The texts are part of a series of Afghan schoolbooks funded by the United States through the University of Nebraska's Afghanistan Education Program, which began in the 1980s with a grant of 50 million dollars during the Russian occupation. Originally used by the mujahidin in the fight against the Soviets, these books were tools for political propaganda and training a new generation of warriors with ideas of militant Islam. In 1992, the series was revised to remove militant content, but many original copies are still used in the Taliban areas of influence in Afghanistan and Pakistan.