Impact Of Religious Beliefs On Both The Kite Runner And The Afghan Society

In the years following Soviet withdrawal, there was a great deal of internal strife among rival militias, making everyday life in Afghanistan unsafe. In The Kite Runner, Rahim Khan describes the fear in Kabul during this time. He remembers, "The infighting between the factions was fierce and no one knew if they would live to see the end of the day. Our ears became accustomed to the rumble of gunfire, our eyes familiar with the sight of men digging bodies out of piles of rubble. Kabul in those days ... Was as close as you could get to that recognizable hell on earth." Then in 1996, the Taliban took control of Kabul. After so many years of insecurity and violence, the people welcomed the takeover. Rahim Khan remembers, "... We all celebrated in 1996 when the Taliban rolled in and put an end to the daily fighting." The Taliban were a group of Pashtun supremacists who banded together and took almost complete control of the country. Despite their warm initial reception, they soon made life in Afghanistan dangerous again. The invasion of Kabul by the Taliban has opened a whole new chapter in the life of the Afghan people. Being Sunni fundamentalists supremacists, they systematically massacred Shia muslims, which included the Hazara people. In the Kite Runner, Rahim Khan informs Amir how Assef pioneered a Taliban movement that involved the eradication of hundreds of Hazaras’, most notable of them were Hassan and his wife. They also endorsed several other degrading fundamentalist laws. Among them were banning music and dance, and severely restricting women off of their basic liberties in life. The Taliban sought to impose its extreme interpretation of Islamic observation in areas that it controlled (which was basically 80 % of Afghanistan), declaring that all Muslims in areas under Taliban control must abide by the Taliban's interpretation of Islamic law. They relied on a religious police force to impose rules regarding appearance, dress, employment, access to medical care, behavior, religious practice, and freedom of expression. Persons found to be in violation