A recorded audio tape of Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban, has been broadcast through the “Voice of Sharia” radio in Kabul. Similar to his previous messages, the content and tone are confrontational, aggressive, and coercive. In this audio tape, he speaks against democracy and human rights, dismissing Western countries’ narratives on women’s rights and human rights as fundamentally flawed and worthless. He emphasizes the unconditional implementation of Sharia laws, as per his interpretation of religious texts. He promises that the stoning of women and other punishments will be carried out publicly in the future. Mullah Hibatullah stresses that the Taliban will not settle for merely holding power but will enforce religion and Sharia on the ground and will not heed Western protests.
Currently, Hibatullah Akhundzada is the most influential figure in Afghanistan. As the leader of the Taliban Emirate, he has seized all power and intervened in both minor and major matters. Consequently, decisions made by him and his inner circle determine the fate of millions of people living in a region known as Afghanistan, plagued by adversity. Therefore, every message and statement from the Taliban leader should be carefully scrutinized because analyzing the content of these messages greatly aids in understanding the country’s trajectory. Thus far, apart from a passport photo, no other images of him have been released. Mullah Hibatullah prefers to communicate with the public through audio or written messages, avoiding revealing his identity to the general population.`
Nevertheless, similar to previous instances, the recent message broadcasted by Mullah Hibatullah via the national radio and television, now under Taliban control, was not only unhopeful but also caused frustration and disgust among a considerable number of people. Instead of addressing the severe problems and challenges faced by the Afghan people, he targeted Western countries and emphasized that the Taliban’s war against them would continue as long as necessary. Mullah Hibatullah delivers these remarks at a time when many vital sectors in the country are dependent on Western aid, and if this assistance is cut off, significant disruptions will occur. If international aid to Afghanistan is not sustained, migration out of the country, poverty, and misery will increase, and people might even die of hunger. Mullah Hibatullah would have been justified in making these statements if the country under his leadership was self-sufficient and developed, and its people lived in prosperity and comfort, unburdened by the global community. He could have engaged in such grandiose talks if his government ministers weren’t constantly seeking international institutions’ assistance to advance development plans.
One of the troubling aspects of Mullah Hibatullah’s statements is his peculiar interpretation of religious texts, which he monopolizes along with his close scholars, considering himself as God’s representative on Earth. In a part of his message addressing Western countries, he says, “I represent God for the salvation of humanity, while you represent Satan.” It is evident that when such narrow-minded thinking, unable to acknowledge different interpretations of religion throughout history, considers its understanding of religion as the only valid and acceptable interpretation of religious texts, calamities are bound to arise if they attempt to impose “God’s law” on others. These individuals believe they serve religion, while in fact, they inflict the greatest harm upon it. Their worldview is as narrow as that of a village.
From Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada’s angry tone regarding women’s rights, it is clear that he is displeased with the emphasis placed by Western countries and institutions on securing women’s rights in Afghanistan, and he now wants to make it clear to them that the Taliban will not compromise in this regard. He goes so far as to promise that the stoning of women will soon take place publicly. For those Western countries hoping for a change from the Taliban, these words should serve as a wake-up call and a warning. These countries should confront the reality of the Taliban rather than the abstract perception they have constructed in their minds.
It is noteworthy that in this audio tape, instead of using the term “Taliban,” the group he leads, he uses the term “scholars.” In common parlance in Afghanistan, when “scholars” are mentioned in absolute terms, it usually refers to religious scholars. He stated in this speech that the “scholars” drowned the ship of democracy in Afghanistan and defeated the Westerners. There is no doubt that most religious scholars are aligned with the Taliban and provide comprehensive support to this group. However, the excessive emphasis by the Taliban leader on the “scholarly” nature of his group stems from his efforts to justify the religious function of the Taliban regime. He attempts to portray himself as the leader of religious scholars to convey to the masses that opposing his orders would constitute a sin. This is why he explicitly labels himself as the “representative of God.”
The Western world, led by the United States of America, paved the way for the Taliban’s resurgence with the signing of the Doha Agreement. Currently, it acknowledges the Taliban’s rule “de facto” and is more or less engaging with them diplomatically, even attempting to play a role in solving their economic problems. It also disregards opposing forces to this group and explicitly does not support armed opposition against the Taliban. The question arises: despite all this accommodation and appeasement by the West towards the Taliban, why is the leader of this group still angry with the Westerners and often utilizes harsh rhetoric against them? It is possible that the Taliban leader, through these displays, seeks to keep the more hardline members of his group satisfied and prevent them from seeking refuge with groups like ISIS. In other words, these statements serve more for domestic consumption than understanding Western attitudes. Within the Taliban ranks, some individuals believe that by compromising and negotiating with America and acquiescing to its terms in the Doha Agreement, they have lost their former sanctity and have essentially become instruments in the hands of America. Mullah Hibatullah, by communicating harsh messages against the West, shows the hardline members of the Taliban that he still adheres to the same path and methods as before. The joining of Taliban members to ISIS remains one of the main concerns for Taliban leaders. The core of ISIS was also formed by former members of the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban movements.
Every passing day of the Taliban’s renewed rule reinforces the fact that today’s Taliban is no different from yesterday’s. Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada’s recent message also validates the claims of those analysts who said that the ideology of the Taliban is alien to compromise and understanding the necessities of the time, and the identity of this group is inherently linked with misogyny and unrestrained hostility towards modernity. If the Taliban’s opponents were politically rational able to set aside childish and minor differences, and were capable of reaching a broad consensus against the Taliban, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada’s bluster and cohesion would provide them with the best opportunity to expand their influence among the people and pose a serious challenge to the Taliban Emirate. Alongside their numerous strokes of luck, one of the Taliban’s fortunes is that their opponents lack intelligence and opportunism.
