Talibanization

The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (February 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

The term Talibanization (or Talibanisation) refers to a type of

• usually strict regulation and segregation of women, including forbidding of most employment or schooling for women and girls;
• the restriction or banning of Western culture and other activities generally tolerated by other Muslims such as music, sports, general entertainment (films, television, arts, etc.), and the Internet;
• the banning of activities (especially hairstyles and clothing) generally tolerated by other Muslims on the grounds that the activities are "Western", non-Islamic or immoral;
• aggressive prohibition and suppression of
  public displays of affection (PDA), adultery, extramarital sex, LGBT and pornography, particularly with the use of armed "religious police" and death penalty by rajm or beheading
  ;
• the destruction of non-Muslim artifacts, especially carvings and statues such as
  Bamyan Buddhas, generally tolerated by other Muslims, on the grounds that these artifacts are idolatrous or Shirk
  ;
• harboring of
  Al Qaeda
  or other extremists;
• a discriminatory attitude towards non-Muslims such as
  sumptuary laws against Afghan Hindus, requiring them to wear yellow badges, a practice reminiscent of Nazi Germany's policies.^[3][4]
• Violent suppression and persecution of modernist, moderate and liberal Muslims, often labeling them as bid'ah ("innovation" or deviation from fundamentalist Islamic interpretation).

Etymology

The term pre-dates the

The influence of Islamic groups in the Gaza Strip has grown since the 1980s, especially because poverty has risen since fighting with Israel began in 2000.^[15] The efforts to impose Islamic law and traditions continued when Hamas forcefully seized control of the area in June 2007 and displaced security forces loyal to the secular President Mahmoud Abbas.^[16][17][18] After the civil war ended, Hamas declared the "end of secularism and heresy in the Gaza Strip."^[19] For the first time since the Sudanese coup of 1989 that brought Omar al-Bashir to power, a Muslim Brotherhood group ruled a significant geographic territory.^[20] Gaza human rights groups accuse Hamas of restricting many freedoms in the course of these attempts.^[17]

Following the takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Hamas has attempted to implement Islamic law in the Gaza Strip, mainly in schools, institutions and courts, by imposing the Islamic dress code or the wearing of the

In 2009, Arab-Israeli journalist Khaled Abu Toameh wrote that "Hamas is gradually turning the Gaza Strip into a Taliban-style Islamic entity."^[23] According to Mkhaimar Abusada, a political science professor at Gaza's al-Azhar University, "Ruling by itself, Hamas can stamp its ideas on everyone (...) Islamizing society has always been part of Hamas strategy."^[24]

The term is also used non-literally, and it is also applied to non-Islamic bodies and organizations by those who allege that they practice "repressive policies" which are based on their interpretation of their respective religions. In addition, some members of the American Left may use it to criticize the Republican Party and the Christian right in their allegations that the radical right wing is implementing policies which are based on Christian fundamentalism.^[29]

Sometimes, different analogous neologisms are used by the accusers, such as allegations of "

• Pashtunization
• Islamic fundamentalism
• Islamism
• Al-Qaedaism
• Islamofascism
• Year Zero (political notion)

References