Atta Mohammad Noor Condemns Taliban Treatment of Afghanistan’s Shiites

DID Press: Atta Mohammad Noor, a leader of Jamiat-e Islami of Afghanistan, has condemned what he described as discrimination and “crimes” by the Taliban against Afghanistan’s Shiite community, calling Shiites his “brothers” and urging them to remain united.

In a message posted on X, Noor described Afghanistan’s Shiite community as “good-natured, innovative, devoted to education and kind,” and said the Taliban’s treatment of Shiites goes beyond sectarian prejudice and reflects what he characterized as “ignorance and misguidedness.”

Noor specifically referred to recent Taliban actions involving the Khatam al-Nabieen Islamic University and other institutions associated with the Shiite community. His remarks come amid reports of Taliban pressure on Shiite and Hazara figures and institutions in Kabul.

He praised the late Ayatollah Mohammad Asif Mohseni and described the Khatam al-Nabieen seminary and university as centres of education, knowledge, logic and ethics, rejecting what he portrayed as the use of force against such institutions.

Noor also called on Afghanistan’s Shiites to remain “united, steadfast, cohesive and hopeful,” saying that he and his supporters stand with them.

The statement comes as reports of arrests and pressure against members of Afghanistan’s Hazara and Shiite community have intensified. Afghanistan International reported that Taliban forces recently detained several members of an office representing Hazara and Shiite elders in western Kabul, including Sayed Sufi Gardizi and former parliamentarians Sayed Hassan Sharifi Balkhabi and Mohammad Hossein Sangardost.