Afghani: Afghanistan’s currency: 50 Afghanis = US$1 (According to newly valued Afghanis released in October 2002)

Amro bil mahroof: Religious police, Taliban department of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. According to UN "The ministry of vice and virtue is the most misogynist department in the whole world."

Burqa: Veil (a voluminous head-to-toe covering with a mesh grid over the eyes)

Eid: Annual Islamic festival

Hajj: Annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.

Harram: Religiously forbidden

Hejab or purdah: Islamic veil

Hezb-e-Islami (Hekmatyar): (Party of Islam), fundamentalist group led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the former darling of Pakistani militarist circles

Hezb-e-Islami (Khalis): Fundamentalist group led by Yunus Khalis, a splinter group from Hezb-e Islami (Hekmatyar)

Hezb-e-Wahdat Islami: (Party of Islamic Unity), a fundamentalist group led by Karim Khalili, supported by Iran.

ISI: Inter Services Intelligence, Pakistan

Ittehad-e-Islami: (Islamic Alliance), Fundamentalist group led by Abdul Rasool Sayyaf, supported by the Saudis until they found a new darling in the Taliban.

Jamaat-e-Islami: (Society of Islam), a Pakistani party led by Qazi Hussain Ahmad, main fundamentalist supporter of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and some other fundamentalist groups in Afghanistan.

Jamiat-e-Islami: (Society of Islam), The biggest fundamentalist group in Afghanistan led politically by Burhanuddin Rabbani and commanded militarily by Ahmad Shah Massoud till Sep.9, 2001. Ahmad Shah Massoud till Sep.9, 2001. Now Qasim Fahim is the military commander of Jamiat.

Jehadi: A partisan of Jehad (Islamic holy war). After the wave of crimes and atrocities perpetrated by the Jehadis subsequent to the coming to power of their fundamentalist military-political entities in April 1992, for the ordinary people "Jehadi" denotes the most abhorrent criminals who commit the most heinous crimes and brutalities including gang-rape, willful destruction, carnage, looting, etc. in the name of Islam. This epithet is also used to differentiate fundamentalist criminals from Taliban ultra-fundamentalists.

KHAD: Khademat-e-Attela’at-e Dowlati (State Intelligence Services), dreaded secret police of the Russian puppet regimes or Afghanistan branch of KGB

Khalq and Parcham ("The People" and "The Banner"): Fractions of the pro-Soviet People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan installed in power through a bloody coup on 27 April 1978. Overthrown by the fundamentalists on 28 April 1992.

Mahram: close male relative such as a father, brother or husband.

Loya Jirga (Grand Council): a traditional meeting of elders of all tribes to solve some big problems.

Maulavi: A title for senior members of the Sunni Muslim clergy.

Mujahideen: Those who participate in Jehad (Islamic Holy War) "Soldiers of Islam ".

Northern Alliance (or United Front): A military alliance comprised of some so-called Jehadi fundamentalist groups that committed hair-raising crimes when they entered Kabul after the fall of the puppet regime of Dr.Najib in 1992. They killed and raped thousands of girls/ women and men. More importantly they were the first who imposed numerous restrictions on women including wearing the veil. MORE...

Payam-e-Zan (Women's Message): RAWA bilingual (Persian/Pashtu/Urdu) magazine published since 1981 - ISSN 1563-8456

Qazi: Judge, especially under Islamic Sharia law

Ramadan: The ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar, month of fasting throughout hours of daylight.

Shariat or Sharia: Islamic law

Shura-e-Nezar (Supervisory Council) a military-political semi-autonomous sub-group within Burhanuddin Rabbani's Jamiat-e Islami, led by top gun Ahmad Shah Masoud who was killed in Sep.9, 2001.

Shura Council

Taliban (Religious students), an Afghan fundamentalist force supported by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the US. (USA=planning agency; Saudi Arabia=funding agency; Pakistan=implementing agency).