Sin is progressive, like Islamic law taken to its ultimate conclusion.
Afghanistan: Taliban approve law legalizing slavery, sex slavery, and violence against children on Islamic grounds
There are Westerners, some of them quite respected and influential, who will see this news item somewhere (not here, of course) and assume that the Taliban are misunderstanding Islam, which they are certain is a religion of peace and tolerance that rejects violence and slavery. If you show such people the justifications in the Qur’an and Sunnah for slavery and violence, they will wave them away with a reference to there being a multitude of interpretations of such passages, although they will not bring forth any quotation or other evidence of an interpretation of Islam that rejects slavery and violence. Or else they will say that the Bible is full of terrible passages as well, despite the fact that no one today is pointing to the Bible to justify violence or slavery. They will point to sinister and deceptive “moderate Muslims” who have no following among Muslims as if they were evidence of an Islamic mainstream that rejects all this. As The Man With No Eyes once said, some men (and women) you just can’t reach.
“The Taliban’s penal code also explicitly recognises slavery, using the term ghulam (slave) in several articles.” The term ghulam (plural, ghilman) appears in the Qur’an: “And there go around them, waiting on them, servant boys [ghilmanun] of their own, as if they were hidden pearls.” (52:24) This is one basis for the Afghan practice of bacha bazi, the sexual enslavement of young boys. Many in Afghanistan will see the new penal code’s use of the term as legitimizing that practice.
Afghan Resistance Group Condemns Taliban Penal Code As Medieval
January 23, 2026:
The Supreme Council of National Resistance for the Salvation of Afghanistan says the Taliban’s newly approved penal code would push the country into conditions “far worse than the Middle Ages”.
In a statement released on Friday, the council said the move was deliberate and aimed at “distorting the image of Islam in the eyes of global public opinion”.
The opposition body said the penal code governing Taliban-run courts “openly violates human dignity and religious and sectarian equality”, warning that several of its provisions institutionalise discrimination and abuse.
Referring to the contents of the code, the council said the Taliban have imposed explicit religious discrimination by recognising followers of only one sect as Muslims and branding adherents of other sects as heretics.
It added that the code divides society in what it described as a primitive and medieval manner, “effectively legitimising slavery, defining women as concubines and husbands as masters and owners of women, and imposing a range of degrading and inhumane punishments on society”….
According to a document obtained by Afghanistan International, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has endorsed the penal code, which contains 119 articles.
The code grants judicial institutions the authority to sentence opponents and critics to death. Under Article 4, Clause 6, citizens are even permitted to personally punish individuals if they witness what is described as a “sin” being committed.
The Taliban’s penal code also explicitly recognises slavery, using the term ghulam (slave) in several articles.
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Human Rights Report: Taliban Approves Judicial Law Legalizing Slavery, Violence Against Children
Shia Waves, January 24, 2026:
A new report issued by the human rights organization Al-Tasamuh states that the Taliban, through the adoption of new judicial principles, have not only formalized slavery but also permitted physical violence against children while ignoring restrictions on other forms of repression.
According to the report, the law—comprising 119 articles and signed by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada—defines only limited forms of prohibited violence, such as bone fractures or skin lacerations. Beating, psychological humiliation, and sexual abuse are not criminalized in the absence of such injuries.
Article 48 of the law allows for the punishment of children aged ten and above on religious grounds. The legislation also entrenches a system of slavery through repeated references to the term “slave” in multiple provisions, in violation of international law and human rights conventions. The law further authorizes the killing of “rebels,” a category that includes activists and political opponents, and enables arbitrary violence against individuals accused of committing “sins.”
The report notes that the law classifies citizens into four social classes, with penalties varying according to social status. It draws clear distinctions between religious scholars, nobles, and lower classes, undermining the principle of equality before the law.
Religiously, the law applies exclusively to followers of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, criminalizing any deviation from it. It also bans cultural practices such as dancing without providing clear definitions, opening the door to arbitrary arrests….
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