For the third consecutive year, Nowruz is not being celebrated in Afghanistan. Not only is it not celebrated, but citizens who attempt to do so are also punished. Since their return to power, the Taliban have not only prevented the celebration of Nowruz but have also removed this important occasion from the official government calendar. Mazar-i-Sharif, once a bustling city with people from various parts of the country gathering for the New Year ceremonies, has now turned into a place of mourning. People from northern, central, and western provinces used to flock to Balkh before the start of the new year, eagerly awaiting the festivities. Even high-ranking government officials would attend, addressing seemingly important national issues during their speeches amidst the crowd. Foreign guests would also arrive in Mazar-i-Sharif to partake in the celebrations.
The Taliban are obstinate towards Nowruz, despite it being a native, ancient, patriotic, and deeply rooted tradition in Afghan history. The Taliban have three reasons for their opposition to Nowruz: firstly, they view Nowruz as a foreign and anti-Islamic phenomenon that needs to be devalued to discourage people from celebrating it. The Taliban claim that Nowruz is rooted in Zoroastrian culture, has no roots in Islam, and celebrating it as a day of festivity or joy is forbidden and leads to sin. The Taliban relies on the populist argument that Muslims only have two Eid celebrations, and celebrating a third one is forbidden. It is widely known that this religious claim of the Taliban, like their other claims in various fields, is weak and indefensible.
Secondly, in the environment where the Taliban emerged, grew, and gained power, the culture of celebrating Nowruz has been weak. It is a fact that Nowruz is predominantly celebrated in northern, northeastern, western, and central regions of Afghanistan. The Taliban, originating from the southern region of the country, do not feel compelled to celebrate Nowruz due to environmental circumstances. Perhaps a middle ground would be for the Taliban to abstain from celebrating Nowruz themselves rather than obstructing the vast population who have a deep historical connection with this occasion.
Thirdly, the Taliban perceive Nowruz as part of ancient Iranian culture, and since they lack a cultural connection with its heritage, they reject it. It is a reality that anti-Iranian sentiments are inherent in the Taliban’s nature, and occasionally, this manifests strongly in their confrontation with words, symbols, and cultural values. They refuse words like “university” and other similar terms because they consider them Iranian. Nowruz is no exception. While Nowruz is not exclusively Iranian in the present era, and nearly twenty countries worldwide annually celebrate it, some even declaring a day off in its honor, the United Nations has also recognized Nowruz. Moreover, even Western government officials, who do not celebrate Nowruz, send congratulatory messages to those who do.
As it appears, the Taliban’s opposition to Nowruz is influenced more by tribal customs and traditions that the Taliban have embraced in their living environment, rather than purely religious reasons. This integral aspect of the Taliban’s ideological framework involves condemning anything they disapprove of by citing dozens of verses, hadiths, and narrations to impose sanctions. They also reject what is termed as national values. This is evident in the closure of schools and universities for women and girls.
However, the Taliban’s opposition to Nowruz cannot be summarized solely by a tribal approach; prominent figures in previous governments also did not fully endorse Nowruz and its culture of celebration. Their participation in Nowruz ceremonies or allowing people to celebrate was motivated by an inability to resist the desires of a significant portion of society; otherwise, Nowruz would have met the same fate as the term “university” during that time. Therefore, administrations under Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani did not make significant efforts to enrich Nowruz celebrations. The only significant efforts were occasionally made in Balkh province, sometimes independently of coordination with the central government.
Opposition to Nowruz is not solely religious for the Taliban; many clerics also consider celebrating it as illegitimate. Their argument, like that of the Taliban, is that Muslims only have two Eids and anything beyond that is innovative and incorrect. However, the return of the Taliban to power has not marginalized these anti-Nowruz clerics. If their voices were not heard yesterday, now fear of Taliban repression causes some people to outwardly consider celebrating Nowruz as forbidden by them.
Contrary to the Taliban’s stereotypical and biased approach to Nowruz, it is now perceived more as a significant cultural and even political matter that binds different nations together. Many countries that do not have a direct connection with Nowruz are trying to establish a connection with it and claim a share of this occasion. For example, the Iranian news agency ISNA recently reported that Mongolia has requested to join countries whose Nowruz heritage is registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. This truly signifies the historical importance of Nowruz. But in Afghanistan, which considers itself an heir to Nowruz, a regime has come to power that seeks to uproot it. Nowruz is currently registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage under the names of Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Pakistan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Iraq in UNESCO. Others, like Mongolia, who have little connection to Nowruz, want to be part of this caravan. Still, Afghanistan, under Taliban rule, is heading towards a separate destiny, which is certainly bewildering.
The reason Nowruz is not celebrated as it should be in countries like Afghanistan and Iran is due to the existence of governments that are not particularly fond of it, while these two countries, along with Tajikistan, should ideally be champions in this regard. In Afghanistan, over the past twenty years, governments have not only refrained from opposing Nowruz but have also not made significant efforts towards its prosperity and enrichment. The position of the Taliban, which is clear and unwavering, is not surprising. In Iran, the Islamic Republic is in power, a government that takes more pride in Islamic Iran than in ancient, historical, and cultural Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran also values Nowruz less because the Pahlavi monarchy valued it highly; as it was perceived as antiquarian. The fact that Nowruz celebrations are not prohibited in Iran is not because the Islamic Republic approves of it greatly, but perhaps it cannot prevent it; because it is ingrained within Iranian society. Although Iran, like Afghanistan, is an Islamic country, it does not celebrate Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha to the extent of Nowruz. Regardless of one’s residence in Iran, you may not notice the arrival of those two Islamic holidays; because society is indifferent to them.
On the contrary, Tajikistan is sensitive to the issue of Nowruz, but alone, it cannot take effective steps. Iran, as a major regional power, has the potential to take the lead in this area, but it does not want to; because its foreign policy is more intertwined with religious rhetoric than Persian culture and civilization. For example, Turkey seeks to revive pan-Turkism in the region, but the Islamic Republic of Iran is not interested in Persian nationalism and has turned towards countries like Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, etc., in the Middle East, instead of strengthening relations with Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Still, if the Persian language, Nowruz, etc., were highly valued by the Islamic Republic of Iran, it would not align itself with the Taliban, with whom they have enmity.
