Confessions of a Mullah Warrior“If you liked The Kite Runner, you must read this riveting, firsthand account by one of the real Afghan mujahideen . . . An extraordinary tale.” —Leslie Cockburn Masood Farivar was ten years old when his childhood in peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan was shattered by the Soviet invasion of 1979. Although he was born into a long line of religious and political leaders who had shaped his nation’s history for centuries, Farivar fled to Pakistan with his family and came of age in a madrassa for refugees. At eighteen, he defied his parents and returned home to join the jihad, fighting beside not only the Afghan mujahideen but also Arab and Pakistani volunteers. When the Soviets withdrew, Farivar moved to America and attended the prestigious Lawrenceville School and Harvard, and ultimately became a journalist in New York. Farivar draws on his unique experience as a native Afghan, a former mujahideen fighter, and a longtime US resident to provide unprecedented insight into the ongoing collision between Islam and the West. This is a visceral, clear-eyed, and illuminating memoir from an indispensable new voice on the world stage. “Like the war poets who told you what it was really like to be in the trenches, Farivar survived to tell us about life on the front lines of the clash of civilizations—and it rings with more truth than any other account of these famous events I’ve ever read. In these troubled times, this is a book that is brave, honest, humane, and full of love.” —Aidan Hartley, author of The Zanzibar Chest |
Contents
Section 16 | 240 |
Section 17 | 243 |
Section 18 | 274 |
Section 19 | 285 |
Section 20 | 288 |
Section 21 | 291 |
Section 22 | 301 |
Section 23 | 304 |
Section 9 | 94 |
Section 10 | 112 |
Section 11 | 118 |
Section 12 | 151 |
Section 13 | 158 |
Section 14 | 206 |
Section 15 | 228 |
Section 24 | 307 |
Section 25 | 308 |
Section 26 | 311 |
Section 27 | 313 |
Section 28 | 316 |
Section 29 | 321 |
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Common terms and phrases
Afghan Afghanistan Ahmadullah Allahu Akbar America Arabic army arrived asked Awalgul Azoy beard border boys brother called commander Communist couple cousin didn’t Doctor Hamid dozen Engineer Mahmoud English eyes Father felt fighting fire friends front ghan going Grandpa ground hand Harvard head heard Hekmatyar Herat hundred Islamabad Islamic Jalalabad jihad joined journalists Kabul Karachi Karimullah Khalis killed knew Koran later Lawrenceville learned lived looked madrassah martyr Masood Mazar-I Sharif Mehtarlam military Mirweis mortar mosque Mother moved Muhammad mujahideen mujahideen groups mullah Muslim Nazeer never night Pakistan Parachinar party Pashto Pashtun Peshawar pray prayer radio recite refugees religious road rockets Saboor Saudi Sheberghan sitting someone Soviet started stopped Sufi Taliban talk teacher tell told took Tora Bora town trucks turned Uncle Jaan Agha Uncle Khan village walked wanted week words