The Ministry of Higher Education, under Taliban control, has hindered the travel of around 500 male students to Russia. Scholarship recipients for Russian universities report that they have been accepted at various academic levels, and it has taken about six months for their study visas to be issued. However, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the acting head of the Taliban Ministry of Higher Education, is now expressing concerns about the faith of these students, telling them that they are going as Muslims but will return as communists. According to these students, Nadeem has informed them that they “cannot invite others to Islam and must tell the Russians that their religion is false.” The students further claim that this ministry had recently confiscated their passports and academic documents, stating that all students must undergo an ideological examination before being granted permission to travel. They add that the ministry initially conducted belief examinations on the students but has now retracted its stance, referring the matter to Mullah Habibullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the group.
Approximately 500 students, recipients of scholarships for undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral studies in Russia, have had their passports and academic documents confiscated by the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Higher Education for over two months. Some of these students report receiving rejection responses from the universities they were accepted to. According to them, warning notices have been issued to others, stating that if they fail to attend their classes within the next few days, they will be deprived of the academic year.
These students accuse the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Higher Education of prevarication and preventing them from pursuing education. They claim that Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the acting minister of higher education for the Taliban, does not want them to go to Russia on scholarships.
Some of these students claim that this Taliban authority has told them that they lack the ability and courage to proselytize and that when they go abroad, they adopt different practices and take pictures on the beaches. They quote the head of the Taliban Ministry of Higher Education as saying that he has asked the students to go to Russia and tell them that their religion is false.
One of these students, who prefers to remain anonymous, says, “The minister [Nadeem] told us that when you go to [Russia] for education, you go as a Muslim from here and come back as a communist.” This student, quoting Nadeem, says, “Do you have the audacity to stand against the infidel Russians and say that our religion is right? Your religion [Russians] is not right and is false. Come and embrace Islam!” According to him, the students have introduced someone as their representative to talk to the Taliban official who is acceptable to the Taliban. In response to Nadeem’s questions, he said, “I am doing this, and I am a Mujahid. Nadeem responded, ‘If you do this, they will create problems for you.'”
The student further explains that in response to questions from fellow students regarding the expiration of visa dates and their expenses, he stated that he has discussed the matter with Mullah Habibullah in Kandahar. He added that if anyone has spent money to go to this scholarship, it is not related to him and he does not care.
This comes as previously, the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Higher Education had stated that after taking an ideology exam these students, would return their educational documents and passports, and they would be granted permission to travel.
Students state that the responsible individual for Russian educational scholarships at the Russian Embassy in Afghanistan had informed them some time ago that “the Ministry of Higher Education has indicated that after passing the ideology exam, passports and visas for students will be distributed to them. Therefore, the Ministry of Higher Education has requested that 100 undergraduate students in Kabul come to the Ministry. After passing the exam, they will announce when your passports will be distributed.”
Regarding the students’ concerns arising from university warnings, the Russian embassy official mentioned that this matter has been addressed with the Russian Ministry of Higher Education, and students should not worry about it. He added, “You are not blamed; the Science and Culture Center of Russia and the embassy are aware of the situation, and the information has been conveyed to higher authorities than Russian universities.”
One of the students, using the pseudonym “Ahang,” speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, reveals that out of 500 Russian educational scholarships, 300 are for undergraduate, 100 for master’s, and 100 for doctoral programs, a process that has taken six months to navigate through stages and obtain visas. Mr. Ahang adds that 50 of these scholarships were specifically allocated to Taliban fighters who, without taking the exam, have been awarded Russian scholarships. This student, whose educational documents and passport have been confiscated by the Taliban, states, “The Ministry of Higher Education, in coordination with the Russian Cultural Center, collected educational documents to take to the embassy for visa processing. The Minister promised to hold a conference and said that I would personally hand over the documents. Under this pretext, he collected the documents. The Ministry of Higher Education has taken $160 for the visa, $72 for the master’s, and $36 for the bachelor’s degree for the attestation of the documents.”
The student adds that they had obtained the visa and were supposed to travel to Russia on October 2 of this year. However, the Taliban, under the pretext of administering a belief exam, confiscated their documents and has yet to provide any satisfactory response to the students. According to them, the belief exam has already been taken, and all students have passed, but they have been unable to obtain permission to travel and retrieve their academic documents. They mention that some of the Taliban’s religious leaders at the Ministry of Higher Education have asked students verbal questions, with the main inquiries being: “What is the ruling on Qunoot supplication in prayers? Recite the funeral prayer. What are the invalidators of ablution?”
According to this student, Neda Mohammad Nadeem told students who came from provinces to go back to their provinces. He quotes Nadeem as saying, “This Saturday, he indirectly rejected us, saying we need to send people who can persuade them and invite them to Islam, and tell them that our religion is right, and their religion is false.”
Another student, who also wishes to remain anonymous, states that the Taliban have taken guarantees from them. According to them, all individuals accepted for this scholarship have submitted a first-degree relatives’ guarantee letter to the Taliban, promising to return to the country after completing their studies. Quoting the head of the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education, they add, “When we saw Minister Nadeem, he told us that the main reason you are going abroad is that you shave your beard, post pictures on Facebook, and go to the beaches. That was Nadeem’s response, and we were puzzled.”
These students emphasize that they have raised their issue with the Taliban prime minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban, and the Taliban Scholars Council, but they have not received a satisfactory response. According to them, about 30 of these students have received rejection responses from the relevant universities, and most of them have been warned that their entry into Russia will be futile.
Nevertheless, another student, who spoke with the acting head of the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education, describes their perspective: “We told them about the problems we face, the excessive expenses. In response, he said that if anyone is rejected from the universities, we equate the ground for them, and we arrange a good job opportunity for them.”
This student includes, “According to the Qandahar Darul Ifta decree, which spans eleven pages, they conveyed that you fail to meet its conditions. One of the minor requirements is to declare to the Russians that they are infidels and false, while we assert our identity as Muslims and righteous. If you muster the courage to make this declaration, we will then furnish you with the necessary documents for departure. We expressed our willingness, but the conditions for us to voice our beliefs were not established.”
Meanwhile, a source, citing Lotfullah Khairkhah, the deputy of educational affairs at the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education, reports that all scholarships for male and female students will be terminated. The source further notes that, based on a private conversation with some students, Lotfullah Khairkhah informed them about the cessation of education scholarships for both men and women, regardless of the country.
These male students are now concerned about the prohibition of their education, as the Taliban had previously prevented around 100 female students from traveling to the United Arab Emirates. Khalaf bin Ahmed Habtoor, the head of the Habtoor Company in the UAE, has expressed disappointment over the Taliban’s actions.