Hezbi Islami
Hezbi Islami (also Hezb-e Islami, Hezb-i-Islami, Hezbi-Islami, Hezb-e-Islami), meaning Islamic Army is an Islamist organization commonly known for fighting in the Marxist Government of Afghanistan and their close ally the Soviet Union. Founded and led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, it was established in Pakistan in 1975. It grew out of the Muslim Youth organization, an Islamist organization founded in Kabul by students and teachers at Kabul University in 1969 to combat communism in Afghanistan. Its membership was mainly drawn from ethnic Pashtuns.
In 1979, Mulavi Younas Khalis split with Hekmatyar and established his own Hezbi Islami, known as the Khalis faction, with its power base in Nangarhar. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's faction is referred to the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin, or HIG, and is considered a terrorist organization by Coalition Forces in Afghanistan.[citation needed] Neither Hezbi Islami nor Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin were on the U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations from 2001 to 2006. [1] However, Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin is on the additional list called "Groups of Concern."[2]
Today, the non-violent faction of the Hezbi Islami is a registered political party in Afghanistan, led by Arghandiwal.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] Sources
- ^ "2001 Report on Foreign Terrorist Organizations", "Fact Sheet: Foreign Terrorist Organizations List" October 23, 2002, "Fact Sheet: Foreign Terrorist Organizations List" January 30, 2003, "Fact Sheet: Foreign Terrorist Organization Designations Table" December 30, 2004, "Fact Sheet:Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)" October 11, 2005, "Country Reports on Terrorism: Chapter 8 -- Foreign Terrorist Organizations" April 28, 2006
- ^ "U.S. Designates Foreign Terrorist Organizations: List includes 42 groups, 43 others deemed “of concern”" April 30, 2007
- ^ Political parties/groups and leaders in Afghanistan
[edit] External links
- Sedra, Mark. "The Taliban still larger than life", Asia Times Online, 2004-03-11.
- Afghanistan online. Political parties/groups and leaders in Afghanistan
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