An Eye for an Eye
Afghanistan's Minister of Justice gives his first ever interview to a foreign
journalist

Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, perhaps the most isolated government in the world, is
routinely accused of repression at home and support for terrorism abroad. In a rare
show of openness, two of the Taliban's leading figures agreed to meet with New Delhi
bureau chief Michael Fathers. The result: a fresh insight into this little-understood
regime. Here, Justice Minister Mullah Nooruddin Turabi defends Islamic principles and
the Taliban's insistence on imposing its version of justice. Excerpts from the
interview:

TIME: How do you respond to international concern that your implementation of
orthodox Islamic law is unnecessarily severe and a breach of human rights?
Turabi: We are Muslims and we are required to follow the Holy Koran and implement the
Islamic system of justice, known as Shariat. If we don't follow it we are committing
a sin. You also have to look at those countries which are criticizing us. All of them
have law and order problems. We constantly hear news of people in the United States
and Russia being robbed and murdered. There is a lot of crime there. Our traders tell
us that before the Taliban, they were never able to get by without their goods being
stolen and their lorries stopped. What we have done is restored law and order.
Before, there was complete chaos. Now everyone can travel freely, even at night, and
nobody will stop them. In other countries, even those where there are lots of police,
there is not this level of safety. It has come about in Afghanistan because we have
implemented Islamic justice and Islamic punishment. Let me explain: In every
organization there are rules and regulations which you must follow. In our faith
there are specific punishments for specific crimes and we must follow them--a robber
loses his hand, a highway robber loses his hand and a foot. Murder requires equal
revenge. There is no other way for us but to enforce Islamic punishment because that
is our belief. We are not bothered by the criticism of other countries. We are
following the instructions of God. It is not me saying what should be done. We are
told by God what to do.



TIME: Do God's instructions include restrictions on how men and women should dress?
Not all Afghans believe women should be veiled behind a burqa (an all-enveloping
outer garment) and that all men should wear beards of a certain specification (uncut
and untrimmed).
Turabi: Our legal code is not something the Taliban has created. When we were not in
power, we called for the implementation of Shariat law. Now that we are in power we
are bound by our promises and our faith to carry it out. It is not only a question of
beards and burqas; every vice has to be stopped and every virtue promulgated. When we
staged our uprising in Kandahar, we promised to restore the Islamic system of
justice. That was one of the reasons the people supported us. If we go back on our
promise we will go the same way as other governments before us.

TIME: Taliban ordinances concerning women and their right to work and restrictions on
the education of girls is a cause of concern abroad and in Kabul.
Turabi: Afghanistan is a country where women work from dawn to dusk in the fields and
in the home, and are overburdened. How can you say they are not allowed to work? If a
woman wants to work away from her home and with men, then that is not allowed by our
religion and our culture. If we force them to do this they may want to commit
suicide. We cannot ask our womenfolk to forgo their security. We think women are
working as they should--at home. This is what we are taught by our culture and our
faith. If you ask me, I would say that about 1% or 2% of women in Afghanistan are not
happy with their lot. About 99% are happy. In terms of educating girls, we have in
place a system of religious education. We have not stopped that. Girls are also
learning skills that will be useful to them in their life. We believe they are being
properly educated and are being taught to become good Muslim women.

TIME: Your system of public punishment is considered particularly brutal and inhumane
by some Afghans and foreign countries. Does this bother you?
Turabi: We are the only fully Shariat country in the world-- Saudi Arabia and other
Muslim countries are only partly Shariat. We don't believe in doing things on a
piecemeal basis, and we are not concerned by criticism or isolation. As I have said,
in the Koran there are specific punishments for specific crimes, and that is the way
it has to be done--and in public. For the people that are watching, it is a reminder
for them to behave within the law. Public executions actually protect life because
they warn people away from committing a similar crime. We want people to see the
punishment. We are asked by God to do it that way.

TIME: Why has it been necessary to close cinemas, ban non-religious music and
dancing?
Turabi: They can lead you astray. It is wrong to think the people want them.

TIME: People consider you a hard-liner. Are you?
Turabi: I may have this reputation, but I don't think I am a hard-liner. I follow
Koranic instructions, and there is a lot of flexibility there.