Mediaboss Marketing

Advertisement

In May 2022, the Taliban released a 312-page manifesto titled Al Imarat al Islamiah wa Nizamuha, which translates as The Islamic Emirate and Its Nizam (nizam means administration, system, institutions, or order). The manifesto attempts to provide the Taliban with a grounding document by answering two questions: what an Islamic Emirate is, and how to run one.

The manifesto, which is essentially a how-to manual for establishing a godly state on earth, divides the path to this ultimate goal into two stages. First, the continuation of jihad as an unending endeavor, and second, the establishment of an Islamic Emirate. The manifesto is primarily concerned with the second phase. It addresses various aspects of the Talibans Sunni Hanafi interpretation of Islam, including their interpretation of an Islamic state (state and emirate are used interchangeably) and implementing Islamic laws in various aspects of state and institution building in modern times. About one-sixth of the book is about women and their place, rights, and responsibilities in a society that the movement calls Islamic.

Most interestingly, the manifesto is written not in any of the languages of Central and South Asia, where the Taliban are geographically located, but in Arabic.

Key Takeaways

Get briefed on the story of the week, and developing stories to watch across the Asia-Pacific.

Below is a brief summary of the key points of the manifesto.

Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month.

The Islamic Emirate envisioned by the Taliban is governed by divine law rather than man-made law. The leader of the Islamic Emirate will be chosen by Ahl Al-Hall wa Al-Aqd, or a council of Islamic scholars. The general public has no role or say in this process, and modern elections are obsolete because they have no precedent in Islam.

The Islamic Emirates army is first and foremost an Islamic army trained to carry out Gods will on earth. The Islamic Emirate is obliged to protect the Islamic Emirates and Muslims assets, such as peoples property, madrassas, mosques, and the Muslim communitys borders; however, jihad remains the armys primary duty and obligation.

Islamic education (madrassa education) is wahjib (mandatory) for both men and women in the Islamic Emirate. Modern education (school education), however, remains mubah (merely permitted) for both sexes. Islamic education should be given twice as much time as modern education.

The document discusses the rights and roles of women and girls at some length. In terms of education, women and girls should study subjects deemed appropriate for their gender. These include anything related to the domestic realm, such as home sciences, elderly and child care, or embroidery.

Women in the Islamic Emirate should only work in fields deemed necessary for them, such as medicine (to treat women) or education (only for girls). Women should not travel long distances without a mahram, a close male relative, nor should they take jobs or participate in educational activities that require them to travel for more than three days. Women cannot hold senior leadership positions, but they can work if they are separated from men in the workplace. Women must always wear the hijab (currently full facial coverage).

Talibanism to Define the Core of Islamism

The manifesto is the first of its kind to codify and immortalize the Sunni-Hanafi Islamist ideology of the Taliban in the liturgical language of Islam, Arabic. The choice of language elevates the Talibans writing, which is usually limited to Pashto and Persian, transcending the groups traditional and linguistic boundaries of the Af-Pak region. While the author of the manifesto, Sheikh Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the chief justice of the Taliban, justifies the use of Arabic to make referencing other Islamic texts easier, it is hard to imagine that writing in Arabic is meant for a limited regional readership.

Moreover, the author has gone to great lengths to make the manifesto as scientific-looking as possible by providing extensive references and footnotes. Besides historical references, the four main authoritative sources of references are the Quran, the Sunnah, the Ijma, and the Qiyas. According to the preface, the manifesto has been peer-reviewed by the Taliban supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and a group of other religious leaders.

The manifesto is basically a 21st century manual for erecting a puritan Islamic State/Emirate based on divine law, complete rejection of any kind of people-based government, and exemplary exclusion of women from social and political life, as seen in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Notably, however, it is not necessarily specific to Afghanistan; the document provides the necessary flexibility and also a level of abstraction to be adapted to the different cultural and geographic contexts.

This is especially alarming for large parts of Asia and southern Europe, home to large Hanafi Muslim majorities. From the Xinjiang region of China, to India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in South Asia, to Syria and Iraq in the Middle East, to Central Asia and the Caucasus stretching into Turkey and the Balkans, all face Islamist threats either from within or from the fringes of their societies.

Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month.

National or Transnational?

In the two years leading up to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the United States and the rest of the Western world made increasing efforts to portray the Taliban as an Islamo-nationalist Afghan group. This portrayal of the Taliban was in part an effort to justify U.S. troop withdrawal. Yet looking at the very nature of Afghanistans social fabric home to sizable minorities spread across national borders, including Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Turkmen, and Hazaras the reality is that the Taliban and their activities are anything but limited to Afghanistan.

In his speech on July 2, in the cleric assembly in Kabul, Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Taliban (who also claims to be the amir al-muminin, meaning the leader of the entire Muslim community worldwide), emphasized that the world is divided into Muslims and non-Muslims. In his portrayal, the Talibans struggle against the non-Muslims is a continuous one that is not going to come to a halt any time soon.

Moreover, feeling emboldened by their victory over the United States and in possession of an entire country something Taliban contemporaries such as the Islamic State, Al-Shabab, Boko Haram, and al-Qaida continue to strive for but have not yet achieved the Taliban are engaging in a game of carrots and sticks with regional powers. The group has maintained excellent relations with regional terrorist outfits, something the Taliban seek to use to their advantage as they continue to increase their bargaining power with regional states.

Since they took control of Kabul in August 2021, the Afghan Taliban have exerted pressure on the Pakistani Taliban twice by using the influence that they have over their counterparts in Pakistan. On the northern front, the Taliban have already established potential launchpads into China and the Central Asian republics by strategically continuing to host a multitude of Central Asian and Uyghur extremist groups in northern Afghanistan. These groups include spin-offs of the notorious Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, including the Katibat Imam al-Bukhari group; the Islamic Jihad Union; the Jamaat Ansarullah of Tajikistan; and, the Central Asian military wing of Hizb ut-Tahrir.

To counterbalance the leverage held by the Taliban, Islamabad has begun providing support to the Islamic States local branch in Afghanistan, while Tashkent has decided to conduct business with the Taliban and New Delhi is taking one step forward and two steps backward. Meanwhile Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow are perplexed and flabbergasted at their miscalculation, and as a result are engaging the Taliban with great caution.

Fluid Ties Between the Taliban and Islamic State in Afghanistan

While the Taliban continues to portray itself as a bulwark against the presence in Afghanistan of the Islamic State, also known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), particularly for Russians, Iranians, and Central Asian republics, the reality of Taliban-ISKP ties is murkier and more opportunistic than it is antagonistic. Although the Taliban label targeted or extrajudicial killings as part of their fight against the ISKP, when faced with a common enemy, an external threat, or Shia uprising, the Taliban and the ISKP are expected to join forces. The Taliban and ISKP have worked together before in Kabul and parts of northern Afghanistan against the former Afghan government, which was backed by the United States.

Recent reports and videos of Taliban fighters in northern Afghanistan going after a Shia minority group that helped the Talibans only Shia-Hazara rebel commander, Mawlavi Mahdi, show that animosity toward the Shia community is a common factor among the Taliban and the ISKP.

Furthermore, there is a history of informal communication between the Islamic State and the Taliban, with IS requesting that the Taliban join forces with them in 2015. In 2021, when the Taliban took control of Kabul city, they released more than 4,000 ISKP members, as most of them were disgruntled Taliban members.

While the Taliban and IS/ISKP follow different schools of Islamic jurisprudence the Taliban being Hanafi and the ISKP being Salafi Muslims in terms of grand strategy, both envision resurrecting an Islamic empire ruled by either an Islamic Emir or a Caliph. But, unlike IS, the Taliban have a whole geography as well as political, economic, and military means to prepare for their vision, leaving Afghanistan in many ways worse off 20 years after the attempt at Western liberal nation-building.

Continue reading here:
Do the Taliban Have Transnational Ambitions? The Diplomat - The Diplomat

(Photo : Zahid Mohammadi)

As a country, Afghanistan has one of the most complex stories. The Afghan people have been deeply affected by religion, politics and war. Although many have suffered incredible pain and loss, they continue to persevere in search of their dreams - hopeful that they can help to give the next generation a more fruitful and peaceful life.

For Zahid Mohammadi, Afghanistan is a place that he will always consider home. However, after years of hard work and building his digital marketing business from scratch, he was forced to move it to a place where it could not only survive, but thrive.

During his childhood, Mohammadi's family was barely scraping by. He recognized early on that education was his best hope for a bright future, and so he poured all of his efforts into his studies. When he received a scholarship to attend the University of Pune, he decided to complete his BA in Political Science. It was an opportunity that he could not afford to waste.

At the same time, with nobody supporting him during his studies, it was imperative for him to work as well. He was a very busy man but, as luck would have it, the position that he found actually sparked his own entrepreneurial spirit. Working with SP Technologies opened Zahid's mind to the concept of B2B, as it was something not really present in Afghanistan.

As he continued his studies, he felt it was important to gain broader knowledge of the B2B market. He was able to work with both Vsynergize and SM Technomine before graduating, diversifying his skills and networking with others in the industry. His time in India brought incredible growth and helped to set his sights clearly on his goals.

Upon returning to Afghanistan, Mohammadi had focus, determination and passion. On his own dime, he began to lay the groundwork of his business - Pivotal B2B. As one of the very first B2B companies in the country, they worked online to serve international media and technology customers. Thanks to his efforts and digital marketing expertise, Pivotal B2B generated over 900% of the initial capital invested in the first year alone.

Of course, the life of an entrepreneur is full of highs and lows, and the Covid-19 pandemic was a definite low for Zahid. Although the business already operated in the digital world with customers, moving his employees online and shifting all operations online was a huge challenge. The first three months were by far the most difficult but, thanks to Mohammadi's strong leadership and efficient communication, eventually things started to flow once again.

Business was busier than ever, and Zahid was finally able to reflect on his success. He was so proud to be in a position to give opportunity to other Afghan people - in particular for the youth. Furthermore, his digital media company was helping to boost the tech industry within the country, and to put Afghans in the global market by working online for top media and software companies. However, his times of challenge were not over yet.

Sadly, in August 2021, the circumstances in Afghanistan took a dramatic turn for the worst. After announcing plans at the end of 2020 to scale down their military presence, the US began to withdraw their troops in May 2021. As was expected, the Taliban saw this window of opportunity, and began to take action with what is now known as the 2021 Taliban Offensive. According to The New York Times, "In a lightning offensive, the Taliban swallowed dozens of cities in a matter of days." By August 15th, they had taken the capital city of Kabul, completely overthrowing the Afghan government.

With the Taliban quickly implementing massive societal and legal changes, operating as an Afghan business was no longer an option for Pivotal B2B Media. Being the smart business man that he is, Mohammadi decided to move the operations of his company to the US, where Pivotal B2B is now headquartered, with an active branch in Kabul, Afghanistan.

He was quickly reassured that this was the right move, as his knowledge and understanding of the industry started to grow immediately. Since relocating to the US, the company has successfully launched several new products, including their Demand Generation for Technology and Content Syndication. By having access to, and implementing, advanced marketing technologies they have seen a steady and significant increase in revenue. Pivotal is a new model of modern media company, with a data-driven approach and marketing services that accelerate purchasing and deepen engagement. They have worked with highly esteemed tech and media companies in both the US and Europe, such as Freshworks, Nextiva, Argyle Executive Forum, Microsoft, and Oracle.

In closing, Mohammadi explains that: "We're here to assist tech companies in locating their target audience, publishing their content, and creating efficient lead generation programs that can boost their RIO. Our top-funnel initiatives are tailored in a way that can help our tech partners raise brand recognition, build interest, and target the types of prospects who will eventually fill their sales pipeline. We evaluate our leads for quality and back them up with a quick replacement policy. To us, it's not just work - we take pride in the solutions we deliver."

2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Tags:

Visit link:
The Story Of Zahid Mohammadi: A Digital Marketing Expert Who Was Forced To Take His Business Out Of Afghanistan - Tech Times

Another deadly traffic accident occurred on the Jawzjan-Balkh highway when a car overturned in the Jawzjan province of northern Afghanistan, killing one person and injuring two more, according to local health officials.

According to the Director of the public relations office of Jawzjan provincial administration, Hamidullah Darzabi, this incident took place along the Jawzjan-Balkh highway in the Hadbakhshi region, where a Corolla-type car overturned and caused injuries and fatality.

The official stated that the car was traveling from Faryab to Balkh when the accident occurred.

According to the health officials, the injured were taken to the nearest hospital, Jawzjan Provincial Hospital, and the condition of one of the injured is said to be critical.

In a recent accident In Zabul province, in southern Afghanistan, flooding caused a passenger bus to tip over, resulting in the deaths of four persons and the injuries of forty-eight more.

The health officials said that three women and one man lost their lives while women and children were no exceptions in getting wounded as a result of the fatal accident.

In Afghanistan, drivers negligence has caused a significant number of fatalities, and in recent months, the number of traffic accidents involving driver error has increased.

In Afghanistan, drivers negligence has caused a significant number of fatalities, and in recent months, the number of traffic accidents involving driver error has increased.

See the rest here:
Vehicle Topples Over in Northern Afghanistan, Leaving Three Killed & Injured - The Khaama Press News Agency - The Khaama Press News Agency

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report, Afghanistan has the third-largest refugee population and the regions largest displaced population after the Taliban took control, with 2.7 million refugees scattered across 98 countries.

Following Syrian and Venezuelan refugees, Afghanistan has the largest displaced population, displaced internally or forced across the border, per UNHCRs report.

Pakistan and Iran continue to shelter more than 1.3 million and 780,000 registered Afghan refugees, respectively and are host to the majority of Afghan refugees.

The UNHCR report quoted UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi saying, Afghanistans displacement crisis is one of the largest and most protracted in UNHCRs seven-decade history. Were now seeing a third generation of Afghan children born in exile.

This report indicates that in the year 2021 alone, 108,000 Afghans fled to Pakistan, 59,000 to Europe, 27,000 to Iran, and 6,000 fled to Asia and the Pacific.

A minimum of 24 million Afghans require humanitarian relief as a result of hunger, the countrys economic meltdown, natural disasters including floods, earthquakes, droughts and famine, a lack of development aid, and the brutally cold winters.

Afghans and their host communities capacity for resilience is being tested to the breaking point as the humanitarian crisis persists.

Read more here:
With 'Third Generation of Afghan Children Born in Exile'; Afghanistan Becomes the Third-Largest Displaced Population - The Khaama Press News Agency -...

According to local Taliban officials in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, a father tortured and killed his six-year-old child.

The Talibans director of the Information and Culture Department in Helmand province, Hafiz Rashid Helmandi, stated that the child succumbed on Tuesday, July 26, under the fathers torture in the village of Qala Naw in the Khanashin district.

Taliban officials claimed that Siddiqullah, a man, occasionally tortured his children and that he had also allegedly killed another of his sons.

The offender has been detained and will be charged with the crime and put on trial, he continued.

With a significant increase in family violence and personal enmity, reports of domestic violence leading to homicides have soared in number.

Only about a month ago, a man killed nine members of his family including his pregnant wife and four children, in southwestern Afghanistan.

In addition, according to provincial Taliban officials in the province of Faryab, in northern Afghanistan, recently, a pregnant woman was fatally stabbed by her husband in Maimana.

Moreover, a man in the same province of Helmand used a knife to behead both his wife and their three-month-old infant.

See original here:
Child, 6, Tortured to Death by Father in Southern Afghanistan - The Khaama Press News Agency - The Khaama Press News Agency