According to an 8 September 1997 dispatch from Associated Press (AP), Taliban soldiers patrol the streets at prayer times in areas they control "to make sure men are in the mosques." A 13 June 1997 AP dispatch also states that the Taliban force men to pray in mosques. A 25 May 1997 article in the New York Times states that "in areas they control, they [the Taliban] have imposed a severe version of Islam that bars women from working, bans alcohol and most light entertainment and forces men to pray in mosques." According to an 18 April 1997 TASS dispatch, the Taliban practise religious coercion against Shi'a (Shiite) Muslims, as outlined in the following excerpt from the dispatch:

The leadership of Afghanistan's Taliban movement is threatening the Shiites, who are a minority in the country, by demanding from them to strictly abide by Islamic laws, as interpreted by Taliban, although the latter belong to another branch of Islam.

According to reports received here [Abu Dhabi] today, Mulla Abdel Wahid, the commander of Taliban armed formations in central areas of the country, has voiced threats to the Shiites. Wakhid's [sic] detachments are confronted by armed units of the Shiites under the leadership of Karim Khalili, one of the leaders of the anti-Taliban coalition.

"The Islamic law is common to all and all Afghans must obey it. The Shiites should obey it, otherwise they will be made to do so by force," Abdel Wahid noted.

The Shiites and Sunnites [Sunni] are followers of two main branches of Islam. There are about two million Shiites living in Afghanistan. Religious persecution in Afghanistan is evoking indignation and anger in neighbouring Iran, where the Shiites constitute a majority.

The dispatch adds that the leader of the Taliban has proclaimed himself the leader of all the world's Muslims (ibid.).

According to an article in the December 1996 issue of The Middle East magazine, in parts of Afghanistan under Taliban rule "the Muslim duty to pray five times a day must also [be] fulfilled, by law." The article adds that the penalty for various violations of religious law, including missing prayers, if a first offence, is

a course of education for the 'wayward', which is intended to put them back on the 'straight and narrow'. However, if the guidance proves inefficient, further offences are punished by the imposition of fines or lashes, commented [Taliban representative] Naqib Ahmad Deubandi. But people who live under the Taliban regime tell a different story. There is, they say, little tolerance and enforcement of the laws is severe. (p. 6)

By way of example, the article reports an account of a man who was caught listening to music, an activity considered by the Taliban to be un-Islamic. He was beaten, tied up, and publicly displayed with his tape recorder hanging around his neck as a warning to others (ibid.).

For more information on the Taliban and Islam, please see Response to Information Request AFG25751.E of 23 December 1996.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Associated Press (AP). 8 September 1997. Anthony Shadid. "Taliban Army Says It Captured Town." (NEXIS)

_____. 13 June 1997. Zaheeruddin Abdullah. "Blistering Rocket Duel on Outskirts of Strategic City." (NEXIS)

The Middle East [London]. December 1996. No. 262. Peter Willems. "Afghanistan: War Without End?"

The New York Times. 25 May 1997. "Afghan North, Last Holdout, Falls to Army of Taliban." (NEXIS)

TASS. 18 April 1997. "Taliban Policy Threatens Afghanistan's Religious Minorities." (NEXIS)

The following information was provided in a 19 October 1997 telephone interview with the Director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He lived in Afghanistan from 1964-1974 where he worked as Director of the Fulbright Foundation. He travels regularly to Afghanistan and is a consultant to the UN and to the US State Department on issues relating to Afghanistan.

Sample one of the attachment shows a crest with a wreath surrounding two letters; it is from the Nur Muhammad Taraki/Hafizullah Amin period from April 1978 to 1987, the first communist government. The star at the top of the wreath indicates a socialist/ communist connection. The wreath is ornamental, but the two letters in the middle form the word "Khalq," which means "masses." Khalq also refers to the Khalq (Masses) faction of the communist party, as opposed to the Parcham (Banner) faction, led by Babrak Karmal.

Sample two of the attachment shows a crest with an eagle (uqaab) from the Sardar Muhammad Daud Khan period from July 1973 to April 1978. It is a symbol of the national republic and indicates that the monarchy has been replaced by a democracy . The body of the eagle contains the suggestion of the mihrab, an Islamic symbol, which symbolizes the connection to the old traditions.

Sample three of the attachment shows a crest with a rising sun from the Najibullah period from 1987 to April 1992. Below the sun is a mihrab, which symbolizes a connection to the past, a return to the past that the Khalq régime interrupted.

The Director stated that there is no significance to the different scripts used in the crests: different styles of scripts are done in calligraphy in each. The scripts have nothing to do with Islam or the old traditions.

Corroboration, and information on which governmental departments would have used these crests, could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska. 19 October 1997. Telephone interview.

One oral source could not provide information on the requested subjects.

Unsuccessful attempts to contact two other oral sources.