The Taliban destroys ‘immoral’ tools

Music, according to the Taliban, “causes moral corruption,” hence they have been burning instruments throughout Afghanistan.

On Saturday, in the western province of Herat, thousands of dollars’ worth of musical equipment was burned in a bonfire.

The Taliban, who came to power in 2021, have banned several forms of public expression, music included.

Their activities were described as “cultural genocide and musical vandalism” by Ahmad Sarmast, the founder of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music.

The Afghan people have been deprived of their right to creative expression… Dr. Sarmast, who is currently stationed in Portugal, told the BBC that the burning of musical instruments in Herat is only one little illustration of the cultural genocide going place in Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban.

The Taliban have shut down Afghanistan’s music academy.

Images online show that several musical instruments, including a guitar, a harmonium, and a tabla (a kind of drum), as well as their accompanying amplifiers and speakers, were destroyed in a fire in Herat. The city’s wedding halls had been the source of many of these confiscations.

The Vice and Virtue Ministry of the Taliban said that music would lead young people astray.

On July 19th, the Taliban held a similar burning of instruments. Photos of the fire were tweeted out by the authorities at the time, but no location was specified.

The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from the mid-1990s to 2001, during which time all types of music were prohibited from public meetings, television, and radio.

In the two decades that followed, a thriving music culture emerged, but with the Taliban’s return in August 2021, many artists were forced to leave the country. There have been rumors of violence against and prejudice against artists and singers remaining in the country.

The Taliban have enforced more harsh regulations during the last two years, all in accordance with their rigorous interpretation of Islamic law.

Women have taken the worst hit from these restrictive policies. The Taliban has mandated that women must cover everything except their eyes and be accompanied by a male relative if they are going to travel more than 45 miles (72 km).

Schools and universities have banned teenage girls and women from visiting classrooms, gyms, and parks.

The Taliban ordered the closure of all hair and beauty salons throughout the nation last week, citing their un-Islamic nature.