What is a hero? What is a villain? While definitions vary within our global society, it is generally accepted that a hero is selfless, humble, moral, and has integrity, while a villain is corrupt or evil, incapable of feeling guilt or compassion, and is guilty of having committed heinous crimes. However, it should be noted that the labels 'hero' and 'villain' are subjective and that, in the words of Sirius Black (the falsely incriminated godfather of the titular hero of the Harry Potter series) "...the world is not divided into good people and [bad]. We all have light and darkness within us...” (Yates, 2007) The Taliban are a group that were once perceived as heroes, by those who now label them as 'bad guys'. The Taliban, whose name derives from the Pashto word 'tālibān', meaning 'students', are a radical Pashtun (native Afghan) religious and political movement, which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, after being removed from power from the North Atlantic side. Treaty Organization (NATO). They were revived in 2004 as an insurgency movement, waging a guerrilla war against the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan, NATO-led forces and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). by NATO Since 2009, the Taliban has been led by Mullah Mohammed Omar. The Taliban are committed to implementing the “most rigorous interpretation of Sharia law ever seen” (Rashid, 2000), Sharia (Islamic) law dictated by the Holy Quran, the sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad. There they are two different versions of how the Taliban was born. One version is that mujahideen bandits raped and killed Afghan boys and girls, prompting Mullah Omar and his students to vow to rid Afghanistan of criminals (Matinuddin, 19...... half of the paper...... a phenomenon: Afghanistan 1994-1997 Oxford: Oxford University Press (ISBN 0195792742), pp. 25-26• Rashid, Ahmed (2000) Taliban (1st Pan ed.) London: Pan Books (ISBN 1850653607), pp , 29 , pp. 71-72, p. 107, p. 177• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire London: Bloomsbury Publishing (ISBN 0747550999), p. and Labor (2001) US National Report on Human Rights Practices – Afghanistan http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/sa/8222.htm Retrieved 03-11-09 • Waldman, Amy (22-11-2009). No TV, no chess, no kites: the Taliban code, from A to Z". -no-kites-taliban-s-code-from-a-to-z.html Retrieved 2009-10-25 • Yates, David (2007) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Warner Bros. Pictures