A recent research study has found out that current Taliban from Afghanistan have been using tunes from both Afghan and Indian songs in their nasheeds, which are kind of Islamic vocal music sung without or with little instrumental backing. This practice is quite a departure from their earlier stand on music, as they had banned all sorts of music, including national anthems and patriotic songs, when they overran Kabul in August 2021.
A news agency’s investigation of six new nasheeds broadcast by media under the Taliban’s control was conducted. Evaluating the idea with the help of an anonymous Afghan music expert the team learned that some of those nasheeds are remakes of the common songs. One such song is “Qurban Le Emirate” which is in fact based on the tune of an Afghan Tu NF viscosity lagged “Naghma” and the second half includes some portion of “Ey Zama Watana” by patrotic song Waheed Qasimi.
It is rather interesting that the Taliban decided to use these mules when they actively tried to remove music from people’s existence. The group’s first policy was to ban all forms of music and replace it using nasheeds, a type of music that they deem suitable to their version of the Islamic Shariat Law. But their recent activities show one more aspect of this group – they are not so primitive as it seems at first sight combining usual Taliban political slogans with music melodies.
At the end of August 2022, the Taliban organized a more systematic form of audiovisual dissemination by creating a specific account branded “Taranum” dedicated to the social media site X and dedicated solely to playing these nasheeds. The ‘taranum’, a term that describes a style that incorporates several aspects of the performances, indicates this new strategy of incorporating traditional melodies into their monotheistically endorsed forms of music. This development further brings out the fact that the Taliban, if not careful, is persisting in the introduction of harsh ideological measures, albeit with a regional influence that the people can easily relate to.
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