‘Islam is not just limited to a few rituals’: Taliban leader's sermon defending execution goes viral

The Taliban leader said executions were part of Islam, days after four men were killed by gunfire in Afghanistan after they were convicted of murder.

The executions took place in sports stadiums Friday, the highest number known to have been carried out in one day since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Rights groups and the UN condemned the killings.

Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has previously rejected the need for Western laws in Afghanistan.

In an audio clip released Sunday by the Taliban's chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on X, Akhundzada said: “We must carry out disciplinary measures, perform prayers and acts of worship. We must enter Islam completely. Islam is not just limited to a few rituals; it is a comprehensive system of all divine commands.”

Not a single command of Islam should be left unfulfilled, he told a seminar of Hajj instructors during a 45-minute speech in southern Kandahar province.

God had commanded people to pray and to enforce his punishments, said Akhundzada, adding that the Taliban did not wage war for power or wealth but rather to “implement Islamic law”. He rejected criticism of the executions.

Afghanistan’s Supreme Court earlier ruled that the four men were guilty of murder. A death sentence was handed down after families of the alleged victims refused to grant the men amnesty.

Akhundzada’s comments come as the Taliban seek greater engagement with the international community, most recently the West.

The United States last month lifted bounties on three senior Taliban figures, including the interior minister who also heads a powerful network blamed for bloody attacks against Afghanistan’s former Western-backed government.

The Taliban have freed four Americans from custody this year, describing these releases as the “normalization” of ties between the U.S. and Afghanistan.