MovieChat Forums > The Kite Runner (2008) Discussion > Did Amir's father support the Mujahideen...

Did Amir's father support the Mujahideen (and the mullahs behind them)?


It's not clear in either the novel or the film. For one thing, he seems to despise both the Communists and Russians (as they invaded his country and in the US he even shuns a doctor who casually mentions that his background is Russian) more than the mullahs (as he is an atheist and regards them as backward and superstitious and dreads the possibility that they could rule the country). One thing I recall is that in the novel he doesn't think much of Jimmy Carter whom he regards as too weak-willed and appeasing towards the Russians while later on he is such a fan of Ronald Reagan that he is the only person in his Democrat-voting working class community who has his picture on display. It was no secret that Reagan armed and trained the Mujahideen many of whom later formed the Taliban. Was he willing to accept at the time that these backward and superstitious people could one day rule the country if they were fighting the Russians? Either way I think he would have lamented to see what had become of Afghanistan had he been alive by the time the Taliban conquered Kabul.

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