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Restrictions on Shias during Muharram

While no deaths were reported this year, the level of repression has increased, with ceremonies barred from public spaces amid reports of violence, arrests and protests.

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31 Jul 2024

Between 7 and 17 July 2023, numerous media outlets and social media users reported restrictions relating to upcoming Muharram ceremonies across the country, mainly in Kabul and Herat, but also in Ghazni, Balkh, and Daikundi. These restrictions were mainly related to the location of the ceremonies and religious installations, severely limiting any public celebration of the event. 


Muharram holds significant importance in the Islamic calendar as it marks the beginning of the new Islamic year and is classified among the four sacred months, during which warfare is strictly forbidden. During this month, one prominent observance takes place known as ‘The Mourning of Muharram,’ which is primarily observed by Shia Muslims. This commemoration revolves around the Battle of Karbala in AD 680/AH 61, when Imam Hussain ibn Ali, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, was martyred, alongside his family members and companions, confronting forces under Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad on the orders of Yazid I.


Throughout the yearly mourning season, especially on the day of Ashura, which occurs on the 10th day of Muharram, Shia Muslims engage in various rituals widely practised in countries with significant Shia communities. These observances typically include storytelling, wearing black attire, partial fasting, street processions, and re-enactments of the Battle of Karbala.


In Daikundi, Shia residents were reportedly ordered not to hold Ashura ceremonies in public, outside mosques and shelters. In Ghazni, news outlet Etilaatroz quoted a member of the provincial Shia Ulema Council who claimed that the Taliban prohibited the procession of mourners and the installation of mourning flags on highways and in the city, and allegedly requested the celebration be limited to a specific area. Similarly, resistance-run news agency NRF News claimed that the Taliban told Muharram participants in Ghazni that they should only hold ceremonies in Shia mosques, and said that they did not have the right to visit public places. 


Meanwhile, in Balkh, the Taliban reportedly raided several Hosseinieh (Shia congregation halls), removing flags and signs celebrating the month of Muharram, disrupted telecommunication networks, and prevented the continuation of mourning ceremonies in PD1, PD2, PD3, and PD9 of Mazar-e-Sharif City on 17 July 2024. AW was unable to verify these reports.


On 10 July 2024, Amu TV shared a document – its authenticity later confirmed by a Taliban official to the BBC - showing that the Taliban has imposed restrictions on the 10 days of Muharram rituals. Restrictions included limiting the ceremonies in Kabul city to only four days, between the 7th and 10th of Muharram, including Ashura day, and requiring all ceremonies to be held behind closed doors. 


Other restrictions limited the movements of participants – stating that Shia participants should not move in groups to the specified ceremony locations – and prohibited Shia participation in media programs. Shias were likewise prohibited from inviting Sunnis to the Muharram ceremonies. According to the document, the Taliban secured a commitment from several Shia scholars to accept the stipulated restrictions.


Figure: Official Taliban letter ordering restrictions on Muharram ceremonies.

Officials were, however, keen to deny the idea that excessive restrictions had been imposed on commemorations. A statement, quoted by the Pashto channel of state-controlled Hurriyat Radio on 16 July, dismissed the claims of strict restrictions as “rumours,” stressing that there was no ban on Shia ceremonies, and noting that full security measures had been taken across the country. 


Sources on the ground in Kabul told AW that there were no Ashura or Muharram-related flags, signs or banners displayed in non-Shia areas of the city – this marked a departure from the presence of Ashura-related flags and signage throughout the city, witnessed under the Republican government.


Destruction of flags, allegations of violence and arrests in Herat


Between 11 and 21 July 2024, AW recorded numerous claims of arrests, repressions, and intimidation of Shia residents in Herat. On 11 July 2024, media and social media users shared pictures and videos showing damage and destruction of religious flags hung in public, alleging that Taliban members were responsible for the damage. These pictures and videos were shared alongside reports that Taliban members allegedly entered people’s houses in Jebrael town at 02:00 local time and tore down flags from roofs after they had been installed by Shia residents. On the same day, a video circulated claiming that the Taliban allegedly forcibly installed their own flags in the town. AW has been unable to independently verify these claims.


The figure below shows a photo of a damaged pole with a Shia flag on the ground it was allegedly taken down by Taliban members (left), and Taliban flags on a building, reportedly installed by Taliban members (right).

Figure: Muharram flags on the ground, after allegedly being damaged and taken down by Taliban members in Jabrael town [34.377434, 62.143636] (left), and Taliban flags installed in the town (right).

On 13 July 2024, a video emerged showing unrest on a street, allegedly in Herat, claiming to mark a second night when the Taliban had entered a Shia-populated area in the centre of the province to remove Ashura flags. In the video, two Taliban vehicles can be seen in the street, with a large crowd apparently blocking their way and chanting “Labaik ya Hussain” (“I am here, O Hussain,” a slogan commonly chanted during Ashura processions). The video shows the Taliban vehicles pulling away and passing the crowd, but there is no evidence of violence in the stand-off.


AW also recorded claims of arrests in Jabrael town. Etilaatroz reported that local sources claimed that two men were beaten and arrested for planting the mourning flag; another source told the outlet that local Taliban officials had banned peddlers from selling Muharram flags and black clothing. Similarly, local sources in Jebrael town told Afghanistan International that the Taliban arrested a further seven individuals on 11 July 2024, and 13 people on 16 July 2024, for resisting Taliban orders to lower mourning flags. AW could not independently verify these claims.


Additionally, on 12 July 2024, Amu TV circulated a video featuring Ahmadullah Motaqi, the Taliban’s Head of Information and Culture in Herat, in a meeting with Shia scholars. In the video, Motaqi describes the way that Ashura is commemorated in Afghanistan as “political heresy,” referring to it as something introduced by foreigners. According to Afghanistan International, Motaqi’s speech, alongside restrictions implemented in Herat, had triggered the protests among Shia residents.


Destruction of religious property and claims of violence in Kabul


Similar videos of armed Taliban members taking down and collecting Ashura flags in Kabul were shared by Afghanistan International on X, between 9 and 11 July 2024. According to the outlet, the incidents occurred in Dasht-e Barchi, a Shia-majority area in west Kabul. Some of the claims alleged that Taliban members harassed and beat Ashura participants in Kabul. On 12 July 2024, founder of Rukhshana Media Zahra Joya shared a screenshot of a private text message on X, in which a person claimed they were beaten by Taliban members in Kabul for refusing to take down a Muharram flag. AW has been unable to verify these claims.


On 14 July 2024, Amu TV shared footage of Taliban vehicles and fighters on the streets, who were allegedly present to ensure security ahead of the Muharram ceremonies in Kabul. AW geolocated the video to Kabul’s PD3, Karte-Ye-Sakhi area [34.519443, 69.140202]. The same day, Afghanistan International posted a video of a Kabul resident who claimed that Taliban members told him to lower Ashura flags, and warned him that he would be arrested if he did not comply.


AW geolocated footage, also shared by Afghanistan International on 16 July 2024, showing armed Taliban members hitting Ashura participants with batons and sticks in Kabul’s PD6, as seen in the pictures below. The outlet also shared a video statement the same day, recorded by an Ashura ceremony participant in Kabul, claiming that the Taliban beat up Ashura participants, disrupting the event.


Figure: Armed Taliban members holding sticks and beating Shiite residents including women, who gathered on the streets to celebrate Ashura [34.501919, 69.096772].

AW observed and geolocated two additional video statements shared by Afghanistan International, recorded by female Ashura participants in Kabul’s PD13 [34.501886, 69.082911] and PD6 [34.502292, 69.096698]. These statements claimed that Taliban members including beat participants and used “electric shocks” to disrupt an Ashura event on 16 July 2024, possibly indicating the use of electric taser batons. The women in the videos also claimed that Taliban members used aerial gunfire to break up the crowds, and noted that some boys had been arrested. AW was unable to verify these claims, and no footage has emerged with audible gunfire.


AW was able to verify a video, shared by Afghanistan International on 17 July, in which armed Taliban members can be seen threatening Shia civilians gathered on the streets of Kabul [34.502684, 69.095771].


In another video shared by Afghanistan International on 18 July 2024, non-uniformed men can be seen hitting Ashura participants with sticks. According to the outlet, the footage was sent by a Kabul resident who claimed the footage was recorded on 16 July 2024 in Kabul’s Gulai Mehtab Qala area. AW was unable to verify whether the men attacking Ashura participants were Taliban members.


In response to Taliban restrictions on Muharram ceremonies in Kabul, a number of Shia residents mounted a protest on 12 July 2024. AW verified footage of this protest, shared by Afghanistan International, to the Chandawal area of PD1 [34.510965, 69.171829]. 


Alleged AFF video aiming to incite Shias in Kabul against the Taliban


On 15 July 2024, pro-Taliban media, including the Deputy Director of state-controlled Radio Television Afghanistan, alongside other accounts, shared a video of a man claiming to be under the command of Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) leader Yasin Zia. The man in the video said he was a member of a group that removed Shia flags in Hazara populated areas of Kabul to provoke negative sentiments towards the Taliban among Shias.


The man in the video, who introduces himself as Parwiz, claims he was arrested by the Taliban while removing Shia flags. The man adds that as part of a six-member group, he had been conducting “destructive activities” in Kota-e Sangi, Fazil Bek, and other areas of Kabul, under the guidance of Zia. He claimed that Zia instructed the group to stop military activities and tear up Shia flags in Kabul. The man adds that he worked for two nights in PD13, PD5, and PD6 before being arrested by the Taliban on the third night in Kabul’s Qala-e Wazir area.


AW was unable to independently verify these claims. As of 23 July 2024, AFF had not commented on the allegations.


Remarks


Since returning to power, the Taliban has imposed increasing restrictions on Muharram events in Afghanistan – often framed on the grounds of security – which have served to limit participants’ freedom of movement and their ability to commemorate the period as under the previous government.


ISKP has historically targeted Muharram celebrations in Afghanistan. In August 2022, the group claimed attacks on Ashura participants in Kabul. Moreover, on 10 July 2024, pro-Taliban media Al-Mersaad reported that the General Directorate of Intelligence arrested several members of ISKP during a security operation in Kabul’s PD5. According to the outlet, the militant group was preparing for a “deadly” attack on Muharram celebrations this year.


However, despite legitimate security concerns, the level of restrictions this year went further than before, greatly reducing any public commemoration of the event, with evidence of active policing such as the removal of flags from homes and buildings, and multiple claims of arrests. While there were videos showing confrontations and low-level violence towards Ashura participants, there was not a repeat of the more violent clashes of last year’s event, when Taliban clashed with mourners in Kabul, and in Ghazni where there were fatalities among the crowd.

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