Burhanuddin Rabbani

Infobox President
name = Burhanuddin Rabbani
برهان الدين رباني


imagesize = 150px
order = President of Afghanistan
primeminister = Abdul Ghafoor Rawan Farhadi
term_start = 13 November 2001
term_end = 22 December 2001
predecessor = Mohammed Omar (Head of the Supreme Council of Afghanistan)
successor = Hamid Karzai
primeminister2 = Abdul Sabur Farid
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Arsala Rahmani
Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
term_start2 = 28 June 1992
term_end2 = 27 September 1996
predecessor2 = Sibghatullah Mojaddedi
successor2 = Mohammed Omar (Head of the Supreme Council of Afghanistan)
order3 = President of the Northern Alliance
primeminister3 = Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai
Abdul Ghafoor Rawan Farhadi
term_start3 = 27 September 1996
term_end3 = 13 November 2001
predecessor3 = Office created
successor3 = Office abolished
birth_date = 1940
birth_place = Badakhshan, Afghanistan
death_date =
death_place =
party = Jamiat-i-Islami
United National Front
religion = Sunni Islam

Burhanuddin Rabbani (PerB|برهان الدين رباني - "Burhânuddîn Rabbânî") (born 1940), an ethnic Tajik, is a former President of Afghanistan. Burhanuddin Rabbani is the leader of Jamiat-e Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Society of Afghanistan). He also served as the political head of the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (UIFSA), an alliance of various political groups who fought against Taliban rule in Afghanistan. He served as President from 1992-1996 until he was forced to leave Kabul because of the Taliban takeover of the city. His government was recognized by many countries, as well as the United Nations.

Early years

Rabbani, son of Muhammed Yousuf, was born in 1940 in Badakhshan, northern Afghanistan. After finishing school in his native province, he went to Darul-uloom-e-Sharia (Abu-Hanifa), a religious school in Kabul. When he graduated from Abu-Hanifa, he went to Kabul University to study Islamic Law and Theology. During his four years at Kabul University he became well known for his works on Islam. Soon after his graduation in 1963, he was hired as a Professor at Kabul University. In order to enhance himself, Rabbani went to Egypt in 1966, and he entered the Al-Azhar University in Cairo. In two years, he received his masters degree in Islamic Philosophy.

Jamiat-e Islami

Rabbani returned to Afghanistan in 1968, where the High Council of Jamiat-e Islami gave him the duty of organizing the University students. Due to his knowledge, reputation, and active support for the cause of Islam, in 1972, a 15-member council selected him as head of Jamiat-e Islami of Afghanistan; the founder of Jamiat-e Islami of Afghanistan, Ghulam M. Niyazi was also present. Jamiat-e Islami was primarily composed of Tajiks and Uzbeks. [cite book |title=The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan: Analysis and Chronology |author=Rogers, Tom |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1992 |pages= p. 27]

In the spring of 1974, the police came to Kabul University to arrest Rabbini for his pro-Islamic stance, but with the help of his students the police were unable to capture him, and he managed to escape to the country side.

When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, Rabbani helped lead Jamiat-e Islami in resistance to the invasion. Rabbani's forces were the first mujahideen elements to enter Kabul in 1992 and defeat the Communists.

Later years

After the war, Rabbani became the president of Afghanistan but fell out of favor with his former allies. After four years of civil war, he was forced to flee Kabul as the Taliban took over the capital. However, supported by an organization that became known as the Northern Alliance, Rabbani continued to resist the new Taleban government, and the civil war continued while Rabbani continued to act as the legal and internationally recognized president of Afghanistan. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he agreed to cooperate with American and NATO forces to remove the Taliban from power. With help from coalition troops, Kabul was soon captured and Rabbani reassumed presidential functions in Kabul. Soon after, he relinquished control to Hamid Karzai and he is now a politician in Afghanistan, heading the Jamiat-e Islami party.

References

See also

* Badaber Uprising

External links

* [http://www.un.org/millennium/webcast/statements/afghanistan.htm Burhanuddin Rabbani,President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan THE UNITED NATIONS MILLENNIUM SUMMIT, SEPTEMBER 8,2000]
* [http://www.afghan-web.com/bios/today/brabbani.html Biography from Afghanistan Online]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2001/war_on_terror/after_the_taleban/b_rabbani.stm Who he is] from [http://news.bbc.co.uk bbc.com]