With his wife Zaynab and three young children, Begg moved to Kabul, Afghanistan, in late July 2001. At the time, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan. Begg considered it an economical place to bring up his family, and one where they would not be harassed for their race. He wrote in his autobiography that by 2001 the Taliban had made "some modest progress — in social justice and upholding pure, old Islamic values forgotten in many Islamic countries". Begg has since criticised the Taliban for its human rights abuses.