Taleban to mark Afghan Hindus

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A controversy has broken out over a Taleban edict that marks Hindus in Afghanistan.

Hindus will be required to wear an identity label on their clothing in Islamic Afghanistan to distinguish them from Muslims, a Taleban minister told Associated Press on Tuesday.

The hardline Taleban rulers, who control 95 percent of this poor Central Asian state, plan to enforce the edict soon, Mohammed Wali, Taleban's religious police minister, said. An exact date was not set, he said.

CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition     MESSAGE BOARD The Taleban

However the religious police in Kandahar, the seat of Taleban rule, say they have received no such order.

The law will also make it mandatory for Hindu women to veil themselves -- just like Muslim women of Afghanistan, Wali said.

But the edict has prompted an angry statement from Hindu-dominated India.

"We absolutely deplore such orders which patently discriminate against minorities," Press Trust of India quoted an unnamed Indian foreign ministry official as saying.

"It is further evidence of the backward and unacceptable ideological underpinning of the Taleban."

This move is the latest of the Taleban measures to crack down on "un-Islamic" and idolatrous segments of its society. In March this year, the Taleban destroyed two ancient statues of Buddha in central Bamiyan as they were considered un-Islamic.

Global shun

But the decision could further isolate the orthodox militia, already under fire from the West for its alleged discriminatory policies toward ethnic and religious minorities, human rights abuses and poor treatment of women.

But Wali said the decision is in line with Islam, "Religious minorities living in an Islamic state must be identified," he said.

The Taleban have not yet decided what sort of an identity label Hindus will have to wear.

There are at least 5,000 Hindus living in Kabul. Thousands of other Hindus live in other Afghan cities, but there's no reliable figure on exactly how many.

It was unclear whether foreigners living in Afghanistan would be required to wear the identity label.

Degrade our position

Anar, an Afghan Hindu in Kabul who uses just one name, told AP he does not want to wear a label identifying him as Hindu.

"It will make us vulnerable and degrade our position in the society," he said.

But Munawaar Hasan, general secretary of a major Islamic political party called Jamaat-e-Islami, or Islamic Party, said the move seems aimed to give protection to Hindus.

"The Taleban should win praise for this step," he said. "Providing protection to religious minorities is a must in any Islamic country and this step seems in line with this concept."

The Taleban follow a harsh version of Islam that bars women from most jobs and education, and makes it mandatory for men to wear beards and pray five times a day. All light entertainment, including television and music, are outlawed.

Most of the Islamic world, including pro-Taleban Pakistan, differ with the Taleban's narrow interpretation of Islam and say that it is tarnishing Islam's image.

The Taleban face U.N. sanctions for giving protection to Saudi billionaire Osama bin Laden, wanted by Washington for allegedly running a global terrorist network. The Taleban deny the charge and say the United States has no evidence against him for terrorism.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.