Context
Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1965. His mother was a high school Farsi and history teacher and his father was a diplomat in the Afghan Foreign Ministry. His family moved to Paris in 1976 and wanted to move back to Kabul. Afghanistan was in a time of political turmoil and the Hosseini’s fled to the United States. Hosseini graduated high school in San Jose, California in 1984 and attended Santa Clara University and the University of California: San Diego School of Medicine. He was an intern at the Cedars-Sinai medical center from 1996-2004. Hosseini wrote his first book, The Kite Runner, in March 2001 and published it in 2003. It became a classic and he wrote A Thousand Splendid Suns in May 2007. Hosseini is currently working on And the Mountains Echoed and is a Goodwill Envoy to the United Nations Refugee agency.
This book is set in Afghanistan over the course of 39 years (1964-2003). The book skips around through time, but covers many important events. During this time, there is a lot of political turmoil and many violent changes in power. These changes are present in the setting of the book because the amount of freedom that the characters get differs depending on Afghanistan's leader.
In 1964, the leader of Afghanistan was king Zahir Shah. He introduced the “New Democracy” which included concepts such as a constitution, free elections, and freedom of the press. This setting sets the stage for the book. With this government, the Afghans had many choices to what they want to happen.
The book then fast forwards to 1974. In 1974, the leader of Afghanistan was president Daud. Daud took power from king Zahir Shah in a coup. Daud then declared himself president and declared Afghanistan a Republic. In 1974, there was much turmoil in Afghanistan. From 1974-1977, Daud removed conservative cabinet members, dismissed many government members, and was accused by Pakistan to be training Pashtuns for an uprising against the government of Pakistan. Around this time, the USSR aided the PDPA (People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan) in plans to oust president Daud. In 1978, Daud saw the PDPA as a threat and had leading members arrested. These leaders were still able to have visitors. A rebellion began when Hafizullah Amin, a leader of the PDPA, instructed his teenage son to carry out a coup. The coup began on April 27 of 1978 when militants attacked the Presidential palace. At 7:05 PM, Colonel Qader declared that the power was now in the hands in the people. The PDPA had succeeded in overthrowing the president.
The book then fast-forwards again to 1987. Between 1978 and 1987, Afghanistan went to war against the Soviets. The leader of Afghanistan (Babrak Karmal) asked for the Soviet’s help in putting down rebellion. The United States supported the rebel groups and gave them weapons and money. Later in the war, the Soviets put Najibulah, the head of the secret police, in charge of Afghanistan. In 1987, the Afghan rebels were slowly winning the war and pushing the Soviets out of Afghanistan. In 1988, the Soviets started to pull their troops out of Afghanistan. By 1989, the communist regime was weakening after the Mujahideen (Islamic Extremists) took over many major communist cities. In 1991, the communist government fell. The next year, an interim government established in Pakistan.
This interim government did not last very long. In 1993, Burhanuddin Rabbani became president of Afghanistan. Rabbani was not a very strong leader and a civil war began in Kabul as various leaders fought for power. The following year, Afghanistan became feudal when renegade generals and warlords fought each other for power to control the land in the areas that they ruled. This was a time of great chaos in Afghanistan. This chaos ended when another group took power in Afghanistan: The Taliban.
In 1995, the Taliban attacked the Rabbani government and caused it to fall. The Taliban then instituted strict Islamic law and closed schools for women. Bin Laden, head of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, aided the Taliban. He provided financial aid to the Taliban and helped them gain control of Afghanistan. By 1997, the Taliban had control over 95% of Afghanistan. In 2000, Pakistan helped train Taliban soldiers and gave Bin Laden the intelligence to fight other countries. On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center and Pentagon had planes flown into them, causing massive casualties and damage. Al-Qaeda carried out this attack.
After 9/11, the United States government declared war on Afghanistan. The United States wanted Afghanistan to give up important Al-Qaeda leaders, but Afghanistan refused. The United States focused on Taliban and Al-Qaeda strongholds in an attempt to find the terrorists who carried out 9/11. The same year, Kabul fell peacefully and a Taliban stronghold fell. After this, Hamid Karzai became chairman of an interim government. In 2002, Karzai took on the role as head of state for the official government. In 2003, the government issued a new currency and presented a draft constitution for ratification.
Links:
About the Author: http://khaledhosseini.com/biography/
Timeline of Afghanistan: http://www.afghanland.com/history/timeline/timeline.html
PDPA: http://www.afghandocproject.org/index.php/english/24-1978to1992
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/soviet-invasion-afghanistan
History of the Taliban: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/taliban.html
9/11 Attacks: https://registries.911memorial.org/#/
United States War in Afghanistan: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/33210358/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/t/us-war-afghanistan/#.U2I-cPldWSo
Works Cited
American University Washington College of Law. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <http://www.afghandocproject.org/index.php/about-us>.
“Biography.” Khaled Hosseini. N.p., 2104. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <http://khaledhosseini.com/biography/>.
Hayes, Laura, Borgna Brunner, and Beth Rowen. “Who Are the Taliban?” Infoplease. Pearson Education, 2007. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/taliban.html>.
Momand, Wahid, ed. Afghanland.com. N.p., 2000. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <http://www.afghanland.com/history/timeline/timeline.html>.
“Registries.” 9/11 Memorial. National September 11 Memorial & Museum, n.d. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.911memorial.org/>.
Shepherd, Melinda C. “Burhanuddin Rabbani.” Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/853392/Burhanuddin-Rabbani>.
“The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and the U.S. Response, 1978–1980.” US Department of State: Office of the Historian. United States Department of State, n.d. Web. 1 May 2014. <https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/soviet-invasion-afghanistan>.
“US War in Afghanistan.” MSN. NBCNews.com, 2014. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.nbcnews.com/id/33210358/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/t/us-war-afghanistan/#.U2JCa_ldWSp>.
Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1965. His mother was a high school Farsi and history teacher and his father was a diplomat in the Afghan Foreign Ministry. His family moved to Paris in 1976 and wanted to move back to Kabul. Afghanistan was in a time of political turmoil and the Hosseini’s fled to the United States. Hosseini graduated high school in San Jose, California in 1984 and attended Santa Clara University and the University of California: San Diego School of Medicine. He was an intern at the Cedars-Sinai medical center from 1996-2004. Hosseini wrote his first book, The Kite Runner, in March 2001 and published it in 2003. It became a classic and he wrote A Thousand Splendid Suns in May 2007. Hosseini is currently working on And the Mountains Echoed and is a Goodwill Envoy to the United Nations Refugee agency.
This book is set in Afghanistan over the course of 39 years (1964-2003). The book skips around through time, but covers many important events. During this time, there is a lot of political turmoil and many violent changes in power. These changes are present in the setting of the book because the amount of freedom that the characters get differs depending on Afghanistan's leader.
In 1964, the leader of Afghanistan was king Zahir Shah. He introduced the “New Democracy” which included concepts such as a constitution, free elections, and freedom of the press. This setting sets the stage for the book. With this government, the Afghans had many choices to what they want to happen.
The book then fast forwards to 1974. In 1974, the leader of Afghanistan was president Daud. Daud took power from king Zahir Shah in a coup. Daud then declared himself president and declared Afghanistan a Republic. In 1974, there was much turmoil in Afghanistan. From 1974-1977, Daud removed conservative cabinet members, dismissed many government members, and was accused by Pakistan to be training Pashtuns for an uprising against the government of Pakistan. Around this time, the USSR aided the PDPA (People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan) in plans to oust president Daud. In 1978, Daud saw the PDPA as a threat and had leading members arrested. These leaders were still able to have visitors. A rebellion began when Hafizullah Amin, a leader of the PDPA, instructed his teenage son to carry out a coup. The coup began on April 27 of 1978 when militants attacked the Presidential palace. At 7:05 PM, Colonel Qader declared that the power was now in the hands in the people. The PDPA had succeeded in overthrowing the president.
The book then fast-forwards again to 1987. Between 1978 and 1987, Afghanistan went to war against the Soviets. The leader of Afghanistan (Babrak Karmal) asked for the Soviet’s help in putting down rebellion. The United States supported the rebel groups and gave them weapons and money. Later in the war, the Soviets put Najibulah, the head of the secret police, in charge of Afghanistan. In 1987, the Afghan rebels were slowly winning the war and pushing the Soviets out of Afghanistan. In 1988, the Soviets started to pull their troops out of Afghanistan. By 1989, the communist regime was weakening after the Mujahideen (Islamic Extremists) took over many major communist cities. In 1991, the communist government fell. The next year, an interim government established in Pakistan.
This interim government did not last very long. In 1993, Burhanuddin Rabbani became president of Afghanistan. Rabbani was not a very strong leader and a civil war began in Kabul as various leaders fought for power. The following year, Afghanistan became feudal when renegade generals and warlords fought each other for power to control the land in the areas that they ruled. This was a time of great chaos in Afghanistan. This chaos ended when another group took power in Afghanistan: The Taliban.
In 1995, the Taliban attacked the Rabbani government and caused it to fall. The Taliban then instituted strict Islamic law and closed schools for women. Bin Laden, head of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, aided the Taliban. He provided financial aid to the Taliban and helped them gain control of Afghanistan. By 1997, the Taliban had control over 95% of Afghanistan. In 2000, Pakistan helped train Taliban soldiers and gave Bin Laden the intelligence to fight other countries. On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center and Pentagon had planes flown into them, causing massive casualties and damage. Al-Qaeda carried out this attack.
After 9/11, the United States government declared war on Afghanistan. The United States wanted Afghanistan to give up important Al-Qaeda leaders, but Afghanistan refused. The United States focused on Taliban and Al-Qaeda strongholds in an attempt to find the terrorists who carried out 9/11. The same year, Kabul fell peacefully and a Taliban stronghold fell. After this, Hamid Karzai became chairman of an interim government. In 2002, Karzai took on the role as head of state for the official government. In 2003, the government issued a new currency and presented a draft constitution for ratification.
Links:
About the Author: http://khaledhosseini.com/biography/
Timeline of Afghanistan: http://www.afghanland.com/history/timeline/timeline.html
PDPA: http://www.afghandocproject.org/index.php/english/24-1978to1992
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/soviet-invasion-afghanistan
History of the Taliban: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/taliban.html
9/11 Attacks: https://registries.911memorial.org/#/
United States War in Afghanistan: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/33210358/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/t/us-war-afghanistan/#.U2I-cPldWSo
Works Cited
American University Washington College of Law. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <http://www.afghandocproject.org/index.php/about-us>.
“Biography.” Khaled Hosseini. N.p., 2104. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <http://khaledhosseini.com/biography/>.
Hayes, Laura, Borgna Brunner, and Beth Rowen. “Who Are the Taliban?” Infoplease. Pearson Education, 2007. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/taliban.html>.
Momand, Wahid, ed. Afghanland.com. N.p., 2000. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <http://www.afghanland.com/history/timeline/timeline.html>.
“Registries.” 9/11 Memorial. National September 11 Memorial & Museum, n.d. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.911memorial.org/>.
Shepherd, Melinda C. “Burhanuddin Rabbani.” Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/853392/Burhanuddin-Rabbani>.
“The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and the U.S. Response, 1978–1980.” US Department of State: Office of the Historian. United States Department of State, n.d. Web. 1 May 2014. <https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/soviet-invasion-afghanistan>.
“US War in Afghanistan.” MSN. NBCNews.com, 2014. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.nbcnews.com/id/33210358/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/t/us-war-afghanistan/#.U2JCa_ldWSp>.