Following the release of a video of Mawlawi Abdul Qahir’s critical sermon at the Rawza Mosque in Balkh and the chanting of “Death to the Taliban” by worshippers, the Taliban has banned the recording of Friday sermons in Balkh.
According to sources, the Taliban’s leadership summoned the preachers of Balkh mosques on Monday and asked them to refrain from filming their sermons. This action was taken after a video of Abdul Qahir’s speech, a critic of the Taliban’s discriminatory policies, was widely shared on social media.
The Taliban tried to arrest Mawlawi Abdul Qahir, but they were met with resistance from those present in the mosque.
In the final minutes of the sermon, Taliban special forces entered the mosque with military equipment, confiscated the recording equipment, and arrested several worshippers.
Mawlawi Abdul Qahir has repeatedly criticized the Taliban regime. He once said, “Geography can be captured by a suicide bomber, but not the hearts of the people.”
Over the past four years, clerics critical of the Taliban have repeatedly faced pressure, arrest, or exile, while the Taliban continue to describe their system as a “people’s and inclusive” government.
