Taliban makes Mullah Hibatullah’s name mandatory in Friday prayer sermon

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In a new directive, the Director of the Taliban Hajj, Islamic Affairs and Endowments has ordered the preachers at the Ghazni congregational mosques that mentioning the name of Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzadah in the Friday prayer sermon is mandatory.

If the clerics defy the order, officials from the Taliban Information and Culture Directorate for Ghazni province have warned that they will face serious consequences.

During a meeting at the Hajj, Islamic Affairs and Endowment Office on Monday, May 30, Mawlawi Abdul Manan Madani, the Director of the Hajj, Islamic Affairs and Endowment Office in Ghazni province, told the congregational mosque preachers and mullahs that the Taliban had already provided the text if they delivered a sermon.

The Taliban have issued mandatory orders with threatening warnings against various segments of the population, especially women, during their nine months in power.

The Taliban’s mandate to enforce the hijab, the forced covering of female performers, the denial of girls’ access to education, the torture of journalists, and the intimidation of former soldiers are among the things that have hampered the Taliban’s international legitimacy because they are flagrant breaches of human rights in the eyes of the UN and international community, as well as Human Rights Watch. (Khaama Press)