Islam in Afghanistan

The last half-century in particular has seen the recurrent use of religious Islam as ideology, often referred to as political Islam or Islamism, in groups espousing the establishment of an Islamic state. Attention was drawn to Afghanistan when it became the rallying point for Islamists in the 1980s. However, the earlier appearance of an Islamist movement in Afghanistan in the 1960s and its subsequent development offer an instructive, unique lesson in understanding Islam and Islamism in Afghan society.