Taliban call for strict ban on music in Kabul wedding halls

Islamabad [Pakistan], June 13: The Taliban's religious police have called again on wedding hall owners in Kabul to refrain from playing music and activities that contradict its Islamic rulings for weddings or similar events.
In an online statement, the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice on Sunday said that this was announced during a meeting with the owners of the wedding halls.
The owners of the halls have been told to completely implement the rulings set by the ministry, the statement added.
Last year, the Taliban advised business owners to avoid music, but the ruling was not enforced everywhere.
Wedding halls are unpopular among many people, because they pressure families to organize highly expensive weddings. While many young couples would like to marry in a wedding hall, they cannot because of cost.
However, the manager of a luxury hall in Kabul who did not want to be named told dpa that they have separate halls for men and women, as well as waitresses and camerawomen and female photographers for the women's hall, as is the norm in the conservativesociety.
"If there is no music at a wedding then what is the difference between a wedding ceremony and a funeral ceremony?" he added.
The Taliban considers music as against the teachings of Islam. Following the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, many artists and musicians left Afghanistan and sought asylum in Western countries.
Source: Qatar Tribune