Taliban’s Ministry for Promoting Virtue Meets Afghanistan’s High Shia Commission to Discuss Religious Coordination
The Taliban’s Ministry for Promoting Virtue announced that Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, the minister of this department, met with members of Afghanistan’s High Shia Commission. The two sides discussed religious coordination and joint cooperation. According to the ministry’s spokesperson, the High Shia Commission emphasized during the meeting that Afghanistan’s Shia community aligns with the Taliban administration’s goals of promoting Islamic values.
Saifullah Khyber, the spokesperson for the Ministry for Promoting Virtue, wrote in a statement on Wednesday, March 17, that alongside members of the High Shia Commission, representatives from the Intelligence Directorate, Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs, the Council of Scholars, Kabul Municipality, and several other Taliban-related institutions were also present at the meeting.
Based on this statement, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi described close cooperation between the people and religious institutions as essential for achieving the Taliban administration’s objectives. He claimed that some hostile groups are trying to sow discord among Muslims and followers of different sects in Afghanistan.
The Minister for Promoting Virtue also urged followers of Sunni and Shia sects to coordinate with each other to strengthen what he called ‘Islamic unity.’ This meeting comes amid ongoing concerns in recent years regarding religious freedoms and equal participation of followers of different sects in decision-making structures under the Taliban’s rule. These concerns have been consistently denied by the administration but remain questioned by some social activists.
The High Shia Commission is described by some Shia organizations as part of the Taliban’s intelligence apparatus and a tool to implement the group’s policies among Shias. Many Shia figures have declared this commission to be illegitimate.
