8am: Some Shia followers in Afghanistan are expressing serious concern over the Taliban’s continued religious pressure on adherents of their faith. They say that under various pretexts, the Taliban are seizing Shia properties and public sites, including mosques, madrasas and clinics, one after another on different charges, and are arresting, insulting and humiliating religious elders
Afghanistan International: Forces affiliated with the Taliban’s justice minister forcibly cleared the Khatam-al-Nabiyyin seminary in Kabul on Monday, 7 September. The Taliban had surrounded the Shia religious centre in western Kabul for the previous two days, but faced resistance from its officials and students. Sources said Taliban forces eventually cleared the seminary on Monday and
8am: Five years after the Taliban’s takeover, members of the Ismaili community in Badakhshan say they are facing a wave of religious, educational and social restrictions. According to the findings of this report, at least 10 jamaat khanas (Ismaili prayer and community centers) belonging to Ismailis have been closed in several districts of this province,
Khaama: At least 33 Ismaili prayer halls in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province were closed over the past three months, the United Nations said on Tuesday, raising fresh concerns over religious freedom and the rights of minority communities under the Taliban administration. The closures add to growing international scrutiny over the treatment of Afghanistan’s religious minorities
Afghanistan International: Taliban Deputy Minister of Urban Development and Housing Sheikh Madar Ali Karimi said the orders of the group’s prime minister, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, are being ignored. He criticised the Taliban’s treatment of Shia Muslims, particularly during Muharram. Click here to read more (external link). Related Sources: Taliban justice minister detained about 20
8am: Several Shia Muslims in Afghanistan say that nearly five years into Taliban rule, religious restrictions on their community have gradually intensified. According to them, these restrictions now extend beyond Muharram mourning ceremonies and have come to encompass shrines, religious rituals, and even certain matters of jurisprudence. These Shia Muslims add that the Taliban impose
Afghanistan International: According to the sources, the arrests were carried out on the orders of Abdul Hakim Sharei, the Taliban’s justice minister. They said those detained are being held in a private detention facility operated by the minister within the Ministry of Justice compound. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan International: Mohammad Mohaqiq, leader of the People’s Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, said the Taliban have stripped the Jaafari jurisprudence of official recognition and imposed widespread pressure on the religious practices of Shia Muslims. In a post on Facebook, Mohaqiq said the measures included insults, beatings of Shia clerics and interference in matters related
DW: An attack on a Shiite place of worship in Herat killed least 11 people. While the Taliban have pledged protection, a sense of structural vulnerability is growing within the Shiite community. “The Taliban’s ultra-conservative Sunni interpretation of Islam labels Shiite Muslims as heretics. This characterization contributes to their vulnerability and increases their exposure to
Afghanistan International: According to a document obtained by Afghanistan International, the Taliban’s Council of Clerics in Badakhshan has offered financial rewards and security guarantees to Ismaili Muslims who convert to Sunni Islam. Sources say conversions are being enforced through threats and intimidation. The document shows that the Taliban clerics’ council in Badakhshan has drawn up