Talibanization Explained

The term Talibanization (or Talibanisation) refers to a type of Islamist practice that emerged following the rise of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, where other religious groups or movements come to follow or imitate the strict practices of the Taliban.[1] [2]

Practices

In its original usage, Talibanization referred to groups who followed Taliban's practices such as:

Etymology

The term pre-dates the Islamic terrorist attacks of 9/11. It was first used to describe areas or groups outside of Afghanistan which came under the influence of the Taliban, such as the areas of Waziristan in Pakistan,[5] [6] [7] or situations analogous to the Taliban-Al-Qaeda relationship, such as the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in Somalia and its harboring of Al Qaeda members, or similar harboring of Islamic extremists in Iran,[8] Nigeria (north),[9] [10] Malaysia,[11] or Indian-administered Kashmir[12] and elsewhere around the world. It has been used to describe the influence of Islamist fundamentalist parties in Bangladesh.[13]

The term was used in a Boston Globe editorial published on November 6, 1999, warning of the emerging threat of the Taliban regime almost two years before the attacks of September 11, 2001.[14]

In the Gaza Strip

See also: Hamas. 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 hijab on women.[21] While Ismael Haniyeh officially denied that Hamas intended to establish an Islamic state,[20] in the fourteen years since the 2007 coup, the Gaza Strip has exhibited the characteristics of Talibanization,[20] whereby the Islamist organization imposed strict rules on women, discouraged activities commonly associated with Western or Christian culture, oppressed non-Muslim minorities, imposed sharia law, and deployed religious police to enforce these laws.[22]

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]

Palestinian researcher Dr. Khaled Al-Hroub has criticized what he called the "Taliban-like steps" which Hamas has taken. In an article titled "The Hamas Enterprise and the Talibanization of Gaza", he wrote, "The Islamization that has been forced upon the Gaza Strip – the suppression of social, cultural, and press freedoms that do not suit Hamas's view[s] – is an egregious deed that must be opposed. It is the reenactment, under a religious guise, of the experience of [other] totalitarian regimes and dictatorships.[25]

In Yemen

Since the outbreak of the Yemeni civil war, the Zaidist-led Houthi movement have controlled most of the densely populated areas. The Houthi-led Supreme Political Council, an organization which promotes a religion-based model of governance which restricts women's freedom and advocates anti-Western sentiment and has been accused of practicing "Talibanization" by the Saudi-backed government.[26] [27] In addition, in Sunni-dominated southern Yemen, Salafist of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has enforced the Sharia law in areas under its control.[28]

Reference to non-Muslims

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 "saffronization" which are used to describe or critique right-wing policies which are related to Hindu nationalism[30] or as a slur used by far left[31] [32] and anti-Hindu groups.[33] [34] Radicalized Muslims often exploit the resonance with this term to attack Hindu nationalists as kafirs (infidels) and "Hindu Talibs".[35] In India, the term has also been used to denote Sikh Extremism (Khalistan supporters),[36] and the far-left Naxalite terrorists beheaded Police inspector Francis Induwar in the state of Jharkhand in 2009.[37] The action has been compared to the tactics of the Taliban, and fears exist that the leftists in these areas are "Talibanizing".[38] [39]

Like any highly politicized term, it may also be used hyperbolically or in an alarmist manner, to make a slippery slope argument, such as in the invocation of the phrase "Talibanization of Bradford" to discuss a gamut of common racial problems and tensions which fall far short of the imposition of sharia law and terrorist attacks. It may also be applied unfairly by those who do not understand Islamic culture and the basis of sharia law, or who fail to distinguish between moderate Islamic and extremist Islamist states, or misapplied to perceived threats which are not true or have yet to be proven.[40]

See also

Notes and References

  1. The Fundamentalist City?: Religiosity and the Remaking of Urban Space by Nezar Alsayyad. p. 226
  2. The Talibanization of Southeast Asia: losing the war on terror to Islamist extremists. Bilveer Singh. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007
  3. http://archives.cnn.com/2001/fyi/news/05/22/taleban.hindus/index.html Taliban to mark Afghan Hindus
  4. http://english.people.com.cn/english/200105/23/eng20010523_70812.html Taliban: Hindus Must Wear Identity Labels
  5. News: Border Backlash. MSNBC. 2006-07-31. 2007-01-13 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070112221631/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13990130/site/newsweek/ . 2007-01-12.
  6. Web site: Terrorism Monitor: Afghanistan and Pakistan Face Threat of Talibanization. Jamestown Foundation. 2006-05-18. 2007-01-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20061121114059/http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2370000 . 2006-11-21.
  7. News: Reading the Musharraf-Bush Summit - Seven Clues to What Lies Ahead. Indo-Asian News Service. 2006-09-26. 2007-01-13 .
  8. Web site: Hashemi . Nader . 2022-09-28 . The ‘Talibanization’ of Iran Has Sparked a Revolutionary Feminist Backlash . 2023-05-12 . DAWN . en-US.
  9. The Talibanization of Nigeria. Sharia Law and Religious Freedom, Jonathan Schanzer, Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2003 VOLUME X: NUMBER 1
  10. Web site: Sharia Law Threatens Nigeria's Stability. Center for Religious Freedom. 2002-03-27. 2006-01-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060109134224/http://www.freedomhouse.org/religion/news/bn2002/bn-2002-03-27.htm . 2006-01-09.
  11. Web site: Talibanization of Malaysia: It destroys 100 year old Hindu temple. History News Network. 2006-04-16. 2007-01-13 .
  12. Web site: Talibanization of Kashmir. 2006-08-13. A Soul in Exile (blog). 2007-01-13.
  13. Book: Karlekar, Hiranmay . 2005 . Bangladesh: The Next Afghanistan? . registration . Sage Publications . 278–279 . 0-7619-3401-4.
  14. Web site: The threat of Talibanization. Boston Globe. 1999-11-06. 2007-01-13 .
  15. https://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/8597375?FORM=ZZNR8 Hamas tries to detain woman walking with man
  16. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/gaza-water-park-vandalized-by-armed-men-1.314603 Militants torch Gaza water park shut down by Hamas
  17. https://web.archive.org/web/20100923122551/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jDblV3atUSJnUtMzkDDINQ_QWltQ Gunmen torch Gaza beach club shuttered by Hamas
  18. Web site: The Beleaguered Christians of the Palestinian-Controlled Areas, by David Raab. www.jcpa.org. 2016-10-09.
  19. Khaled Abu Toameh, “Haniyeh Calls for Palestinian Unity,” Jerusalem Post, June 15, 2007
  20. http://www.currenttrends.org/research/detail/the-talibanization-of-gaza-a-liability-for-the-muslim-brotherhood The Talibanization of Gaza: A Liability for the Muslim Brotherhood
  21. Web site: Hamas encourages Gaza women to follow Islamic code _English_Xinhua . 2011-05-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110514030330/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/03/content_12748559.htm . 2011-05-14 . Xinhua, 2010-01-03
  22. http://www.currenttrends.org/research/detail/the-talibanization-of-gaza-a-liability-for-the-muslim-brotherhood The Talibanization of Gaza: A Liability for the Muslim Brotherhood
  23. Khaled Abu Toameh, As Hamas Tightens Its Grip, HudsonNY.org 07-08-2009
  24. https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aB2RfynNbLmk Hamas Bans Women Dancers, Scooter Riders in Gaza Push
  25. The Hamas Enterprise and the Talibanization of Gaza, by Khaled Al-Hroub, Al-Ayyam (Palestinian Authority), October 11, 2010. Translation by the Middle East Research Institute, October 22, 2010.
  26. Web site: Kamilia . Al-Eriani . The Houthis and the (In)Visibility of Piety: Reorienting Piety in North Yemen . 2023-05-12 . Jadaliyya - جدلية . en.
  27. Web site: 2021-02-16 . Yemen : Terrifying Crimes Targeting Women Shake Country to the Core - Daraj . 2023-05-12 . en-US.
  28. Web site: Understanding Yemen's Al Qaeda Threat . 2023-05-12 . FRONTLINE . en-US.
  29. https://kimberlyblaker.com/christian-fundamentalism/ "The Fundamentals of Extremism: The Christian Right in America"
  30. Web site: INDIA: Righting or rewriting Hindu history . Inter Press Service. February 2000. 2007-01-13 .
  31. Ethnic and Racial Studies Volume 23 Number 3 May 2000 pp. 407–441 ISSN 0141-9870 print/ISSN 1466-4356
  32. http://www.saag.org/%5Cpapers3%5Cpaper299.html The Politics of Education in India
  33. Web site: The Pitfalls of Pluralism: Talibanization and Saffronization in India. Winter 2004. 2007-01-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060903071659/http://hir.harvard.edu/articles/1183/1/ . 2006-09-03.
  34. http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/s_es/s_es_rosse_puzzle.htm Puzzling Dimensions and Theoretical Knots in my Graduate School Research
  35. Web site: The Milli Gazette. 2021-10-10. www.milligazette.com.
  36. https://web.archive.org/web/20070602002505/http://www.hindu.com/2007/05/30/stories/2007053001431000.htm The Hindu : Opinion / Leader Page Articles : Talibanisation of Sikhism
  37. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/Maoists-behead-abducted-cop-after-govt-refuses-to-free-Ghandy/articleshow/5092919.cms "Maoists behead abducted cop"
  38. http://www.timesnow.tv/Maoist-ape-Taliban-tactics/articleshow/4328886.cms Maoist ape Taliban tactics
  39. http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/ranchi_naxals_kill_special_branch_inspector.php Ranchi naxals kill special branch inspector
  40. Web site: Crushed between the two extremes . 2003-06-14 . Independent Centre for Strategic Studies and Analysis . 2007-01-13 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070528055854/http://www.icssa.org/article_detail_parse.php?a_id=628&rel=&pg=&m_link=0&slink=9&m_id=14 . 2007-05-28.

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