Afghanistan: (Shaharbeen Times Monitoring Report): Clothing vendors in the Afghanistan have been ordered to behead dummies hanging clothes.
According to the International News Agency, an order has been issued by the Ministry of Propaganda for the Propagation and Prevention of Evil, citing the prohibition of photography and idolatry, and the placement of dummies in shops as against Islamic law.
The worshipping of idols is considered a sin in Islam, which bans the worship of anyone or thing other than Allah – considered to be the only God.
The ruling was published this week by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Herat, the body responsible for overseeing the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islam.
The ministry initially ordered shopkeepers to remove the mannequins completely but the store owners hit back and said it would cause significant financial loss.
The complaints prompted Sheikh Aziz-u-Rahman, the head of the ministry, to order the mannequins to be beheaded instead, according to local reports.
