The Taliban have imposed a strict ban on music in Kabul’s wedding halls, saying it contradicts Islamic teachings in the ongoing crackdown.
Taliban religious police will raid wedding halls in Kabul, Afghanistan, to ban the playing of music they say is against Islamic rules about such celebrations, a news report said.
In an online statement, the Ministry for Propaganda and Vice Prevention said on Sunday that hall owners had been instructed that no more music would be allowed at wedding parties, German press agency dpa reported.
Last year, the Taliban advised business owners to avoid music at public gatherings, but the ruling was not widely enforced.
“If there’s no music at a wedding, what’s the difference between a wedding and a funeral?” the manager of a festival hall in the Afghan capital asked dpa on Monday. His name has been withheld for security reasons.
After the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, many artists and musicians fled Afghanistan and sought refuge in Western countries.
The Taliban consider music to be against the teachings of Islam. According to the group’s strict interpretation, only human voices should make music – and only praise to God.
The Taliban outlawed dozens of seemingly innocuous activities in Afghanistan during its 1996-2001 rule, including flying kites, watching TV soap operas, getting fancy haircuts and playing music.
While such entertainment made a comeback after the U.S.-led invasion ousted the armed group, the crackdown has escalated since the Taliban returned to power.
Afghan women and girls face the most restrictions, including restrictions on their admission to high schools and universities, as well as various types of employment.
In April, a women-run radio station in northeastern Afghanistan was shut down because, according to Taliban officials, it was playing music during the holy month of Ramadan, which Moezuddin Ahmadi, director of information and culture in Badakhshan province, said violated it. “Laws and Regulations of the Islamic Emirates”.
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