KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Dr. Mohammad bin Abdukarim Al Issa, the Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWL), says that the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic laws is against their own stated principles.
In an article published by Euronews on Wednesday, April 3, the head of MWL stated that the Taliban’s authority hinges on their purported adherence to Islamic law. However, he emphasized that it is based on a “fundamentally flawed, selective, and extreme” interpretation of Islamic text.
Dr. Mohammad discussed the recent gathering of Islamic scholars in Mecca, held last week, highlighting that hundreds of the world’s leading Muslim scholars condemned any practices that do not accurately represent true Islam.
“This includes the Taliban’s ongoing mistreatment of women.”
“The Taliban have long defended their gender restrictions like preventing women from accessing education, through Islam. However, hundreds of leading Islamic leaders forcefully rebutting such claims radically undermines their justifications, including the Taliban’s ‘inclusive Islamic Emirate’,” he wrote.
Following the takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban attempted to project a more moderate image to gain international support. However, in the weeks since, the regime has enforced the same strict interpretation of Islamic law as during their rule in the late 1990s.
The Taliban’s stringent laws and policies have specifically targeted women and girls in the country, reinstating one of the most rigid gender discrimination policies in the world. Women in Afghanistan can no longer work in most sectors and require a male guardian for long-distance travel, while girls have been barred from returning to secondary school.
Over the past years, the majority of the world, including Islamic nations and organizations, has condemned the Taliban’s misogynistic policies, calling on the regime to abide by international laws and uphold the fundamental rights of women.
The Taliban, however, argue that their policies and practices are rooted in Islamic Sharia law and Afghan traditions, claiming that human rights and equality are Western concepts that clash with Islamic principles.
The head of the world’s largest Islamic NGO emphasizes that Islam not only describes women as equal to men but also condemns the discrimination against women that was once rampant in Arabia.
“In the Qur’an, God describes human beings as rational, and nowhere in the Islamic tradition is the capacity for reason gendered,” he wrote.
“One of the reasons the Qur’an calls on ‘believing men and believing women’ is to make clear that men and women have the same fundamental moral standing, the same essential moral rights, and the same basic moral responsibilities,” he added.
He further wrote that while the Taliban is already isolated on the international stage, they confront neighbors like Pakistan and now face a lack of confidence from the Muslim world. “This is why the Taliban must realign with the broader principles of Islam to avoid further isolation as extremists within the Islamic community.”
