Editing Mullah Omar (section)

=== Leadership ===
[[File:Mullah Omar reveals the Prophet's cloak.jpg|thumb|A still from a 1996 video taken secretly by BBC Newsnight. It purports to show Omar (left) presenting the [[cloak of Muhammad]] to his troops in Kandahar, before their successful assault on Kabul.]]
[[File:Mullah Mohammed Omar's 1998-06-15 letter to all Taliban.jpg|thumb|The June 15, 1998 letter from Mullah Omar to "all Taliban members young and old", complaining that his orders are not being followed. The letter was found in an [[al-Qaeda safe house]] in Kabul.]]
On 4 April 1996, supporters of Omar bestowed the title ''[[Amir al-Mu'minin]]'' (أمير المؤمنين, {{Literal translation|Commander of the Faithful}}) on him,<ref>{{cite news |author=Tim Weiner | title = Seizing the Prophet's Mantle: Muhammad Omar| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/07/international/asia/07MULL.html |newspaper=The New York Times | date = 7 December 2001| access-date =1 November 2014}}</ref> after he donned [[Cloak of Muhammad|a cloak]] which was alleged to be that of [[Muhammad in Islam|Muhammad]], locked in a series of chests and held inside the [[Kirka Sharif|Shrine of the Cloak]] in the city of Kandahar. Legend decreed that whoever could retrieve the cloak from the chest would be the great Leader of the Muslims, or the "''Amir al-Mu'minin''{{-"}}.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/12/19/MN37470.DTL |title=Kandahar residents feel betrayed |first=Patrick |last=Healy |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=19 December 2001}}</ref>

In September 1996, [[Kabul]] fell to Omar and his followers.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}} The civil war continued in the northeast corner of the country, near [[Tajikistan]]. In October 1997 the nation was named the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] and recognized by [[Pakistan]], [[Saudi Arabia]] and the [[United Arab Emirates]]. Described as a "reclusive, pious and frugal" leader,<ref name="conflict">Griffiths, John C. ''Afghanistan: A History of Conflict'', 1981. Second Revision, 2001.</ref> Omar rarely left his residence in the city of [[Kandahar]], and he only visited Kabul twice between 1996 and 2001 during his tenure as ruler of Afghanistan. In November 2001, during a radio interview with the BBC, Omar stated: "All Taliban are moderate. There are two things: extremism ['ifraat', or doing something to excess] and conservatism ['tafreet', or doing something insufficiently]. So in that sense, we are all moderates{{snd}}taking the middle path."<ref name="BBC1657368" /><ref name="Malashenko">{{Cite news |last=Malashenko |first=Alexey |date=11 August 2015 |title=Where Will the New Taliban Leader Lead His People? |publisher=Russian International Affairs Council |url=https://carnegiemoscow.org/2015/08/11/where-will-new-taliban-leader-lead-his-people/ielb |access-date=12 September 2021 |via=Carnegie Moscow Center}}</ref><ref name="Waraich">{{cite web |last=Waraich |first=Omar |date=30 July 2015 |title=Mullah Mohammed Omar: Co-founder and leader of the Taliban who fought the Soviets before presiding over a brutal Afghan regime |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/mullah-mohammed-omar-co-founder-and-leader-taliban-who-fought-soviets-presiding-over-brutal-afghan-regime-10428546.html |access-date=17 August 2021 |website=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> During his tenure as Afghanistan's ruler, Omar seldom left the city of [[Kandahar]], where he lived in a large house reportedly built for him by [[Osama bin Laden]], the [[Saudis|Saudi]] militant who was the founder of [[al-Qaeda]].<ref name="conflict" />{{Sfn|Aggarwal|2016}}

Omar had a complicated relationship with Osama bin Laden. According to Pakistani journalist [[Rahimullah Yusufzai]], Omar stated in the late 1990s, "We have told Osama [Bin Laden] not to use Afghan soil to carry out political activities as it creates unnecessary confusion about Taliban objectives."<ref>{{cite news |author=Robert Marquand | title = The reclusive ruler who runs the Taliban |work=The Christian Science Monitor | url = http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1010/p1s4-wosc.html| date = 10 October 2001| access-date = 10 September 2014}}</ref> Bin Laden was a challenge for Omar: he was widely seen as a defender of the faith, had deep pockets, and if he were to censure the Taliban, the movement would likely end. However, Omar did not want bin Laden spreading a message of jihad. Omar summoned bin Laden to meet him in 1996 after bin Laden's declaration of jihad against the United States the same year. He asked bin Laden to stop talking about the jihad, but as a matter of Pashtun tribal custom did not outright forbid him, as it would be deeply insulting to a guest. Bin Laden chose to ignore Omar. The high stature of bin Laden and his importance in keeping the Taliban in power were further evidenced by Omar visiting bin Laden as a guest, a sign of deference and respect. After the [[1998 United States embassy bombings]], the US launched cruise missiles against al-Qaeda training camps and sought bin Laden. This inadvertently created more sympathy for bin Laden in Afghanistan. Omar did not hand bin Laden over, citing [[Pashtunwali]] tribal customs that require a host to protect guests, and that bin Laden was a guest of Afghanistan. Privately, Omar felt that if he bowed to the US by turning over bin Laden, the US would try to further influence Afghanistan and attempt to meddle in its religious matters. He may have also feared retaliation or withdrawal of support from the Saudi or Pakistani governments should he turn over bin Laden. In 2000, Omar ordered bin Laden to not attack the United States, after advisors warned him that bin Laden might be planning to do so. Omar suggested to the US that bin Laden be turned over to an international Islamic court, or simply exiled, but the US turned both suggestions down.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Malkasian|first=Carter|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1240264784|title=The American war in Afghanistan : a history|date=2021|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-755077-9|location=New York|oclc=1240264784}}</ref>{{Rp|47–50}}

Omar was also "Head of the [[Leadership Council of Afghanistan|Supreme Council]] of Afghanistan".<ref name=Waraich /><ref name="Malashenko" /><ref name=Princeton_Ency /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://europe.newsweek.com/why-new-taliban-leader-could-be-disaster-peace-afghanistan-331052|title = Why the New Taliban Leader Could be a Disaster for Peace in Afghanistan|date = 2 August 2015}}</ref> The Supreme Council was initially established at Kandahar in 1994.<ref name=Gunaratna />

According to a 2001 United Nations report, the Taliban committed systematic massacres against civilians between 1996 and 2001 while trying to consolidate control over northern and western Afghanistan. The report said that such mass killings were ordered or approved by Omar himself and that bin Laden's [[055 Brigade]], made up of Arab fighters, was involved in these massacres.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gargan |first=Edward A |date=October 2001 |title=Taliban massacres outlined for UN |work=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2001/10/12/taliban-massacres-outlined-for-un/}}</ref>