The Taliban’s Philosophy of Governance: Sharia, Custom, and Tribalism

This article explores the worldview, religious ideology, and the underlying philosophical foundations of governance espoused by the Taliban movement, which returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 after a two-decade absence. Not only Islam, but also the tribal code of the Pashtun nation called «Pashtunwali» influenced the formation and existence of the Taliban as an organization. Our study will also address this issue in detail and discuss its impact on the Taliban. The majority of article is devoted to analyzing the political philosophy of the Taliban based on the work «The Islamic Emirate and Its System» by Abdulhakim Haqqani, the current chief justice of Afghanistan and a religious expert of the Taliban, published in 2022. The aforementioned book considers the system of the first four caliphs as a model for establishing power in modern Afghanistan. For example, the work states that the emir must be a Muslim, male, sane, pious, just, and a mujtahid scholar according to the madhhab. It also states that a true leader must possess courage, political foresight, and high competence, and must be capable of conducting caliphate affairs. Such characteristics are similar to the requirements for a caliph or imam in medieval Islamic political law, which indicates that the Taliban seeks to present itself as the legitimate successor to the traditional Islamic system of governance. The book also discusses topics such as what the state created by the Taliban should be like, the way the emir is appointed, the process of governing the state, the shortcomings of modern democracy in relation to the Islamic system, and the issue of women. This work is not an official document or doctrine of the Taliban on governing the country. However, since the book was written by a high-ranking figure like А. Haqqani and received official support, it is considered a very valuable source for understanding the Taliban’s system of power and philosophy of life.