IEA facing criticism for implementing Sharia, says minister

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) minister of higher education said the government has come under fire by the international community, including Muslim countries, for implementing Sharia.

This comes after a delegation of religious scholars from Egypt, Sudan, Libya and Palestine met with the minister in Kabul on Saturday to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

These religious scholars shared their experiences on education with Neda Mohammad Nadim, the higher education minister, on Saturday in his office in Kabul, the ministry said.

“Our goal is to implement Sharia law, but for this we are facing criticism from the West and some Islamic countries,” Nadim said.

The minister said that Islam is currently very poor and called on the scholars to cooperate and share their message with other scholars.

“Islam is currently very poor and has been attacked by infidels. I ask the scholars to share this situation with other scholars,” Nadim added.

In the meeting scholars of Islamic countries shared their experiences of education in their countries with the Higher Education Minister, the ministry said.

Experts believe that closing the doors of schools and universities to females will increase the gap between the government and the people.

Meanwhile, on the same day UN deputy envoy Markus Potzel met IEA’s Higher Education Minister and called for the urgent lifting of the bans on female education and work for aid agencies.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) announced that Afghanistan has entered a new period of crisis.

UNAMA stressed that the IEA ban on education for women and even stopping them from working for aid agencies will harm all Afghans.

The IEA recently banned girls from attending universities and other higher education institutions. This decision has faced widespread national and international criticism.