The Islamic Revolution Movement (Harakat-i-Inqilab-i-Islami, prs, حرکت انقلاب اسلامی افغانستان) is a traditionalist Islamist political party. It was once one of the biggest Afghan mujahideen factions fighting against

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

forces during the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...

. Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi was the leader of the group at the time.

History

The movement was one of the seven Peshawar parties. As a mujahideen group, it operated in the southern and eastern Afghan provinces of

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

, Helmand,

Uruzgan Uruzgan ( Dari), also spelled as Urozgan or Oruzgan, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Uruzgan is located in the center of the country. The population is 436,079, and the province is mostly a tribal society. Tarinkot serves as ...

Ghazni Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...

Paktika Paktika (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktika has a population of about 789,000, mostly ethnic Pashtuns. The town of Sharana ...

, and Wardak. However, it was not as strong or influential a group as

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ( ps, ګلب الدين حكمتيار; born 1 August 1949) is an Afghan politician, former mujahideen leader and drug trafficker. He is the founder and current leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin political party, so calle ...

Hezb-i-Islami Hezb-e-Islami (also ''Hezb-e Islami'', ''Hezb-i-Islami'', ''Hezbi-Islami'', ''Hezbi Islami''), lit. Islamic Party, was an Islamist organization that was commonly known for fighting the Communist Government of Afghanistan and their close ally ...

Ahmad Shah Massoud ) , branch = Jamiat-e Islami / Shura-e Nazar Afghan Armed Forces United Islamic Front , serviceyears = 1975–2001 , rank = General , unit = , commands = Mujahideen commander during the Soviet–Afghan War ...

's forces. It became recognized as the second most important of the seven parties in 1981 (after Jamiat-i Islami), but support was eroded by 1984. The group lacked a clear political aim other than Afghan traditionalism and Islamism. During the 1990s the group fell into decay. Initially it joined the government of

Burhanuddin Rabbani Burhānuddīn Rabbānī (Persian: ; 20 September 1940 – 20 September 2011) was an Afghanistani politician and teacher who served as President of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996 (in exile from 1996 to 2001). Born in the Badakhshan Province, Ra ...

, but in 1993 left and forbade its members from taking part in the ongoing battles. When the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

emerged, Mohammadi dissolved the group and urged its members to join it.https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/political-landscape/ Some of its members had international inspirations, going to

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...

to fight against

Ba'athist Iraq Ba'athist Iraq, formally the Iraqi Republic until 6 January 1992 and the Republic of Iraq thereafter, covers the History of Iraq, national history of Iraq between 1968 and 2003 under the rule of the Ba'ath Party (Iraqi-dominated faction), Arab S ...

during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. The movement was also weakened by the founding of the breakaway National and Islamic Prosperity Party of Afghanistan, formed by Maulawi Muhammad Osman Salekzada, which captured much of the HIIs following in northern Afghanistan. After the death of its leader, Mohammed Nabi Mohamadi, in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, the leadership of the movement was taken over by his son Ahmad Nabi Muhammadi. Under its new leadership the name of the movement was changed to Islamic and National Revolution Movement of Afghanistan (''Harakat-e Inqilab-e Islami wa Melli-ye Afghanistan''). In April 2005, it joined the

National Understanding Front of Afghanistan National Understanding Front of Afghanistan (''Jabha-ye Tafahom-e Melli-ye Afghanistan'') was an alliance of opposition parties in Afghanistan. It was founded in April 2005, with the intention of jointly contesting elections. It did however become i ...

, a coalition of 12 opposition parties. The front did however not last long. In 2015, the party named a new leader: Mawlawi Qalam U Din Mohmand. Harakat members created public attention when it held a gathering to commemorate the late Taliban founder,

Mullah Omar Mullah Muhammad Omar (; –April 2013) was an Afghan Islamic revolutionary who founded the Taliban and served as the supreme leader of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. Born into a religious family of Kandahar, Omar was educated at local ''madras ...

(who was a Harakat member during the Soviet-Afghan War), provoking a wave of outrage. The party has been relaunched a few times, and in its latest interviews emphasised "peace" as the party's priority. A member of Harakat's ulema council asked the Taliban to leave the traitorous and hypocrit cl country of Pakistan."

References

{{Reflist Anti-communist organizations Anti-Soviet factions in the Soviet–Afghan War Islamic political parties in Afghanistan