Shadow

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and racism.

Shadow takes place during the war in Afghanistan, which began after the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001. These attacks killed 2,996 people and were orchestrated by Osama bin Laden, leader of the terrorist group called Al-Qaeda. According to US intelligence, bin Laden was hiding in Afghanistan, and the Taliban—the group in charge of the country—refused to give him up. As a result, the US, along with allies such as the United Kingdom, invaded Afghanistan to remove the Taliban and fight terrorism.

The Taliban are notorious for human rights violations and religious extremism. They are especially cruel to women and ethnic minorities, including the Hazara people, largely because they practice Shia Islam in a predominately Sunni country. Aman, the protagonist in Shadow, is Hazara. His people are often attacked and forced to take refuge in caves in the Bamiyan Valley. This valley is famous for once having two immense statues known as the Buddhas of Bamiyan, which were carved into the cliff walls more than a thousand years ago. However, these statues were targeted by the Taliban in 1999 since they saw them as symbols that did not fit into their strict religious beliefs; by 2002, the two statues were destroyed.