Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Tuesday, March 19th, 2024

Still in Pursuit of Islamic Emirate?

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Still in Pursuit of Islamic Emirate?

The Taliban’s dream for establishing Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan did not come true. They ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 with the barrel of gun and practiced upon harsh ideology. They also intended to foist their radical mindset on the public at gunpoint. The Taliban curtailed the freedom of Afghan people and cherished a misogynistic mentality. Now the Taliban seeks to continue the same trend in tribal belts both in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Under the guise of peace committee, a faction of the Taliban placed a ban on cultural and social activities and restricted women’s movement outside their homes without a male chaperone in South Waziristan Agency, Pakistan. The Taliban peace committee has reportedly issued tough guidelines through pamphlets in Wana town and warned local people to abide by these rules otherwise violators would face repercussions. The committee has banned music, athan, a traditional dance which is performed in wedding ceremonies or other festive occasions, and use of narcotics.
Guidelines issued through pamphlets ban cultural and social activities and restrict women’s movement. The pamphlets said that women would not be allowed to visit market and clinic or faith healers without adult male members of their family, including husbands and brothers.
The committee is headed by Salahuddin alias Aybubi, a successor of Mullah Muhammad Nazir, who was killed in a US drone strike in the Birmil area of South Wazi­ristan Agency in January 2013.
A Pakistani Newspaper says, “South Waziristan Agency became a hotbed of Talibanisation in 2003 that spilled over to other tribal agencies of FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Local leaders of various Taliban factions had established parallel administration in the area.”
The Taliban’s mindsets root in many radical schools of thought, including Salafi, Deobandism, Muslims Brotherhood Party, Wahhabis, etc. That is to say, the Taliban did not practice upon a certain school of thought and calling them simply Salafi, or Wahhabi will not be right. They constituted a more radical idea out of many and mostly attended the superficial and apparent issues. For instance, wearing tall beard was very significant for the Taliban; whereas shedding the blood of innocent individuals was as easy as a piece of cake.
The guidelines issued through a pamphlet reflects the Taliban’s ideology but not in a perfect way. The Taliban’s regime implemented those mindsets in Afghanistan. During their regime, the people were not allowed to watch TV, dance in wedding or public ceremonies, listen to music, etc. and women were not allowed to go out without male chaperone. However, placing ban on using narcotic drug in South Waziristan is highly ridiculous. The bulk of the Taliban’s financial support is gained from cultivating narcotic drug. In Afghanistan, the Taliban, neither during their regime nor at present, issued fatwa against cultivating narcotic drug. The Taliban are believed to have a hand in glove with the Mafia and smugglers of narcotic drug. Now banning the use of narcotic drug in Waziristan by the Taliban is no more than masking their sinister faces under sanctity.
It comes as reports say that the cultivation of narcotic drug has increased to 87 percent in Afghanistan, mostly in war-stricken areas, which is an unprecedented rise. Now the question is that why cultivating drug increases in restive provinces? It is self-explanatory that the Taliban support this issue and do not care about the fact that cultivating drug is against Islamic tenets. The Taliban never practiced upon Islamic Sharia and always preferred their own social, political, and economic interests to Islamic law. If they really practice upon Islamic values, they will have to issue fatwa against cultivating and smuggling drug in Afghanistan.
After all, why they simply do not place ban on killing innocent people, including women and children? The Taliban militants kill hundreds of people annually both in Afghanistan and Pakistan. During their regime, the Taliban killed not only women and children but also domestic animals in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province. They targeted all the living indiscriminately. Despite the fact that the world knows about the Taliban’s barbarity, they still intend to hide their cruelty under the veneer of religion through placing a ban on the use of drug in part of Pakistan.
The paradoxical practices of the Taliban are highly shameful. Such acts originate in lack of knowledge and ignorance. Almost none of their practices are favored by Islam, but they still claim to be perfect Muslims and excommunicate others. So, they have changed religion as a vehicle for gaining their social, political, and economic interests.
Unluckily, those who live in tribal belts mostly fall for the Taliban’s claim and not only obey their orders but also join them. Subsequently, they urged the locals to send their children to their seminaries to be taught religious knowledge. And people approved of the Taliban’s saying. Hence, they simply fall for their bogus claims and the Taliban recruit forces via such tactics.

Hujjatullah Zia is the permanent writer of the Daily Outlook Afghanistan. He can be reached at zia_hujjat@yahoo.com

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