[WTF] Taliban law requires preachers to promote ‘virtues of jihad’

[duluxe]

Photo from Taliban parade in Patkia in August 2024.


Taliban have introduced a new law requiring religious preachers to promote the “virtues of jihad” as part of their outreach, according to a decree published in their official gazette.

The law, titled Law on Preachers, outlines the qualifications, duties and oversight of individuals responsible for religious outreach, placing their activities under tighter control.

Under the law, preachers must be Muslim and followers of the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence, the dominant Sunni tradition in Afghanistan. It also mandates that religious messaging be conducted in accordance with Hanafi doctrine.

The law defines a preacher as someone who calls people to Islam and religious teachings. It also specifies the themes preachers must address, including religious instruction, explanation of Islamic rulings and references to what the law describes as the “virtues of jihad.”

The text also identifies “jihadist struggle” as one of the methods of religious outreach, indicating that the regulation not only sets eligibility criteria but also directs the content of preaching.

Oversight of preachers has been assigned to the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, meaning preaching activities will be conducted within a formal administrative and supervisory framework rather than independently.

The law was approved last year by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and is structured in a preface, three chapters and 17 articles.

It is part of a broader effort by the Taliban since returning to power in 2021 to formalize governance through decrees and laws published in the official gazette.

The Justice Ministry has previously announced the publication of several such laws, including regulations governing social behavior.

Among them is a law on the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice, issued in 2024, which granted broad powers to enforcers to monitor public conduct, dress and movement in line with the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic law.

With the new law on preachers, Taliban have established a separate framework governing religious outreach, defining both the qualifications of preachers and the institution responsible for supervising them.

Critics say such regulations could expand ideological control over society, while Taliban describe them as measures to organize religious and social affairs.