Taliban destroyed ‘immoral’ musical instruments in Afghanistan

Thousands of dollars worth of musical equipment went up in smoke on a bonfire on Saturday in western Herat province.
Since taking power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed numerous restrictions, including on playing music in public.
Ahmad Sarmast, Afghanistan National Institute of Music founder, likened their actions to "cultural genocide and musical vandalism".
"The people of Afghanistan have been denied artistic freedom… The burning of musical instruments in Herat is just a small example of the cultural genocide that is taking place in Afghanistan under the leadership of the Taliban," Dr Sarmast, who is now based in Portugal
Some of the items set ablaze in Herat included a guitar, a harmonium and a tabla - a kind of drum - as well as amplifiers and speakers, according to images online. Many of these had been seized from wedding venues in the city.
An official at the Taliban's Vice and Virtue Ministry said playing music would "cause the youth to go astray".
A similar bonfire of instruments was organised by the Taliban on 19 July. Its government posted photos of the blaze on Twitter at the time but did not say which part of the country it had taken place in.
All forms of music were banned from social gatherings, TV, and radio while the Taliban were in power in Afghanistan from the mid-90s until 2001.

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