Born:
1959
In 1996, as Taliban fervor increased, Omar accepted the title of "Amirul Momineen," or "commander of the faithful," in an emotional meeting in Kandahar where he appeared on a balcony above thousands of cheering Taliban, wrapping himself in a cloak said to belong to the Prophet Mohammad. The cloak had not been removed from its Kandahar shrine in 60 years, and had never been worn before. Omar is the first Muslim since the Fourth Caliph, a nephew of Prophet Mohammad, to publicly accept the Amirul title, a ranking in Islam nearly second to the Prophet.
In a Voice of America interview on Sept. 21, Omar said: "God says he will never be satisfied with the infidels. In terms of worldly affairs, America is very strong. Even if it were twice as strong or twice that, it could not be strong enough to defeat us. We are confident that no one can harm us if God is with us."
Died:
--
Place of Birth:
Singesar, near Kandahar
Military University:
none
Wars Fought:
-Soviet-Afghan War
-Civil War vs. N. Alliance
-American War
-War Against the United States:
Mullah Omar was the son of a farmer who became known during the Russian invasion. He was wounded four times, and lost an eye. Omar, in fact, was relatively unknown in Afghanistan until 1994. He started the Taliban after a dream in which Allah came to him in the shape of a man, asking him to lead the faithful. Omar, known for a pure devotion to Islam, was a mullah with a village madrassah near Kandahar. But he was "horrified," by the behavior of former mujahideen commanders that he had fought alongside from 1989 to 1992. They were kidnapping and raping boys and girls, stealing from Afghans at gunpoint on the road, and driving international aid workers out of Kandahar. So, Omar and 30 ethnic Pashtun followers "picked up the gun" - at first to stop four notorious mujahideen who were raping women near Omar's village - and later to bring law and order to an entire country.
