1.2. Implementation of sharia

Table of contents

1.2.1. Religious freedom

The Taliban is a Sunni Islamic movement that adheres to the Hanafi School of Jurisprudence143 and the Deobandi school of thought.144 They follow an ‘ultra-conservative’ interpretation of Sunni Islam.145 During the insurgency after 2001, a main aim of the Taliban’s armed struggle was to establish ‘a true Islamic system’ in Afghanistan,146 and amid their takeover in August 2021, they declared that sharia would serve as the legal system in the country.147 In this context, the Taliban, as the de facto state, do not see their main function as guarding individual civil rights, but rather as a guiding body148 existing to ensure that the people follow sharia.149 Only a limited number of edicts and decrees issued by the de facto authorities have ‘ostensibly’ aimed at protecting personal rights.150

The de facto authorities impose their religious ideology on the general population through numerous restrictions.151 Although Shia or Sufi practices have not been explicitly prohibited,152 celebrations of some holy days of the Shia community have been restricted.153 Some religious and cultural practices have moreover been restricted,154 including non-Islamic celebrations such as the Persian new year (Nowruz).155 Restrictions also regulate the behaviour and appearance of the population,156 including a prohibition of wearing non-Islamic symbols such as crucifixes,157 and obligations to pray and follow Islamic dress codes.158 The most comprehensive set of restrictions are included in the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Law (colloquially referred to as the ‘Morality law’159) published on 31 July 2024.160 The MPVPV is the main body policing people’s private lives and compliance.161 More information is available in section 1.2.7. Enforcement of selected restrictions on personal freedoms.

The ‘Morality law’ is based on the Hanafi school of thought, which effectively excludes other schools of Islam and disregards ‘beliefs and practices of other Muslim groups, including Shias, Ismailis, Salafis and Sufis’, as noted by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan.162 More information is available in section 4.8. Ethnic and religious groups.

According to Human Rights Watch, the de facto authorities ‘view anyone who has left Islam as having committed apostasy’,163 which is punishable by death.164 Human Rights Watch further reported on individuals suspected of converting from Islam facing ‘threats of violence, forced conversion, and imprisonment’. Such religious minorities, including Christians, live ‘in constant fear of being disclosed’ and operate in secret, without possibilities to gather, worship or openly express their beliefs.165 Most Afghan Christians are reportedly converts from Islam, which makes it impossible for them to openly practice their faith, as turning away from Islam is punishable by death.166 According to the human rights campaign organisation Humanists International, ‘very few incidents are recorded’ in relation to non-believers and apostates in Afghanistan, which the organisation believes is because converts and dissenters from Islam do not speak out. Criticising, abandoning or denouncing Islam is a ‘taboo’, even among many ‘who adhere to broadly democratic values’.167 The UN Secretary-General reported on arbitrary arrests of individuals being accused of promoting atheism or other religions than Islam.168

Blasphemy is punishable by death according to Hanafi jurisprudence, and ‘may include anti-Islamic writings or speech’ as reported by the United States Department of State (USDOS).169 There have been reported cases of individuals being arrested on accusations of blasphemy.170 In 2023, Islamic scholar and activist Rasool Parsi was sentenced to 16-month imprisonment for ‘blasphemy’171 and propagandising against the government, after having criticised the Taliban on social media.172 Although Parsi has served his sentence no updates have indicated his release.173 In June 2025, an individual was sentenced to death in eastern Paktika Province for alleged blasphemy, reportedly after making comments on the value of modern education.174 According to Amu TV, the man was a high school teacher, and was accused of having insulted the Prophet Muhammad, while colleagues and acquaintances claimed that personal enmities were behind the accusations.175 United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported that the man’s death sentence had been reduced to a two-year imprisonment but pended a de facto Supreme Court hearing.176 Kabul Now reported on an individual being flogged with 39 lashes and sentenced to imprisonment in Paktika Province in January 2025 for ‘insulting religious rituals and Islamic values’.177

  • 143

    Lombardi, C. and March, A., Afghan Taliban Views on Legitimate Islamic Governance, USIP, February 2022, url

  • 144

    Rana, S. and Ganguly, S., Taliban’s religious ideology – Deobandi Islam – has roots in colonial India, The Conversation, 25 August 2021, url

  • 145

    HRW, Religious Freedom in Afghanistan: Three Years After the Taliban Takeover, 20 March 2025, url; Britannica, Taliban, Definition, History & Facts, 25 August 2025, url

  • 146

    Lombardi, C. and March, A., Afghan Taliban Views on Legitimate Islamic Governance, USIP, February 2022, url

  • 147

    Rahimi, H., What the Taliban may be getting wrong about Islamic governance, Al Jazeera, 24 August 2021, url; WSJ, Taliban Commander Who Launched Bombings in Kabul Is Now a Police Chief in Charge of Security, 20 October 2021, url; CNN, Taliban's religious police instructed to be more moderate, 12 October 2021, url

  • 148

    Rahimi, H., online interview 8–9 June 2023, and email communication, 4 October 2023

  • 149

    Rahimi, H., Remaking of Afghanistan: How the Taliban are Changing Afghanistan’s Laws and Legal Institutions, ISAS, 26 July 2022, url; Rahimi, H., online interview 8–9 June 2023, and email communication, 4 October 2023; Ahmad, J., The Taliban’s religious roadmap for Afghanistan, MEI, 26 January 2022, url; Butt, J., A Taleban Theory of State: A review of the Chief Justice’s book of jurisprudence, AAN, 3 September 2023, url

  • 150

    UN Human Rights Council, The situation of human rights in Afghanistan, 5 September 2025, url, para. 10

  • 151

    HRW, Religious Freedom in Afghanistan: Three Years After the Taliban Takeover, 20 March 2025, url; Savi, M. et al., Changing social norms around age of marriage in Afghanistan, Data on repression and resistance under the Taliban, ODI, February 2024, url, p. 10

  • 152

    HRW, Religious Freedom in Afghanistan: Three Years After the Taliban Takeover, 20 March 2025, url

  • 153

    Kabul Now, Taliban Impose Restrictions as Shias Begin to Observe Muharram, 7 July 2024, url; Sweden, Swedish Migration Agency, Afghanistan. Restriktioner och begränsningar av personlig frihet under talibanstyret, 16 April 2024, url, p. 25

  • 154

    Bennet, R., UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, in: USCIRF [YouTube], Hearing on Religious Freedom Conditions in Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan, 7 April 2025, url, 11:08–11:15

  • 155

    Shirzay, M., Standing in Solidarity: Addressing Challenges Facing Female Education in Afghanistan at the Start of the New Academic Year, RWI, 2 April 2024, url

  • 156

    ACAPS, Afghanistan, Taliban directives and decrees affecting human rights and humanitarian actors, 21 April 2023, url, p. 1

  • 157

    Afghanistan, de facto authorities, The Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Law [unofficial translation by the AAN], August 2024, url, art. 22; UN Human Rights Council, Study of the so-called law on the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice, 12 March 2025, url, para. 64

  • 158

    Afghanistan, de facto authorities, The Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Law [unofficial translation by the AAN], August 2024, url, arts. 13, 14, 22

  • 159

    USCIRF, Four Years after the Taliban’s Takeover, “Morality Law” Imposes Harsh Religious Freedom Restrictions, 15 August 2025, url

  • 160

    Afghanistan, de facto authorities, The Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Law [unofficial translation by the AAN], August 2024, url

  • 161

    Clark, K., Co-director and Senior Analyst at the AAN, USCIRF [YouTube], Hearing on Religious Freedom Conditions in Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan, 7 April 2025, url, 1:09:00–1:09:36

  • 162

    UN Human Rights Council, Study of the so-called law on the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice, 12 March 2025, url, para. 31

  • 163

    HRW, Religious Freedom in Afghanistan: Three Years After the Taliban Takeover, 20 March 2025, url

  • 164

    HRW, Religious Freedom in Afghanistan: Three Years After the Taliban Takeover, 20 March 2025, url; Open Doors, Afghanistan, 2025, url; Kerr Chiovenda, M., email, 29 November 2025

  • 165

    HRW, Religious Freedom in Afghanistan: Three Years After the Taliban Takeover, 20 March 2025, url

  • 166

    Kerr Chiovenda, M., email, 29 November 2025; Open Doors, Afghanistan, 2025, url

  • 167

    Humanists International, The Freedom of Thought Report, Afghanistan, 31 October 2024, url

  • 168

    UN General Assembly and UN Security Council, The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, 5 September 2025, url, para. 36

  • 169

    USDOS, 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Afghanistan, 15 May 2023, url

  • 170

    HRW, Taliban Expand Civil Society Crackdown, 29 March 2023, url; Kabul Now, Taliban Arrest Man in Balkh Over Blasphemy as Morality Crackdown Grows, 11 August 2025, url

  • 171

    Afghanistan International, Taliban Sentences Afghan University Professor To 16 Months In Prison in Kabul, 30 October 2023, url; Shafaqna, Taliban court sentenced a university professor to 16 months in prison, 2 November 2023, url

  • 172

    HRW, Taliban Expand Civil Society Crackdown, 29 March 2023, url

  • 173

    Pen America, Rasul Abdi Parsi, 2025, url

  • 174

    UNAMA, Update on the human rights situation in Afghanistan: July-September 2025, 28 October 2025, url, p. 6; Amu TV, Afghanistan: Paktika teacher sentenced to death over alleged blasphemy, sources say, 17 July 2025, url

  • 175

    Amu TV, Afghanistan: Paktika teacher sentenced to death over alleged blasphemy, sources say, 17 July 2025, url

  • 176

    UNAMA, Update on the human rights situation in Afghanistan: July-September 2025, 28 October 2025, url, p. 6

  • 177

    Kabul Now, Taliban Publicly Flog Four Individuals on Charges of Sodomy and Blasphemy, 22 January 2025, url