After many months of scuffles, finally, on Thursday, June 30, the Taliban held a consultative rally (Loye Jirga) with their supporting mullahs in Kabul. On Friday, July 01, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban, stood in front of the audience by his back and gave a speech to the mullahs without removing the shawl (something like a curtain) from his face. In this meeting, he announced the manifesto of the Taliban group. The Jirga lasted for three days.
It has been 10 months and 22 days since the Taliban is running Afghanistan. Everyone anywhere who thinks of humane challenges is aware of an undeniable disaster taking place to Afghan women exclusively and to all who reside there inclusively. Oppression, despising, poverty, insecurity, and feeling of insecurity has brought society to the point of full collapse. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have fled the country, thousands have lost their jobs and many more are unable to handle and manage their basic needs of life.. Likewise, when you get out of your home to purchase food or bread in Kabul, even if happen manage it, you likely cannot eat; because of the numerous hungry people, you see in the streets.
Subject to the above, let us examine what topics were present in his speech:
The Taliban’s leader said: that they fought for Allah’s satisfaction and pleasure in which the pagans (Non-Muslims) were evicted, and as a result, the country is freed now. Their aim for coming to power is to establish Sharia Law and amend the nature of religion principles in Afghanistan. He added, that no elections will be conducted since a theological government is not concerned with people’s expectations. Furthermore, “the group will not listen to the world’s concerns”. Though he meant, they will not bring the worries of the Human Rights Organization, Council of Human Rights, United Nations, human rights activists, Human Rights Watch, women, and, the representatives of any country to the table. To show his seriousness, he expressed: “even if the country is attacked by a nuclear bomb”, the group would not do what the world wants them.
In another part of his speech, Mullah Haibatullah proceeded with the Taliban’s cabinet combination and continued: “the ministers of the Taliban government are selected from among the mullahs”. He also overwhelmingly urged on the necessity of establishing an Islamic government, Islamic judiciary, and appointing mullahs in all significant sectors. Haibatullah said: “Our war with the infidels has not ended and will continue until the Day of Judgment”. Bakhtar News Agency reported that all the participants in this meeting consonantly renewed their allegiance to the Taliban leader by raising their hands.
What do we get?
According to the writer’s perception, Mullah Haibatullah’s standpoint is, to get Afghans back to Early Islam. Early Islam is the most important source of inspiration and the ideal type of community management for radical Muslims. Early Islam is the governing period of Mohammad (the prophet of Islam) and the caliphates of four caliphs (Abubakr, Umar, Usman, and Ali). By this, neither he owns a stance to managing the country healthier, nor any development in education, employment making, freedom of speech, industry, trade, and peace spheres comes to a realization. Moreover, this viewpoint strengthens the possibility of mass injustice, and conflicts and puts the massifs aside from any chance of improvement. In order to justify the point further, a theological group’s approach is not to build the society and provide the necessities of people’s daily life, but to lay the groundwork for the Day of Judgment and the life of that world.
On the other hand, Mullah Haibatullah thinks that the Islamic beliefs of Afghans are not true. They have to relearn Islamic methods and adopt an Islamic lifestyle. The instructors of the Talabani type of Islam are themselves and their supporting mullahs. To document the notion, it must be kept in mind, that since the Taliban group has seized power, universities have lost their academic importance, instead, religious schools are being established all over the country where the Taliban-like-minded people are admitted, trained and embattled.
What was absent in the consultative rally?
Since August 2021 that the Taliban group has regained power, secondary school girls have not been allowed to attend school, nevertheless, the meeting even did not include girls’ education rights in its agenda. Meanwhile, the Taliban’s leader has not put any significance on this pivotal issue. Seemingly, they are not going to respect even the most basic rights of girls and women. Their antipathy towards women can be understood from their rough religious ideology. They decide the fate of the country in a meeting where not a single woman is present. It means their ideal society is a society in which women are illiterate, passive, humiliated, and homemakers.
Admitting diverse violations of human rights by the Taliban members across the country, human rights were not any case of discussion in this meeting. All 3,500 mullahs present at the meeting blessed and praised the words of the Taliban’s leader. Furthermore, Mullah Mujiburrahman, one of the participants has said: “Whoever opposes the Taliban government deserves to be beheaded”. This means potential readiness for widespread human rights violations not only by the Taliban but also by their supporters and sympathizers.
Another axial topic propounded in the meeting was the Taliban’s relations with the world. Since Mullah Haibatullah clarified his stance in this regard, we come to the notion that the issue of relations is the same as the exportation of terrorists to the world to kill innocent people. This claim is not an accusation, but a reality that has been seen in the antecedent of the Taliban and all radical Islamic groups.
What happens next?
The Taliban’s ideology is rooted in the majority of religious rules which flexibility sounds impossible in this mechanism. The smallest backsliding means short of fulfilling God’s pleasure. Therefore, maintaining the Islamic state is an obligation for them. Even if one day they are forced to declare drinking wine as halal, they will not shrink from their strict positions against women, political opponents, ideological opponents, and art and music. We see this even in Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the Iranian Revolution: “If we see Islam in danger, we must all perish to preserve it” (Khomeini’s book, volume 15, page 116). He has gone further and has said: In order to maintain the expediency of the system, if necessary, we will suspend prayer, make lying permissible, and drink alcohol halal. While the Taliban is far more extremist than Khomeini, the future perspective of their ruling and the fate of Afghans is clear. Considering what has been mentioned, the author is convinced that darker and hopeless days are ahead for Afghans. According to Albert Camus, man is suffering, but the Afghan man stumbles through many sufferings.
Najmuddin Hossaini studied philosophy at the University of Pune, India.
