The Taliban, whose beliefs are rooted in centuries-old Pashtun culture and an extreme interpretation of Islam, affirms that climate change is real and destroying God’s creation. The group has asked imams in Afghanistan’s tens of thousands of mosques to emphasize the need for environmental protection during Friday prayers. Carbon footprints will weigh heavily on judgment day,” said Kabul-based Imam Farisullah Azhari.
“God will ask: How did you make your money? And then he will ask: How much suffering did you cause in the process?”
Afghanistan, with its parched deserts and deforested, flood-prone valleys, is deemed one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Recent flash floods, particularly violent due to hardened soils from prolonged drought, have resulted in hundreds of deaths.
Before the Taliban takeover, international estimates suggested Afghanistan needed more than $20 billion between 2020 and 2030 to respond to climate change. The Taliban-run government acknowledges that global climate funds have dried up, echoing sentiments from the United Nations’ regional director for Asia and the Pacific, Kanni Wignaraja. Despite their deeply rooted Islamic beliefs, the Taliban affirm that climate change is real and destroying God’s creation.
Taliban’s call for environmental protection
Linking modern science with centuries-old religious beliefs presents a unique challenge. Scholars are debating how to reconcile these ideas at the Taliban-run Afghanistan Science Academy in Kabul.
“Climate change is real,” said Abdul Hadi Safi, a professor of Islamic studies. However, he noted that if God doesn’t want something to happen, it won’t occur. The Taliban’s approach to the environment has its historical roots in the Quran, which encourages the planting of trees, for example.
However, at the Taliban’s Afghanistan Science Society, religious leaders now debate how to reconcile their ancient religious texts with modern climate science. Just like they invaded our country, they’ve invaded our climate,” Lutfullah Khairkhaw, the Taliban’s deputy higher education minister, said in his opening speech at the Jalalabad conference this year. “We must defend our climate, water, and soil to the same extent we defend ourselves against invasions.”
Their defense strategy includes traveling the country to educate the primarily uneducated population about climate change and how to combat it.
The article notes that because Afghanistan under the Taliban is essentially now a pariah state, it receives little foreign assistance in its efforts. Afghanistan’s struggle against climate change continues amid limited foreign support, internal skepticism, and the race against environmental degradation.
