RASC News Agency: The Rukhshana media outlet has reported that the Taliban has established a jihadist school in Shighnan, Badakhshan, specifically targeting Ismaili children. According to the report, Sunni Taliban clerics are instructing children from the predominantly Ismaili community in Shighnan using Sunni Islamic texts. On Monday, October 28, the outlet stated that this initiative reflects the Taliban’s attempts at forcibly converting the local population, who identify as Ismailis.
Previously, the Taliban’s Department of Education in Badakhshan announced plans to construct a school named “Imam Hussein” in the district’s center. Rukhshana reported that over two hundred boys from the Ismaili community are currently enrolled in this school, where the teachers are Sunni and have been recruited from institutions outside Shighnan. The curriculum includes texts that are not customary among Ismailis.
According to the report, residents of Shighnan have claimed that the Taliban are teaching children about topics such as jihad, warfare, and extremism in this school. Prior reports have also indicated the Taliban’s efforts to convert children in Badakhshan to Sunni Islam. This development occurs as the Taliban has begun constructing jihadist schools since their takeover of the country. Recently, a senior Taliban official asserted, “Despite the establishment of jihadist schools throughout the country, the Taliban will not be defeated.”
Statistics from the Taliban indicate that the group has established over 21,000 religious schools across Afghanistan. Taliban officials consider the creation of these jihadist institutions crucial for sustaining their influence and power in the country.
