Taliban’s religious police reportedly burned a number of musical instruments in the western province of Herat, according to a Sunday report by the state-run news agency Bakhtar.
Sheikh Aziz al-Rahman al-Muhajir, the provincial head of the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, said music led to “misguidance of the youth and the destruction of society,” according to the report.
People could be corrupted, according to the official. The Taliban banned nonreligious music the last time it ruled the country in the 1990s.
Pictures show officials gathered around a fire with musical instruments, including guitars, harmoniums and speakers. A pile of musical instruments burn as the Taliban imposes new restrictions on music
Afghanistan has a strong musical tradition, influenced by Iranian and Indian classical music.
It also has a thriving pop music scene, adding electronic instruments and dance beats to more traditional rhythms.
Both flourished in the past 20 years before the Taliban stormed to power in 2021.
But the Taliban has imposed harsh measures since seizing control of Afghanistan in August 2021 as US and NATO forces withdrew.
Students and teachers of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, which was once famous for its inclusiveness, have not returned to classes since the Taliban takeover. Many musicians have also fled the country.
Taliban’s crackdown on women’s rights
The Taliban promised a more moderate rule than that of their previous time in power in the 1990s. They had promised to allow for women’s and minority rights. But instead, they reintroduced harsh measures in line with their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia.
They have carried out public executions, banned education for girls beyond the sixth grade and also banned women from most forms of employment.
Earlier this week, the Taliban announced that all beauty salons ought to be closed because they offered services forbidden by Islam and caused economic hardship for the families of grooms during wedding festivities.
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Islam, like all religions taken to their core extremism, is incompatible with modern society.
American evangelicals would like to have a word with you. I mean fuck the Taliban they’re horrible. But they’re not all that special or unique. Nor are they representative of Islam as a whole. And even there we should be admonishing Christians as much as we seem to want to admonish islamists.
That’ll teach them, stoopid noise makin tings
Deeply un-Islamic. The history of Arab and Islamic music goes back right to the birth of the religion and the life of Muhammad himself.
Removed by mod
I agree but can you share more history or a source? I work in a school and some members of my community opt out of music for religious reasons which I think is BS and a totally extreme view. I don’t think it is in the Quran bit someone told me it is in the hadith.
Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice
Better known as the Anti-Fun Police.
But burn a Koran and they’ll hunt you down
This is the society Afghans want. They were given 20 years to build a foundation against a re-emergence of Taliban. They choose corruption and paper soldiers.
Never have a so large army been beaten to fast with so few bullets fired.
If they want to live in a religious hellhole. Let them.
I have buddies that served in Afghanistan and what I’ll share will sound shitty, but reality sometimes is simply shitty.
The country is just full of uneducated superstitious, goat herders. There isn’t real allegiance to “Afghanistan” as a country, so building a unified democracy is/was pretty much impossible.
They were training Afghan troops but would never turn their backs on them lol, they said they’d frequently try to pull shit and the concept of discipline, leadership that you need for a stable military / police simply isn’t in the culture.
People were hoping for post ww2 Germany, but Germany was a country filled with educated people with a history of order Afghanistan has just been tribes at war for decades… There was no way to make it work.
That’s not to say that Afghanistan doesn’t have good people in it that just want peace feed their family and live, but at its current state it’s not going to be anything but a theocratic hell hole.
There isn’t real allegiance to “Afghanistan” as a country, so building a unified democracy is/was pretty much impossible.
That’s the core of the matter. There is no “Afghanistan”. There are just many, many tribes. Until the tribal mindset goes away, nothing will change.
This is a problem in many countries. it’s in part a consequence of the haphazardly manner in which the border were drawn, and maybe of a lack of exposure to more than a few valleys.
The podcast Through line episode 199 and 200 covers this pretty good. Episode 199 is called Afghanistan: the center of the world.
Great listen.
I have to admit, it kind of shocks me that so few people in Afghanistan were unwilling to fight the Taliban when they knew just how bad they were/could be. People were desperate enough to try clinging to the exterior of planes when western forces were leaving, but not desperate enough to fight back. I don’t know, it’s tragic and confusing at the same time.
Sure. But burning musical instruments? That is just idiotic. What level of fear is that serving? I don’t get it.
Christians also had this for time, until they figured out how to use music for marketing Christianity.
The whole point of those monotonous songs in churches is that they’re not exciting, not titillating.
To be fair, the first Christians were instructed to pull their eyes out to prevent seeing something that leads to sinful thoughts.
Some historical quotes to get a sense of it: https://www.bible.ca/H-music.htm
Someone should really defeat those guys in a war and teach them a lesson.
We did. As soon as we left they went right back to their old ways.
Kick yo ass den we gonna come home
Idiots
Somebody’s brought a Yamaha cp80 to Afghanistan only to have it burned. I suppose this somehow helps allah
Maybe he made them do that, so he can finally fulfil his dream of leading his own big band.
(continuing the headline)… And Produce Some Sweet Album Cover Art
they’re gonna have to burn all the computers too. Is ASIO and Core Audio haram too?
Neanderthals
Nah, I think there is evidence that Neandertals appreciated the arts. These people are just jerks.
I remember ISIS banning music for their members so this isn’t a huge shock.
How easy is for an afghan citizen to flee the country? Is it a north-korea-like situation? I’m not well informed about this topic!
Few months ago on another platform, I watched a video that same
shittykind of peoplewho must be absolutely extinctat same situation just destroyed a vintage intricate musical instrument (very much heirloom—accordion/keyboard?) as if they were proudly doing right; as if it was how they, humans, are supposed to live (life without music TF to them).Just as I said long ago (I deleted it as I left the platform),
I dare, and I will never ever be born and live in an unmelodious and inharmonious world that they’re desperately creating (through their absurd malevolent passionate principles), an invibrant and soulless world that nobody who’s gratefully listened and forever enjoyed music and other wonderful things will never ever wish.
Another shitty propaganda cause they know instinctively how great does music affect everyone’s minds to realize wider and better and never worse I believe. Annihilating music is as same as burning the books and suppressing any media.
