Afghanistan: Taliban orders mannequins beheaded after heading of Virtue and Vice ministry rules they are ‘idols’
The Daily Mail, positively the worst publication in the Western world, ascribes this to the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islam.” However, once the mannequins are declared idols, there is no interpretation of Islam that would render them acceptable. The only difference here between the Taliban and other Muslim groups is that some of the others might not determine the mannequins to be idols. And who worships mannequins, anyway?
- “Taliban orders beheadings… for MANNEQUINS: Afghan clothes stores are told their dummies’ heads offend Islam,” by Chris Pleasance, MailOnline, December 31, 2021 ( The Religion of Peace):
- The Taliban has begun beheading shop mannequins in Afghanistan for offending their strict interpretation of Islam.
- Shopkeepers in the western province of Herat were told to hack the heads off their mannequins after Islamist officials ruled the statues were ‘idols’.
- Idolatry, or the worshipping of idols, is considered a grave sin in Islam which bans the worship of anyone or thing other than Allah – considered to be the only God.
- The ruling was issued this week by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Herat, which is responsible for administering the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islam.
- Initially, the ministry had ordered shops to remove the mannequins completely but shopkeepers complained, saying it would destroy what little business they have left.
- After listening to the complaints, Sheikh Aziz-u-Rahman – head of the ministry – ruled the mannequins’ heads should be cut off instead….
- Abdul Wadood Faiz Zada told Italian newspaper Repubblica: ‘The heads of the mannequins should be covered, not removed.
- ‘Each mannequin costs $100, or $80 or $70, and beheading them will be a huge financial loss.’…
- Women and girls were immediately confined to their homes for ‘safety’, while the Taliban set about largely removing them from workplaces and schools….
- Drivers should also stop their vehicles at prayer times in a ‘proper place’ so that prayers can take place, the ruling added….
