My father in law has a rug that I suspect is an Afghan war rug. I would love a historian who has knowledge on these types of objects to take a look at the image here. I suspect this rug is depicting the Afghan fight against the Russians but cannot figure out the imagery and do not read Arabic. I have searched google and not found anything. Any ideas?
I suspect your interpretation is correct. When I was in Afghanistan last year I saw rugs on sale depicting US tanks and helicopters blowing up insurgents. I almost got one, but it seemed a little gauche.
A quick google search tells me that most rugs were marketed to foreign troops., which syncs with my experience.
But it looks like a scimitar wielding dude is straddling the red demon holding a Soviet hammer, which makes me think that it was perhaps not marketed to Russian troops.
Best guess? It was marketed to Mujahidin fighters or their sympathizers, probably in the early 90's after the Soviets left.
It's a fascinating piece of history, one way or another. I should have bought that rug.