The Strange "Amir al-Mu‘minin" of the Taliban: Mullah Mohammad 'Umar

Note to Readers: Because this issue contains two Profiles, Listening Post does not appear in this issue.

Mullah Mohammad 'Umar in 1996 with the Prophet's Cloak

There are surely few of the world's heads of state for whom there are almost no confirmed photographs. But the "Commander of the Faithful" (Amir al-Mu'minin, traditional title of the Muslim Caliphs) of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Mullah Muhammad ‘Umar, is far more shadowy a figure than is, for example, Usama bin Ladin himself. The photo below is taken from videos of ‘Umar displaying a relic said to be the Prophet's cloak in Kandahar in 1996, when the Taliban took Kabul and he first claimed the Amir al-Mu'minin title. One or two other photos are said to be of him, but he declines to be photographed and since the Taliban have banned television, he does not appear there either, except for the one appearance in 1996, before the ban. He has not visited Kabul since just after its fall, living in Kandahar instead. Though addressed with the quasi-clerical title of "Mullah", he admits that his religious studies were "interrupted" by the need to fight the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. He is abnormally tall — some accounts say as tall as six feet six inches, and his physical stature adds to his charisma — and lost his right eye during the war with the Soviets, one of four wounds he is said to have received. Some accounts have claimed that he boasts that in his lifetime he has only met two non-Muslims.

Like much else about the man, even his date of birth is somewhat obscure, with reports ranging from as early as 1950 to as late as 1959; most accounts agree, however, that he is now in his 40s, suggesting a date in the mid-to-later 1950s. He was apparently born in Nodeh village in Kandahar province, but lived part of his youth in Uruzgan Province. By his own account his father was a religious scholar; other accounts suggest a rather less distinguished background, with a father who was a local peasant. His father died when he was quite young: he has said that it was when he was two and a half years old. He apparently became the main support of his family.

Although he has said that he began religious studies, this was interrupted by the Soviet invasion of 1979, when he became a fighter with the mujahedin fighting the Soviets; he became a local field commander with Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi's Revolutionary Islamic Movement (Harakat-e Enqelab-e Islami), and became a Deputy Commander, though he is also said to have fought for Yunis Khalis' Hizb-e Islami, and was wounded four times, including the wound which cost him his right eye. (Though, in keeping with the mystique, some early accounts said it was his left eye. Those who have interviewed him say it is his right.) Some reports say he has other physical problems stemming from his wounds.

When the Soviets departed in 1989, ‘Umar reportedly resumed his religious studies in Mewand, near Kandahar. (Reports that he studied in Pakistan are apparently not true, but his followers are heavily drawn from Pakistani madrasas catering to Afghan students and leaning towards the "Deobandi" interpretation of Islam, a highly conservative Indian-Pakistani school.)

In 1994, when local warlords fought in Kandahar (according to Taliban legend, over their desire for the same boy), ‘Umar reportedly founded the Taliban, whose name means "students", as in Koranic students. With Pakistani support, by 1996 the Taliban were able to conquer most of the country.

‘Umar has at least three wives and numerous children. Since Usama bin Ladin's arrival in Afghanistan in 1996 the two men have been personally very close, and some Taliban followers reportedly resent the "non-Afghan" intrusion of Arab and other non-Afghan personnel. It has been frequently reported — though denied by Taliban spokesmen — that there is a marital link between ‘Umar and Bin Ladin. Most commonly it is said that ‘Umar's daughter became Bin Ladin's fourth wife, though other reports suggest that a daughter of Bin Ladin has also married ‘Umar. And of course in a traditional tribal alliance, both could have occurred.

An ethnic Pashtun, ‘Umar speaks Pushto and also is said to be conversant in Dari, the Afghan dialect of Persian.

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