Background & Introductio The Kite Runner Background & Introductio

About the Author Khaled Hosseini – Born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1965 His father worked for the Afghan embassy and as a diplomat with Afghan Foreign Ministry In July of 1973, the night that his brother was both, the Afghan king, Zahir Shah, was overthrown in a bloodless coup by the king’s cousin, Daoud Khan. In 1976, the Afghan Foreign Ministry relocated the Hosseini family to Paris His family was unable to return to Kabul because of the invasion of the Soviet army Was granted political asylum by the U.S., and moved to San Jose, California in 1980 Lost all their property in Afghanistan and lived on welfare and food stamps Hosseini graduated high school in 1984 and graduated from University of California’s School of Medicine in 1993. Practices internal medicine, however, has always yearned to write His memories of the peaceful pre-Soviet era Afghanistan led him to write this novel

Synopsis The novel maps the journey of Amir, the narrator Story takes place in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the U.S. from 1975-2003 Amir belong to a wealthy family whose father is a businessman Belong to the dominant Pashtun ethnic group Belong to the dominant Sunni religious group As a child, Amir tells the story of his friendship with Hassan Hassan and his father, Ali, are Amir’s servants Hassan is a low caste ethnic Hazara and belong to the minority Shi’It religious denomination Hassan is the victim of discrimination due to his religious and ethnic identity

Afghanistan A diverse nation – over 30 different ethnic groups Pashtuns, which is what Amir is, is the dominant ethnic group (38% of the population and they have ruled Afghanistan for most of its history)

Ethnicity Hazaras consists of about10 to 15 percent Pashtun Hazara Tajik

Ethnicity Others (Turkmen, Aimaq, Baluch, Nuristani) 13 percent. Uzbak Pashtun Uzbaks consists of about 9 percent Baluch

Religious Diversity Afghanistan has two dominant religious groups, the Sunni, or the so-called orthodox Islam, and Shi’ite or the so-called heterodox. Sunni constitutes 85 percent of the population and Shi’ite consists of 15 percent of Afghan population Shi’ites split from the Sunni’s in the seventh century over who the Prophet Mohammad’s legitimate successors were Shi’ites consider Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet, the legitimate successor Shi’ites developed their own conception of Islamic law and practices. In the past Shi’ites had been persecuted in Afghanistan.

Synopsis Continued… Amir and his guilt – he allows Hassan to be beaten and raped by one of the neighborhood boys Hassan and his father leave Kabul for Hazarajat Shortly after Amir and his father have to flee Afghanistan for Pakistan and eventually end of California due to the soviet invasion

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan King Zahir Shah is overthrown by his cousin Daoud Khan (politically peaceful until this time) Resistance against this new regime formed immediately by Islamic guerrilla rebels who by 1975 began purging from government all officials with socialist or Marxist ties Daoud Kahn was overthrown by the same military that brought him to power Fearing the fall of the pro-Soviet regime in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 The invasion caused many to flee and turned a once peaceful country into a war zone After the failures of the Soviet, civil war and unrest allowed the Taliban to assume power

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan King Zahir Shah is overthrown by his cousin Daoud Khan (politically peaceful until this time) Resistance against this new regime formed immediately by Islamic guerrilla rebels who by 1975 began purging from government all officials with socialist or Marxist ties Daoud Kahn was overthrown by the same military that brought him to power Fearing the fall of the pro-Soviet regime in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 The invasion caused many to flee and turned a once peaceful country into a war zone After the failures of the Soviet, civil war and unrest allowed the Taliban to assume power

Synopsis Continued… Amir and his father struggle in America Amir falls in love and gets married and they have infertility issues He gets a call from his uncle that he must come back Hassan was killed by the Taliban and the Taliban have his son Sohrab Amir must face his guilt and return to Kabul to find Soharab

The Taliban The world Taliban is the plural of and Arabic word, Talib or someone who seeks religious knowledge before he becomes a preacher in a mosque They were the sons of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and attended Pakistani schools of theology Became active in October 1994 in Qandahar and continued there advances in the country with help of Pakistan By 1997 they held about 90 percent of the Afghan territory, including Kabul THE TALIBAN ACHIEVEMENT They brought relative peace and security in the country

The Taliban The world Taliban is the plural of and Arabic word, Talib or someone who seeks religious knowledge before he becomes a preacher in a mosque They were the sons of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and attended Pakistani schools of theology Became active in October 1994 in Qandahar and continued there advances in the country with help of Pakistan By 1997 they held about 90 percent of the Afghan territory, including Kabul THE TALIBAN ACHIEVEMENT They brought relative peace and security in the country

The Taliban’s Achievement The banished the warlords and forced to the northeastern corner the country and formed the Northern Alliance Restored law and order but through rigorous enforcement of Islamic punishment: public beating, flogging, amputation of hands, and stoning to death The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Suppression of Vice was the powerful arm of the Taliban government. The ministry issued strict religious decrees that denied people the right to freedom of expression, association, the right to work, and the right to education They prohibited games such as kite flying, chess, music, cassette

The Taliban and the World Reaction Only three countries recognized the Taliban government: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan Initially, America gave a lukewarm support to the Taliban. We hoped the regime would be a partner in oil-pipeline, UNOCAL or Union Oil Company of California CONCLUSION The new game, Cold War, between the U.S.A. and the former Soviet Union brought death and utter destruction to the country Over 5 million Afghans abandoned their homes and went into exile in other countries Close to 1.5 million lost their lives Many left their homes for secured areas of the country