lamenting, we did all of this to ourselves, these poems are concerned not with politics but with identity and a full, textured, and deeply conflicted humanity. Such impassioned works defeated, enraged, triumphant, bitterly powerless, and bitingly satirical ultimately endure as a record of the war in Afghanistan. Two introductory essays contextualize the anthology s poems, relating their significance to Pashtun history and their reflection of a culture inundated by thirty years of war. Faisal Devji, noted Taliban scholar, underscores the link between these poems and the Taliban s emotional and ethical character in a preface. While Much Has Been Written About The Taliban's Military Tactics, Media Strategy And Harsh Treatment Of Women, The Cultural And Sometimes Less Overtly Political Representation Of Their Identity, The Taliban's Other Face, Is Often Overlooked. Most Taliban Fighters Are Pashtuns, A People Who Cherish Their Vibrant Poetic Tradition, Closely Associated With That Of Song. The Poems In This Collection Are Meant To Be Recited And Sung; And This Is The Manner In Which They Are Enjoyed By The Wider Pashtun Public Today. For The Taliban Today, These Poems, Or Ghazals, Have A Resonance Back To The 1980s War Against The Soviets, When Similar Rhetorical Styles, Poetic Formulae And Tricks With Metre Inspired Mujahideen Combatants And Non-combatants Alike. The Poetry Presented Here Includes 'classics' Of The Genre From The 1980s And 1990s As Well As A Selection From The Odes And Ghazals Of Today's Conflict. Preface -- Introduction -- Before September 11 -- Love & Pastoral -- Religious -- Discontent -- The Trench -- The Human Cost. Translated By Mirwais Rahmany & Hamid Stanikzai ; Edited And Introduced By Alex Strick Van Linschoten & Felix Kuehn ; Preface By Faisal Devji. Translated From The Pushto. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. About the Translators, Editor, and Author of the Preface 9 Acknowledgements 11 Preface by Faisal Devji 12 Introduction - Ghazi Portraits 30 THE POEMS 50 Contents 8 Before September 11 50 Love & Pastoral 80 Religious 86 Discontent 106 The Trench 138 The Human Cost 178 Glossary of Names and Terms 216 Notes 228 Select Bibliography 244