Mohammad Mohaqiq, leader of the Islamic Unity Party of the People of Afghanistan, said in an interview with Amu TV that the Taliban do not consider Shia Muslims to be an Islamic current and, for this reason, interfere with their religious beliefs and doctrines.
Mohaqiq said that the Taliban consider Shia Muslims to be “misguided” and question some of their religious beliefs, including the principle of “Imamate.”
In the interview, referring to a book by Noor Ahmad Islamjar, the Taliban’s governor in Herat, he said that the book also presents views about Shia beliefs which, according to him, describe some Shia beliefs as involving “elements of polytheism.”
According to Mohaqiq, the Taliban consider the principle of Imamate to be disbelief and oppose a number of Shia religious beliefs.
The leader of the Islamic Unity Party of the People of Afghanistan emphasized that, based on such views, the Taliban interfere with the religious beliefs of Shia Muslims.
Mohaqiq has previously also criticized what he described as widespread Taliban pressure on Shia Muslims and restrictions on the practice of Ja’fari religious laws. In May 2026, he said that the Ja’fari school of jurisprudence had effectively lost its official recognition and that pressure on Shia Muslims to practice their religious laws had increased.
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