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The termTalibanization (orTalibanisation) refers to a type ofIslamist practice that emerged following the rise of theTaliban movement inAfghanistan, where other religious groups or movements come to follow or imitate the strict practices of the Taliban.[1][2]
In its original usage, Talibanization referred to groups who followed Taliban's practices such as:
The term pre-dates theIslamic terrorist attacks of9/11. It was first used to describe areas or groups outside of Afghanistan which came under the influence of the Taliban, such as the areas ofWaziristan inPakistan,[5][6][7] or situations analogous to the Taliban-Al-Qaeda relationship, such as theIslamic Courts Union (ICU) inSomalia and its harboring of Al Qaeda members,[citation needed] or similar harboring of Islamic extremists in Iran,[8] Nigeria (north),[9][10] Malaysia,[11] orIndian-administered Kashmir[12] and elsewhere around the world. It has been used to describe the influence of Islamist fundamentalist parties in Bangladesh.[13]
The term was used in aBoston Globe editorial published on November 6, 1999, warning of the emerging threat of the Taliban regime almost two years before the attacks of September 11, 2001.[14]
The influence of Islamic groups in the Gaza Strip has grown since the 1980s, especially because poverty has risen since fighting with Israel began in 2000.[15] The efforts to impose Islamic law and traditions continued whenHamas forcefully seized control of the area in June 2007 and displaced security forces loyal to the secular PresidentMahmoud Abbas.[16][17][18] After thecivil war ended, Hamas declared the "end of secularism and heresy in the Gaza Strip."[19] For the first time since the Sudanese coup of 1989 that broughtOmar al-Bashir to power, aMuslim Brotherhood group ruled a significant geographic territory.[20] Gaza human rights groups accuse Hamas of restricting many freedoms in the course of these attempts.[17]
Following the takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Hamas has attempted to implement Islamic law in the Gaza Strip, mainly in schools, institutions and courts, by imposing the Islamic dress code or the wearing of thehijab on women.[21] WhileIsmael Haniyeh officially denied that Hamas intended to establish anIslamic state,[20] in the fourteen years since the 2007 coup, the Gaza Strip has exhibited the characteristics of Talibanization,[20] whereby the Islamist organization imposed strict rules on women, discouraged activities commonly associated with Western or Christian culture, oppressed non-Muslim minorities, imposedsharia law, and deployed religious police to enforce these laws.[22]
In 2009, Arab-Israeli journalistKhaled Abu Toameh wrote that "Hamas is gradually turning the Gaza Strip into aTaliban-style Islamic entity."[23] According to Mkhaimar Abusada, a political science professor at Gaza'sal-Azhar University, "Ruling by itself, Hamas can stamp its ideas on everyone (...) Islamizing society has always been part of Hamas strategy."[24]
Palestinian researcher Dr.Khaled Al-Hroub has criticized what he called the "Taliban-like steps" which Hamas has taken. In an article titled "The Hamas Enterprise and the Talibanization of Gaza", he wrote, "The Islamization that has been forced upon the Gaza Strip – the suppression of social, cultural, and press freedoms that do not suit Hamas's view[s] – is an egregious deed that must be opposed. It is the reenactment, under a religious guise, of the experience of [other] totalitarian regimes and dictatorships.[25]
ThePopular Forces, a salafist militia that rose to prominence in the wake of the power vacuum left by Hamas, and are said to have had prior alleged ties withIslamist insurgents in the Sinai peninsula, seized eastern Rafah notablyAl-Bayuk which became theirde facto capital after theRafah offensive.[26]
Since the outbreak of theYemeni civil war, theZaidist-ledHouthi movement have controlled most of the densely populated areas. The Houthi-ledSupreme Political Council, an organization that promotes a religion-based model of governance which restricts women's freedom and advocatesanti-Western sentiment and has been accused of practicing "Talibanization" by the Saudi-backed government.[27][28] In addition, in Sunni-dominated southern Yemen,Salafist ofAl Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has enforced the Sharia law in itsIslamic Emirate of Yemen.[29]
TheGovernment of National Unity would instate a Taliban-like morality police to crack-down on "weird haircuts" and western practices.[30]
The term is also used non-literally, and it is also applied to non-Islamic bodies and organizations by those who allege that they practice "repressive policies" which are based on their interpretation of their respective religions. In addition, some members of theAmerican Left may use it to criticize theRepublican Party and theChristian right in their allegations that theradical right wing is implementing policies which are based onChristian fundamentalism.[31]
Sometimes, different analogous neologisms are used by the accusers, such as allegations of "saffronization" which are used to describe or critiqueright-wing policies which are related toHindu nationalism[32] or as a slur used byfar left[33][34] andanti-Hindu groups.[35][36] Radicalized Muslims often exploit the resonance with this term to attackHindu nationalists askafirs (infidels) and "Hindu Talibs".[37] In India, the term has also been used to denoteSikh Extremism (Khalistan supporters),[38] and thefar-leftNaxaliteterrorists beheaded Police inspector Francis Induwar in the state ofJharkhand in 2009.[39] The action has been compared to the tactics of the Taliban, and fears exist that the leftists in these areas are "Talibanizing".[40][41]
Like any highly politicized term, it may also be used hyperbolically or in an alarmist manner, to make aslippery slope argument, such as in the invocation of the phrase "Talibanization ofBradford" to discuss a gamut of common racial problems and tensions which fall far short of the imposition of sharia law and terrorist attacks. It may also be applied unfairly by those who do not understand Islamic culture and the basis of sharia law, or who fail to distinguish between moderateIslamic and extremistIslamist states, or misapplied to perceived threats which are not true or have yet to be proven.[42]