The Taliban justice minister detained about 20 members of the country’s Shia community in western Kabul for between two and five days over the display of Muharram flags, according to local sources, in the latest reported restrictions on Shia religious observances.
Sources told Amu on Thursday that Abdul Hakim Sharaee, the Taliban’s justice minister, ordered the detention of residents involved in organizing Muharram commemorations, including caretakers of tekyehs (Shia congregation halls), local residents and members of mosque committees.
All of those detained were released on Wednesday, the sources said.
According to the sources, Sharaee also instructed residents in western Kabul not to display Muharram flags or use loudspeakers on the rooftops of homes, mosques and tekyehs.
Several members of the Shia community contacted Taliban authorities, including officials from the Kabul provincial administration, seeking to reverse the restrictions, but had received no response, the sources said.
One resident told Amu that community representatives had previously reached an understanding with a Taliban committee overseeing Muharram ceremonies that flags could be raised on mosques but not in public spaces such as streets and alleys.
The agreement was later changed, the source said, when the justice minister banned the display of flags on mosques as well as the use of loudspeakers.
“As a result, the Taliban detained at least 20 people, including tekyeh administrators, local residents and members of mosque councils,” the source said. “Community elders were told that either the flags had to be removed or those detained would remain in custody.”
Following the meeting, community leaders asked residents to remove the flags, leading to the detainees’ release, according to the source.
Sources said the restrictions were introduced at the initiative of the Taliban justice minister and that other Taliban institutions have not publicly opposed the decision.
The reported detentions come amid increasing restrictions on Muharram and Ashura commemorations since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. In recent years, Taliban authorities have tightened controls over Shia religious ceremonies, including limits on public processions, religious symbols and security arrangements.
Another source told Amu that Taliban also instructed Shia communities to observe Ashura on Friday rather than Thursday, when it was marked in Iran and several other countries this year.
Taliban have not publicly commented on the reported detentions or the restrictions on Muharram observances.
