The Taliban are remaking Afghanistan in their image. It should have us all worried
Since returning to power, the Taliban has made spreading its ideology a key priority. From prisons and rehab facilities to military bases, 'religious education' is becoming a cornerstone of Afghanistan's institutions. By introducing courses in Quranic recitation and exegesis, as well as broader religious instruction, the group aims to bring more Afghans closer to its strict interpretation of Islam and convince them of the merits of its fundamentalist approach.
Recently, images of the 'graduation ceremony' of 100 people undergoing treatment for drug addiction at a rehab centre in the western province of Herat were widely promoted in media outlets affiliated with the group. The 'graduands' had completed courses in the correct recitation and pronunciation of the Quran. The ceremony, which also marked the end of their time at the facility, featured white clothing, traditional caps and Taliban flags.
Syed Asif, one of the participants on the course who was a patient at the centre, told Independent Persian: 'I'm currently undergoing treatment and have now been able to quit drugs. During this time, I started reading the Holy Quran and memorised many of its parts.'
Hayatullah Rouhani, the anti-narcotics chief in the city of Herat, said authorities aim to provide opportunities for religious learning in the rehabilitation process for those struggling with addiction.
In addition to offering Quranic instruction, the Taliban also held singing sessions for some of the patients. They were instructed to sign anthems that glorified the group's 20-year war against the former Afghan government and Western forces, recounting bombings, suicide attacks and bloody battles. These songs serve to promote the Taliban's 'jihadist narrative' and legitimise violence.
What's concerning is not the introduction of religious education in itself, but the content and nature of what is taught. It is a curriculum designed to push society towards extremism and create fertile ground for Taliban recruitment. During the group's insurgency against the previous government, religious schools were key recruiting hubs. These institutions distort Islamic teachings and glorify violence, preparing students for war and carrying out suicide missions.
Their goal is to build a society not just politically dominated by the Taliban, but intellectually and ideologically shaped by its worldview
Now that the Taliban have full control of public schools, religious institutions, universities, prisons and rehab centres across Afghanistan, their primary focus has been imposing a rigid, hardline interpretation of Islam. Their goal is to build a society not just politically dominated by their organisation, but intellectually and ideologically shaped by its worldview.
The Taliban's expansion of religious education isn't confined to prisons and rehab centres. There has been a sharp increase in the number of mosques and religious schools across the country. The presence of senior Taliban officials at graduation ceremonies, both in religious schools and for religious courses in detention or rehab centres, makes it clear that spreading their version of Islam through 'religious education' is a top priority.
These officials have repeatedly called on people to study religion, but with the proviso that this is done according to the Taliban's own interpretation of Islam, which diverges significantly from mainstream Islamic teachings in much of the Muslim world.
The growing emphasis on this specific brand of religious education, centred on the Taliban's radical interpretation of Islam, raises serious concerns about the normalisation of religious extremism. By promoting slogans like 'implementing sharia law' and 'establishing an Islamic system', the Taliban is trying to win over more Afghan citizens to its radical ideology and expand the social base it needs to sustain its political and military power.
Reviewed by Tooba Khokhar and Celine Assaf
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
3 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Their country has been riven by war, corruption, and extremism. How do the people of Afghanistan keep going?
Related : Advertisement ' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Seierstad began her research with two subjects whose worldviews are poles apart. Jamila Afghani, a polio and shooting survivor, had to beg her prosperous family for an education. Her knowledge of Islam would eventually bolster her human rights activism. She married her former Arabic teacher, became a government minister, and even engaged in (futile) negotiations with the Taliban. Seierstad met her in Norway, where, in exile, Jamila was continuing her human rights advocacy via Zoom. Advertisement Far more remarkable (and harder to obtain) was the cooperation of Seierstad's second subject: Bashir, a fatherless boy from rural Afghanistan who became a mid-ranking Talib and jihadist. Bashir survived battle, imprisonment, torture, and a death sentence, all of which he described in detail to Seierstad. Like many military leaders, Bashir struggled in peacetime, glorying in the Taliban victory while missing the excitement of war. Related : Both subjects allowed the author extraordinary access, as well as permission to use their real names. At one point, for example, Seierstad was in the room when Bashir paid visits to relatives of the Taliban's 'martyrs,' offering them cash and consolation. She also interviewed Bashir's two wives and his fiancée, all seemingly reconciled to the Afghan practices of arranged marriage and polygamy. The details are fascinating. Bashir, nothing if not fair-minded, scrupulously divided his nights between the wives, whom he called 'concentrated joy.' The wives had become friends, sharing in both housekeeping and bombmaking. The fiancée, by contrast, had pressed for a separate domicile, an expensive request to which Bashir acceded. 'What I found no hint of,' Seierstad writes, 'was the wish for a more independent life.' In their submission to tradition, these women couldn't have been more different from Seierstad's third subject. The pseudonymous Ariana, who aced all her school exams, is heir to the grim struggle for cultural supremacy represented by Jamila and Bashir. She was on the verge of completing her legal studies when the Taliban regained power. By curtailing women's education, forcing them to don burkas, and urging them to stay home, the new regime seems to have snuffed out Ariana's future. Advertisement Seierstad's short, punchy sentences, ably translated by Seán Kinsella, draw readers into the narrative. She starts by alternating between Jamil and Bashir's childhoods, both marked by tragedy and hardship. War — against the Soviet invaders, among Afghan tribes and factions, and finally against the Americans — is a constant backdrop. 'You get out of bed, build the fire, boil some water, perhaps warm up some of yesterday's bread and suddenly you're dead,' Seierstad writes. The story gathers momentum as the characters' worlds collide, and Ariana's plight shows just how high the stakes have become. Related : One key takeaway from 'The Afghans' is the fecklessness of American efforts in Afghanistan. 'The Bush administration made a fatal error in blurring the distinction between the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and then tarring them with the same brush,' Seierstad writes. Later the US continued to pour aid into the corruption-fueled governments of Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani. To a country in chaos, scarred by decades of war, the Taliban at least seemed to promise order and stability. So what if (some) women's hopes for education and careers were collateral damage? From Norway, Jamila and her family immigrate to Canada, where she plans to stay involved in Afghan affairs. Ariana's fate is more dire. Her once supportive parents prod her into an engagement that she soon tries, vainly, to sever. 'Your happiness means nothing to me,' her mother tells her. Seierstad leaves Ariana in extremis: battling with her family, locked into marrying a man she already abhors, and dreading the joyless enforced domesticity that seems destined to follow. Advertisement THE AFGHANS: Three Lives Through War, Love, and Revolt By Åsne Seierstad; translated by Seán Kinsella Bloomsbury Publishing, 448 pages, $32.99 Julia M. Klein, a cultural reporter and critic in Philadelphia, has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Slate, Mother Jones, and other publications.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Starting Aug. 1, registered Independents will be automatically changed to "No Party"
The Louisiana Secretary of State's office announced Monday that starting August 1, all registered Independent voters will have their party affiliation changed to 'No Party'. The change will eliminate voter confusion and ensure that voters who do not wish to be affiliated with any party can participate in the Closed Party Primaries beginning in 2026, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State's office. "Many Louisiana voters who are registered as Independents mistakenly believe they are unaffiliated with any political party, when in fact they are members of the Independent Party," Governor Jeff Landry stated in a news release. "This proactive change will allow voters formerly registered as Independents to participate in Closed Party Primaries next year, preventing voter confusion while maximizing participation." More: Will you be able to vote or run in Louisiana's future closed party primary elections? Louisiana will adopt the Closed Primary System beginning in 2026, created by the Legislature in Act 1 of the 2024 First Extraordinary Session. During party primaries, Democratic voters are only eligible to cast ballots in the Democratic primary, Republican voters are restricted to voting in the Republican primary, and voters registered as 'No Party' have the option to choose the party primary they wish to participate in. However, 'No Party' voters must stick with that party through the first round and the party primary runoff, if one occurs. How can you check your party affiliation? To learn more, or to check your party affiliation, visit or download the GeauxVote Mobile App. Follow Ian Robinson on Twitter @_irobinson and on Facebook at This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Independents will automatically become "No Party" voters Aug. 1
4 hours ago
The Taliban are sending workers to Qatar to ease unemployment in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD -- The Taliban are exporting Afghan workers to fill jobs in the Gulf nation of Qatar to ease unemployment in Afghanistan, and say talks are underway to send labor to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Turkey, and Russia. Registration opened Tuesday for 2,000 skilled professionals in areas including hospitality, food and beverage, and engineering to go to Qatar under the new program. Applicants from all 34 Afghan provinces can submit their work experience and credentials before being assessed for eligibility. The registration launch follows the forced returns of at least a million Afghans from neighboring countries, notably Iran and Pakistan, at a time of significant economic and humanitarian difficulty. Aid agencies have warned of pressure on local services, as well as dramatically reduced flows of money flowing into the country in the form of remittances from people working abroad. Acting Labor Minister Abdul Manan Omari described the labor export program as a 'significant and foundational step.' He said talks also were under way with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Turkey, and Russia. "We are committed to sending skilled, semi-skilled, and professional workers to these countries in the future as well," Omari said Monday on the social platform X. 'We are committed to the protection of Afghan workers' legal rights and safety abroad. Our goal is to prevent illegal migration and uphold the dignity and honor of Afghan workers," Omari said. While only Russia has recognized the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan, the other countries have diplomatic relations with Kabul. Qatar, which hosts a major U.S. military base in the region, served as a crucial point for those fleeing the Taliban in the chaotic days of the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in 2021. It also hosts a diplomatic post for the Taliban and hosted peace talks in 2019-20 between them and the U.S. administration of then-President Donald Trump. Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's deputy prime minister for economic affairs, said the Qatar labor initiative would help to ease unemployment and help the economy — presumably through remittances. Most Afghans depend on humanitarian assistance to survive. But deep funding cuts are worsening the situation, with aid agencies and nongovernmental organizations scaling back education and health care programs. 'The legal process of sending skilled and professional Afghan workers abroad will positively impact the national economy and help reduce unemployment,' Baradar said at the program's launch on Monday. He said the government had been working for four years to lower the unemployment rate through foreign and domestic investment, expanded trade relations, and infrastructure projects. In 2023, the Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada met Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar, Al Jazeera English reported. It was the first such publicly known meeting between Akhundzada and a foreign official.
