Political History

The novel, while a personal narrative, alludes to a large amount of political happenings in Afghanistan with which not everyone is familiar. The changing political climate plays a large part in Amir's struggles, and affects the book's message as a whole. Consequently, it is vital that one understands the basic political overlay when examining this text.

This article provides a brief history and historical analysis for the events mentioned in The Kite Runner.

Here is a list of terms within both the novel and the article that may cause some confusion. (Source: dictionary.com)

Shi·ʿite –noun Islam .
a member of one of the two great religious divisions of Islam that regards Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad, as the legitimate successor of Muhammad, and disregards the three caliphs whosucceeded him.
Also, Shiite, Shiʿa, Shiʿah

Sun·ni –noun Islam .
1.
Also called Sunnite. a member of one of the two great religious divisions of Islam, regarding the first four caliphs as legitimate successors of Muhammad and stressing the importance of Sunna as a basis for law. Compare Shiʿite.
2.
( used with a plural verb ) the Sunni Muslims.

Tal·i·ban –noun
a Muslim fundamentalist group in Afghanistan.

Pashtu -noun
an Iranian language spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan; the official language of Afghanistan [syn: Pashto]

Far·si –noun
the modern Iranian language of Iran and western Afghanistan,written in the arabic alphabet; modern Persian.