Imposition of Beard by Militant Islamic Organization Has Caused Pogonophobia Not Only Among the Non-Muslims but Also Among the Muslims
People
in Afghanistan Feared Bearded American Troops More Than Shaved Ones
Important
Points:
1. Policemen
in Tajikistan forced Muslim residents to shave their beards
2. Militants
in Somalia ordered Muslims to wear a beard.
3. ISIS
had ordered Muslims of Mosul to grow beard and trim moustache.
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By
New Age Islam Correspondent
28
September 2021
Gradually,
the Taliban in Afghanistan are returning to their old ways of governance.
Earlier, they shot a woman for not wearing a veil on the street. Second, they
banned telecast of IPL matches in the UAE because it would show women in the
stadium with scanty clothes and uncovered hair. Next in line is the beard.
The Taliban
have banned shaving and trimming the beard because according to their
interpretation of the Sharia, shaving and trimming the beard is a crime and a
punishable offence. Barbers in Helmand, Kabul and other provinces have been
ordered not to shave or trim the beard or not to have an American style
haircut.
About ten
years ago, in 2010, the terrorist organization of Mogadishu, Hizbul Islam had
issued a similar dictat to the Muslims of the country. “Grow your beards and
trim your moustaches.” People were warned of consequences if they violated the
‘law”.
In 2015,
the ISIS issued an order asking men to grow beard as shaving the beard was
So on the
issue of beards, the interpretation of a terrorist organisations of Mogadishu
and that of a government run by an Islamic organization is similar. The Taliban
are not behaving like a government run by legislations passed by the Parliament
or by consultations among the Shura. They are acting like a tribal group ruling
a tribe and not like a government of a modern Islamic state.
The order
of the Taliban is based on a hadith on a couple of hadiths:
Umar ibn Harun narrated from Usama ibn Zayd,
from `Amr ibn Shu`ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet
(Allah bless him and give him peace) "used to trim from his beard, from
its sides and its length" (Sunan al-Tirmidhi 5 vols. Cairo n.d. Reprint.
Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-'Arabi, n.d., 5.94: 2762).
Another
hadith says:
"Cut the moustaches short and leave the
beard."(Saheeh Bukhari)
The holy
prophet pbuh sported a beard and trimmed it. Therefore, sporting a Shariah
compliant beard is a Sunnah not a Fard as it is not enjoined in the Quran. Many
Muslim clerics in Jordan, Turkey, Egypt and other Islamic countries today do
not sport beards. It has become a sign of modernity. It is not imposed by law
or shaving or trimming beard is not made an offence in the eyes of law in
Islamic countries. It is encouraged as a Sunnah. Islam encourages beard because
it is a sign of manliness. However, no Muslim country has imposed beard on
Muslims by law.
Therefore,
though wearing a beard is seen as a sign of religiosity, it is not enforced in
any civilized Islamic society. Many great Islamic scholars like Allama Iqbal of
India did not sport a beard but still are revered by the Muslims as Islamic
personalities.
It is only
the terrorist Islamic organizations that have always forced beard on Muslims.
This has created the impression among the non-Muslim community in the world
that the beard is associated with extremism or those who sport a beard are
extremists.
The Taliban
have not only banned shaving of the beard but also trimming of the beard. They
want to impose Sunnah by force.
This
imposition of beard by radical Islamist organizations has contributed to the
growth of Pogonophobia (fear of beards) because beard has become a symbol of
radicalism or extremism. In April 2015, two police officials in Tajikistan were
officially reprimanded for forcing Muslims to shave their beard as they
identified beard with radicalism or extremism.
Enforcement
of beard by extremist organizations has not only caused pogonophobia among
non-Muslims but even among Muslims. In 2009, Foreign Policy reported that
Afghans fear not only bearded Taliban as rude and heartless but they also
considered bearded American troops as bad. They said bearded American troops
behaved rudely while shaved American troops behaved not so badly.
The way the
Taliban are enforcing laws in Afghanistan, it may be presumed that they will
imposed female genital mutilation which is forced in Middle Eastern countries.
Though the
Taliban leader Mullah Turabi claimed that they have changed with time but in
reality, they have not changed. In fact, the radical interpretation of the
Quran and Sunnah they follow will not allow them to change or reform
themselves. They are not a democratic force and have not come to power
democratically. Therefore, a democratic governance cannot be expected from
them.