Poetic Obituaries: [Former Afghan President Burhanuddin] Rabbani had followed

an up-and-down political career entwined with the wars that have torn Afghanistan for more decades, well before the U.S.-led invasion that ousted the Taliban in 2001 because of their support for Osama bin Laden.

Born in 1940 outside Faizabad in northeastern Badakhshan province, he studied Islamic law at the University of Kabul. Fluent in Arabic, he also translated Persian poetry while attending Al-Azhar University in Egypt, before returning to Kabul to join the Faculty of Islamic Law.

from Associated Press: Slain Afghan ex-president sought peace

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