Last week, Afghanistan Express published an English language article, criticizing the Islam of the Taliban and ISIS.
The newspaper is being investigated for blasphemy.
Top staffers at an Afghan newspaper are being investigated for blasphemy after the publication of an article that questioned whether Muslims should embrace the possibility that more than one God exists.
The investigation, apparently being led by intelligence and cultural affairs officials, came at the request of Afghanistan’s new president and chief executive officer.
New Afghan government investigates newspaper for ‘blasphemous article’, Washington Post
The upper chamber of parliament had condemned the article, and called for an investigation.
Therefore, Senate of National Assembly strongly condemning the release of such articles which are against Islam and beliefs of millions of Muslims of our country and Muslims of the world and is clearly declaring that Afghanistan Muslim nation has sacrificed two millions of human beings for Islam and Almighty Allah path and holy blood of Islam is flowing in arteries of each individual of this land and will never tolerate hearing, reading and releasing of such blasphemous opinions and thoughts in this land.
Mishrano Jirga of National Assembly by condemning such blasphemous movements seriously asks judicial organs and commission for reviewing media complaints and violations to take serious step for arresting and punishing of the article’s writer and runners of Afghanistan Express and report their results to the public.
Senate’s Declaration On Blasphemous Article Published In Afghanistan Express Daily, Bakhtar News
The paper has issued a statement of apology, which says that the article had been published by mistake.
Please accept our deepest apologize for our technical mistake in regard to article (Islam of Taliban and ISIS), which was published mistakenly instead of another article.
This Article does not reflect our idea on our holy religion Islam, our prophet Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH) and about our creator Allah (Subhanahoo Ta Alla), but it was published as a result of a technical mistake.
We (The Afghanistan Express Management Team) deeply apologize for this mistake and want to say that this is against our policy of statement.
Statement of Apology, Afghanistan Express
The investigation was ordered at a Council of Ministers meeting, chaired by the new Chief Executive Officer, Abdullah Abdullah.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) and the Ministry of Information and Culture were instructed to take immediate actions for the arrest of The Afghanistan Express newspaper staff.
The decision was taken on Tuesday during the Council of Ministers meeting chaired by Chief Executive Officer Dr. Abdullah Abdullah.
A statement released by the Council of Ministers said the staff of The Afghanistan Express newspaper were charged with blasphemy for publishing an article which desecrated the religion of Islam.
Afghanistan issues arrest warrant over blasphemous article, Khaama Press
“The government of Afghanistan will take strict measures against those involved behind publishing this blasphemous article,” Abdullah said during the meeting.
New Afghan government investigates newspaper for ‘blasphemous article’, Washington Post
After the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001, for having harbored Osama bin Laden, the United States empowered Abdurrab Rasul Sayyaf, a mujahideen commander and Islamic scholar who had brought Osama bin Laden to Afghanistan.
Sayyaf is an Abdullah supporter, and is being quoted by the media as a pointer at the behind-the-scenes power maneuverings.
A prominent Islamic scholar, Abdurrab Rasul Sayyaf, condemned the article and labeled it “perverted.” Sayyaf, who was a jihadist leader during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, called for the author to be immediately arrested and punished, according to Afghan news accounts.
New Afghan government investigates newspaper for ‘blasphemous article’, Washington Post
Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, a prominent Mujahideen leader called the writer of the article a pervert and said he expects strict actions against the newspaper by the government of Afghanistan.
Afghanistan issues arrest warrant over blasphemous article, Khaama Press
Many of the old mujahideen commanders, such as Sayyaf, have significant records of human rights violation and war crime. They have wrapped themselves in Islam, making both criticism of them, and internationalist views of human rights, to be un-Islamic.
Four decades of war in Afghanistan have left a political and military environment infused with religious language and justifications, stifling legitimate debate and allowing the suppression of opposition. There is a widespread assumption among the elites that international norms and freedoms are 'anti-Islamic'. However, while Afghan society remains religiously conservative, the use of Islam in defence of human-rights violations committed by many of those still in power has left many Afghans suspicious of religious arguments says Thomas Ruttig of Afghanistan Analysts Network.
Situation Report: Religion in Afghanistan, Tony Blair Faith Foundation
In 2013, political actors are increasingly linking allegations of ‘un-Islamic’ coverage with critical reporting on political and governance issues in the country, claiming that both degrade the fabric of Afghan society.
A ‘Jihad on the Media’? Afghan journalists face the storm in insecure legal waters, Afghanistan Analysts Network
The ideological battle between the Islamist mujahideen, represented by Abdullah Abdullah, and western oriented technocrats, represented by Ashraf Ghani, was a significant factor in the election.
To bolster their position further, they campaigned to delegitimise the diaspora Afghans that had joined the new government for not having participated in the jihad, using derogatory terms with religious undertones like 'sag-shuyi' (dog washers). Secular and leftist figures were labelled 'un-Islamic' and largely excluded from the new interim administration [34].
To legitimise their claims to power, the former mujahedin have styled themselves as the embodiment of the anti-Soviet jihad and the resistance against the Taliban, with the "martyr Ahmad Shah Massud" their most powerful symbol [35]. This narrative played a central role in the 2014 electoral campaign.
Situation Report: Religion in Afghanistan, Tony Blair Faith Foundation
The U.S.-brokered election deal puts the two sides in one unity government.
Ashraf Ghani has both taken a meritocratic stance in appointments, against Abdullah's mujahideen patronage interests, and played up his religious credentials.
The investigation could pose an early challenge for President Ashraf Ghani as he seeks to balance the wishes of Afghanistan’s conservative religious community and the expectations of Western governments, including in the arenas of press freedom and religious dissent.
Faced with skepticism among Islamic leaders about his past ties to the West, the former World Bank official had worked hard to burnish his conservative credentials during a June presidential runoff against Abdullah Abdullah, who is now the country’s chief executive as part of a power-sharing arrangement.
New Afghan government investigates newspaper for ‘blasphemous article’, Washington Post
The unity government is a significant constraint on Ghani's reform agenda. Though the conservative mujahideen, and figures such as Sayyaf, would have been a constraint at any rate.