Category Archives: Art and Culture

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Turkey to begin restoration of Mawlana Jalaluddin Balkhi’s father’s Monastery in Balkh soon: Ministry

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Khaama:  The Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture has announced that the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) will soon begin the restoration of the monastery of Mawlana Jalaluddin Balkhi-Rumi’s father. Some historians consider the Bahauddin Monastery to be Rumi’s birthplace. Due to its historical significance, the monastery annually attracts hundreds of domestic and international

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Afghanistan Slides Into ‘Ever More Hellish Conditions’ After New Morality Law Enacted

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Abubakar Siddique and RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi August 29, 2024 The Taliban has attempted to police the public appearances and behavior of millions of Afghans, especially women, since seizing power in 2021. But the enforcement of the extremist group’s rules governing morality, including its strict Islamic dress code and gender segregation in society, was sporadic and

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UNESCO designates Maulana’s birthday as ‘Respect for Others Day’

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Khaama: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) agreed during a conference, upon the request of writers and scholars from Afghanistan, to designate Mowlānā Jalāloddin Mohammad Balkhi’s birthday (September 30, 1207) as “Respect for Others Day.” Dr. Mohammad Fazil Sharifi, a researcher and professor at the university who participated in this conference, told

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Shrouded in Darkness: ‘I’m Forced to Close My Art Gallery’

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8am: It’s evening, and the last rays of sunlight, casting an orange hue across the canvas of paintings that have now changed their colors and mood, are spreading. Sitting amidst a multitude of paintings, she gazes sorrowfully at her artistic creations. On one hand, she worries about the darkening sky, and on the other, she

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Restrictions on Nowruz Celebrations in Balkh and Bamiyan Provinces: Road to Hazrat Ali’s Shrine Closed and Bamyan City Under Military Surveillance

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8am: Reports emerging from Balkh and Bamiyan provinces reveal that despite the populace’s eagerness to celebrate Nowruz in these regions, stringent measures enforced by the Taliban have cast a pall over the festive spirit marking the New Year in these locales. This marks the third consecutive year in which the Taliban have proscribed Nowruz celebrations,

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23rd Anniversary of the Destruction of the Bamyan Buddhas: Historical Artifacts Are Plundered

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8am: Twenty-three years ago, the Taliban destroyed two large Buddha statues in Bamyan province. The taller statue, named Salsaal, standing at 53 meters, and the smaller one, Shahmama, at 35 meters, were carved into the mountains between the 3rd and 7th centuries AD with a distinctive style. Mullah Omar, the former Taliban supreme leader, ordered

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Afghanistan’s singing sisters defying the Taliban from under a burka

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BBC: As the world was watching the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, two sisters in Kabul were among millions of women in Afghanistan who could directly feel the new regime tightening its grip on them. They decided they couldn’t just stand back and watch women’s freedoms being restricted, and started secretly using the

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Afghanistan: Archaeological sites ‘bulldozed for looting’

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BBC News: Dozens of archaeological sites in Afghanistan have been bulldozed to allow systematic looting, according to researchers at the University of Chicago. They say their analysis of satellite photos provides the first definitive photographic evidence that looting patterns that began under the previous government have continued since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

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Conserving Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage Under Taliban Rule

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HIR: The Taliban’s dynamiting of the Bamiyan Buddha marked just one of many instances of cultural loss in Afghanistan’s history. In the 1960s, French archaeologists caused irreparable damage by using bulldozers to excavate Ai-Khanoum, an ancient Greek city. In 1989, Russia ended its 10-year occupation of Afghanistan. When its forces pulled out, civil war ensued.

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