RASC News Agency: The Taliban’s Department of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Sar-e Pol province has reported the burning of a hundred musical instruments and other “illicit devices.” According to a statement released by the department on Monday, July 15, the Taliban’s morality police collected these items through extensive efforts.
Masoud Hanafi, head of the Taliban’s Department of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Sar-e Pol, stated that the burning of musical instruments was carried out to “implement the decrees and directives of the Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and enforce Quranic verses.” Previously, the Taliban had also confiscated and destroyed musical instruments in various provinces, declaring singing and listening to music forbidden.
It is noteworthy that music is not banned in other Islamic countries, and Afghanistan under Taliban rule remains the only nation where music and singing are completely prohibited. Nearly three years have passed since the Taliban seized control of the country, during which time playing and broadcasting music has been officially banned. Instrument makers, fearing the Taliban, have hidden their products, and musicians, singers, and music groups have ceased their activities.
Additionally, many musicians and singers have either left the country or gone into hiding, struggling with severe economic hardships. It is also important to note that in the early months of their rule, the Taliban ordered local media to eliminate music from their programming, an edict that was enforced through coercion.
