Global Courant
The Taliban impose a strict ban on music in Kabul’s wedding halls, as it contradicts the teachings of Islam in its continued repression.
Taliban religious police will scour wedding halls in Kabul, Afghanistan, to enforce a ban on playing music they say violates Islamic rules on such celebrations, a news report said.
In an online statement, the Ministry for Virtue and the Prevention of Immorality said on Sunday that venue owners have been instructed that music may no longer be played at wedding parties, the German news agency dpa reports.
Last year, the Taliban advised business owners to avoid music at public gatherings, but the ruling was not heavily enforced.
“If there is no music at a wedding, what is the difference between a wedding ceremony and a funeral ceremony?” the manager of a banquet hall in the Afghan capital asked dpa on Monday. His name was kept secret for security reasons.
After the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, many artists and musicians fled Afghanistan and sought asylum in Western countries.
The Taliban consider music to be against the teachings of Islam. According to the group’s strict interpretation, only the human voice should produce music—and only to the glory of God.
The Taliban banned dozens of seemingly harmless activities in Afghanistan during the 1996-2001 rule, including flying kites, watching TV soap operas, having nice haircuts and playing music.
While such pastimes made a comeback after a United States-led invasion drove out the armed group, crackdowns picked up again after the return of the Taliban.
Afghan women and girls have faced the most restrictions, including bans from attending secondary schools and universities and from performing all kinds of jobs.
In April, a women-run radio station in northeastern Afghanistan was shut down because it played music during the holy month of Ramadan, according to Taliban officials. “laws and regulations of the Islamic Emirate”.
