Posted on: Friday, May 25, 2001

Editorial
Taliban rules reflect paranoia, not religion

Given the record of the extremist Taliban leadership of Afghanistan in other areas, its assurances about new rules on attire for religious minorities would be laughable, if they were not so frightening.

Ostensibly for the protection of these non-Muslim minorities, the Taliban has ordered that they must wear distinctive marks on their clothing to set them apart from the Muslim majority.

The rule affects only a tiny handful of people, perhaps around 500 Hindus and a scattering of other faiths. But that only makes the new rule that much more frightening.

Yes, it could be argued that the distinctive markings would save these non-Mulsims from being harassed by enforcers of the strict fundamentalist rules the Taliban has set.

But it could — and almost certainly will — work the other way, marking these people for persecution or worse.

These new rules must be condemned. They do not reflect the Muslim faith; they simply represent the paranoia of those who now control Afghanistan.