Taliban’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has called on Muslim nations worldwide to “take inspiration from the Taliban’s system” and establish what he describes as “Sharia-based systems” in their own nations.
In a recent interview with a UK-based Islamic news organization, Mujahid dismissed the Taliban’s critics as ignorant, claiming that those who label the group as “oppressors and tyrants” lack a proper understanding of religion. “Muslims must first learn their religion,” Mujahid argued. “Once they understand, they will recognize the Islamic Emirate [Taliban] and no longer call us oppressors or tyrants.”
However, human rights defenders have pushed back against Mujahid’s remarks, accusing the Taliban of using religion to justify what they describe as three years of atrocities since the group’s takeover of Afghanistan. “The Taliban are trying to justify their recent three years of crimes under the name of implementing Sharia,” said Maryam Maroof Arwin, a human rights activist. Critics have also questioned where Islam endorses the Taliban’s strict policies, particularly those banning women and girls from work and education. “Knowledge is obligatory for both men and women,” one Kabul resident noted, challenging the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic principles.
Mujahid’s call for other Islamic countries to adopt a system similar to the Taliban’s comes despite the group’s lack of international recognition. Three years after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, no country has formally recognized its government. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other Islamic nations have consistently condemned the Taliban’s harsh restrictions on women and girls, as well as the group’s efforts to justify these measures on religious grounds.
“The Taliban are seeking to expand conflict and insecurity under the pretext of religion beyond Afghanistan’s borders and to pressure Islamic countries that have not recognized the group’s self-proclaimed government,” Arwin added.
While the Taliban urges other nations to follow its model, it continues to face calls from the international community, including Islamic countries, to form an inclusive government and lift its bans on female education and employment. The Taliban, however, has dismissed these calls as interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
