Taliban

[Page 1436]Taliban originally designated the militant Islamic movement that opposed the mujahideen warring factions involved in the civil war that followed the retreat of the Soviet army from Afghanistan in 1989. Since their gradual and ongoing overthrow from late 2001 forward, the term describes a loose alliance of insurgents who have been continuously fighting against Afghan government forces and their Western allies. Despite formal differences and compromises with modernity that include the use of advanced technology and the integration of global capitalism, all groups covered by the term Taliban are united in their defense of personal patriarchal privilege and a uniquely repressive attitude toward women.

Taleb (plural Taliban) is an Arabic word meaning pupil/student of Islam and the eponymous movement indeed originated in madrassas ...