Shafaqna English- Human rights groups have repeatedly expressed alarm over the Taliban’s treatment of religious minorities, particularly Shia Hazaras, who have long faced systemic discrimination and targeted violence in Afghanistan.
Over the past five years, alongside a broad crackdown on citizens, the Taliban have continued to tighten restrictions on Shia Muslims and followers of other religious traditions in Afghanistan.
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed strict religious controls. The group has removed Shia religious content from school curricula, heavily restricted public Shia ceremonies, including annual Muharram commemorations, and carried out raids on mosques in Shia-majority provinces such as Bamiyan, Daikundi, and Herat.
People weep over the pressures being imposed on them
Two prominent Shia clerics have spoken out against ongoing religious repression in Afghanistan, saying pressure on followers of the Jaafari school of Islamic jurisprudence has intensified. People come to them in tears over the burdens the Taliban impose on them, they said.
Ayatollah Ghulam Abbas Vaezzadah Behsudi, a leading Shia religious authority in Afghanistan, spoke out against the Taliban’s treatment of Shia Muslims during his Eid prayer sermon. He said these pressures are not in the country’s interest, warning that “when pressure becomes too great, an explosion will happen whether you want it or not, and things must not be allowed to reach that point.” People come to religious scholars and weep over the pressures being imposed on them, he added.
The prominent Shia cleric added, “On one hand, they tell us not to speak in the media. Fine, we have largely stayed silent in the media for nearly two years. But what are we to do about people coming to us? People come to us as their religious reference. They come to us in tears over the injustices of the Kochs. They come to us in tears over religious pressures. What are we to do? If we do not tell you the people’s grievances, who are we to tell?”
He warned that these practices must not only be reduced but stopped entirely.
Taliban bans teaching of Jaafari jurisprudence
The Taliban have banned the teaching of Jaafari jurisprudence, which had been offered at several universities across the country, and have rejected all requests to reverse this decision.
As part of their policies of religious exclusion and suppression, the Taliban in 2026 required all students at both public and private universities to sign pledges committing them to follow the Hanafi school of jurisprudence.
The Taliban’s Minister of Higher Education had previously claimed that all people of Afghanistan follow the Hanafi school, effectively denying the existence of other religious traditions within the country.
Ayatollah Syed Mohsen Hujjat, another prominent Shia cleric in Afghanistan, indirectly referenced the pledge that the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education has been forcing students to sign. He said, “It makes no sense for universities to hand people a form asking them to write that they commit to following the Hanafi school. This is contrary to Sharia. A school of jurisprudence is not a religion; it is a path toward religion. We are committed to practicing Islam. One follows Islam through the Hanafi school, another through the Jaafari school. Both have the same destination; the paths differ. Can you tell a Hanafi person to write and sign a commitment to follow the Jaafari school? Just as he would not sign it, neither can we.”
Religious identity as a “red line” for people
Ayatollah Ghulam Abbas Vaezzadah Behsudi also said the Taliban have pressured university students to adopt the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. He described religious identity as a “red line” for people, one that is neither negotiable nor something that can be overlooked. Changing one’s religious school through force, pressure, and coercion is impossible, and such policies only deepen divisions, he stressed.
Shia scholars are protesting the intensification of religious pressures even as Taliban Supreme Leader, has not included a single Shia cleric in any of the “Councils of Scholars” he has established across Afghanistan.
Human rights groups expressed alarm over Taliban’s treatment of Shia Hazaras
Human rights groups have repeatedly expressed alarm over the Taliban’s treatment of religious minorities, particularly Shia Hazaras, who have long faced systemic discrimination and targeted violence in Afghanistan.
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development has also stated that the Taliban have banned the religious freedom and freedom of belief of Shia Muslims.
The repeated occurrences of Taliban-imposed restrictions on the Shia community, indicate a deliberate and systematic campaign of anti-Shia discrimination orchestrated by the Taliban.
Sources: Hasht e Subh Daily, Kabul Now, Atlas Press