WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) says that religious freedom has steadily and significantly deteriorated in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
In its annual report released on Wednesday, August 7, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. State Department designate Afghanistan as a “Country of Particular Concern” because of its systemic, ongoing, and severe violations of religious freedom.
USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal agency that monitors and reports on religious freedom conditions around the world. It offers policy recommendations to the U.S. government to address and enhance religious freedom issues and support the protection of religious minorities worldwide.
In its report, the U.S. government watchdog stated that the Taliban has consistently suppressed and severely restricted any actions or behaviors that deviate from their strict interpretation of Islam.
“In 2023, religious freedom conditions in Afghanistan continued to deteriorate under Taliban rule,” USCIRF said.
“De facto Taliban authorities continued to enforce a strict interpretation of Shari’a, violating freedom of religion or belief for all Afghans holding a different interpretation of Islam and for members of religious minority groups,” it added.
USCIRF stated that under the Taliban rule, Shi’a Muslims continue to endure harassment, violence, and interference with their rights to worship, celebrate, and observe religious processions.
“In February 2023, a governor in Badakhshan issued a letter prohibiting marriages between Shi’a and Sunni Muslims. The Taliban additionally banned the teaching of the Shi’a Jafari school of jurisprudence, forcing private universities to remove all religious books that do not conform to the Sunni Hanafi school of jurisprudence,” the report highlighted.
The report indicates that religious minorities such as Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians face even harsher restrictions, including on their dress and appearance, and have been banned from publicly celebrating their religious holidays.
USCIRF urges the U.S. government to expand the existing Priority 2 (P-2) designation under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) to include religious minorities in Afghanistan who are at extreme risk of religious persecution, along with their family members.
It also called for imposing targeted sanctions on Taliban authorities responsible for severe violations of religious freedom, including freezing their assets and barring their entry into the United States.
The report also provides an overview of the role of the Taliban Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in enforcing the regime’s strict interpretation of Islam and Sharia, including through corporal and capital punishment.
“Throughout the year, Taliban officials conducted hundreds of public floggings and detainments across the country after finding individuals guilty of offenses deemed illicit or immoral, without due process,” the report said.
In the past two days, the regime has publicly flogged at least five people, including two women, across Afghanistan, on charges of “illicit relations,” “theft,” and “running away from home.”
The Taliban has also publicly executed at least five Afghan citizens convicted of murder, citing the Islamic concept of retributive justice known as Qisas.
The Taliban authorities have not yet commented on this report. However, the regime has previously dismissed allegations of human rights abuses or discrimination against religious minorities and women, labeling such reports as propaganda.
