The concept of jihad, or Islamic holy war, has been touted as the epitome of Islam by Muslim terrorists for decades. 

But in Afghanistan, that ideal has been elevated from a concept in Islamic texts and terrorism videos into an institution, one report reveals Friday - after an entire museum has been dedicated to the subject. 

The Associated Press took a rare glimpse into the museum in the city of Herat, which functions as a "war memorial" of sorts from the Soviet-Afghanistan war of 1979-1989.

The museum was opened in 2002, according to the report - although at least one Reuters report lists the official opening date as 2010. 

The museum is laid out in much of the same style as Israel's Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv which celebrates the Jewish fighters who helped establish the modern state, in that it includes a series of re-enactments via diorama.

But instead of lifelike scenes depicting soldiers in the heart of the Holy Land, this museum displays scenes of bloodied victims, displays of AK-47s and other weaponry, and entire hallways dedicated to the lives - and deaths - of "martyrs" in the war against the Soviets.

Diorama designer Abdul Nasir Sawabi justified the grisly displays as a warning against war - despite the fact that the museum itself is named after the bloody practice. 

"This place can show how vicious a war can be," he claimed. "We are the middle-aged generation that has been through this war, but the kids who are growing up now are a new generation for whom all this is just a memory."

"These scenes can show them what kind of painful life their people were living in the past and what sacrifices they had to make," he added. "This can be a good lesson for them to safeguard the opportunities they have now."