Taliban
Afghan Taliban hold clerics’ assembly, aiming to boost rule
By Rahim Faiez — June 30, 2022
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The international cut-off of Afghanistan’s financing has deepened the country’s economic collapse and fueled its humanitarian crises.
Taliban arrest Afghan fashion model, say he ‘insulted’ Islam
By Rahim Faiez — June 8, 2022
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Ajmal Haqiqi — known for his fashion shows, YouTube clips and modeling events — appeared handcuffed in videos posted on Twitter by the Taliban intelligence agency
Taliban divisions deepen as Afghan women defy veil edict
By Kathy Gannon — May 8, 2022
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) —Hardliners and pragmatists among the Islamist rulers have avoided open confrontation but sharper restrictions, such as a recent decree that all women must be entirely covered, are deepening divisions.
Muslims mark Eid al-Fitr holiday with joy, worry
By Kathy Gannon, Mariam Fam, and Niniek Karmini — May 2, 2022
CAIRO (AP) — This year, Muslims around the world are observing Eid al-Fitr in the shadow of a surge in global food prices exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.
List Afghanistan as religious liberty violator, report urges State Department
By Adelle M. Banks — April 25, 2022
(RNS) — ‘Religious minorities faced harassment, detention, and even death due to their faith or beliefs,’ religious freedom commission says about Afghanistan.
Afghan evacuees mark first US Ramadan with gratitude, agony
By Mariam Fam and Giovanna Dell'orto — April 5, 2022
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (AP) — As they adjust to their new communities, Afghan families are celebrating Ramadan with gratitude for their safety. Yet there's also the agony of being away from loved ones who they fear are in danger under Taliban leadership.
With eye to China investment, Taliban now preserve Buddhas
By Samya Kullab — March 28, 2022
MES AYNAK, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban’s spectacular reversal illustrates the powerful allure of Afghanistan’s untapped mining sector.
Taliban hard-liners turning back the clock in Afghanistan
By Kathy Gannon — March 28, 2022
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Since the Taliban seized control of the country, the international community has been concerned they would impose the same strict laws as when they previously ruled Afghanistan.
IS claims Pakistan bombing that kills 56 at Shiite mosque
By Riaz Khan and Kathy Gannon — March 4, 2022
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Scores of victims were peppered with shrapnel, several had limbs amputated and others were injured by flying debris.
Despite mistrust, Afghan Shiites seek Taliban protection
By Lee Keath — November 16, 2021
The Taliban, Sunni hard-liners who for decades targeted the Hazaras as heretics, are now their only protection against a more brutal enemy: the Islamic State group.
Afghan girls, faraway relatives worry over dreams disrupted
By Noreen Nasir and Mariam Fam — November 4, 2021
From her home in Illinois, Asma Yawari has built a relationship with her younger cousin in Afghanistan that’s made the geographic distance between the two teenagers’ worlds seem, well, not quite so distant. They never met but have bonded over phone calls and messages — swapping family photos and language lessons, sharing hair routines and […]
Woman now thought to be Afghanistan’s last Jew flees country
By Ilan Ben Zion and Llazar Semini — October 29, 2021
JERUSALEM (AP) — For years, Zebulon Simentov branded himself as the “last Jew of Afghanistan,” the sole remnant of a centuries-old community. He charged reporters for interviews and held court in Kabul’s only remaining synagogue. He left the country last month for Istanbul after the Taliban seized power. Now it appears he was not the […]
How ethnic and religious divides in Afghanistan are contributing to violence against minorities
By Abdulkader Sinno — October 25, 2021
(The Conversation) — A scholar of Afghan affairs explains the religious affiliations of different ethnic groups in Afghanistan and why they may not share a common understanding of Islam.
Rescuers: Last Jew of Kabul making his way to Israel
By Josef Federman — October 18, 2021
Zebulon Simentov, who lived in a dilapidated synagogue in Kabul, kept kosher, prayed in Hebrew and endured decades of war, fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover.
Afghan women have a long history of taking leadership and fighting for their rights
By Helena Zeweri and Wazhmah Osman — October 11, 2021
(The Conversation) — Two Afghan women scholars write about how Afghan women’s groups have been fighting for human rights, both now and historically.
