AhlulBayt News Agency: Confirming recent media reports, Parsi described widespread religious and ethnic persecution, including forced religious practices, insults toward Shia beliefs, and constant pressure to conform to the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam.
Parsi wrote: “I can confirm that Hazaras and Shias are living in extremely difficult conditions in Taliban prisons.” He recounted his time in Afghanistan’s Pul-e-Charkhi prison, where he shared a cell with a Shia doctor. “He was a quiet, respectful, and logical man who had spent much of his life in Iran and was unfamiliar with Afghan prison culture,” Parsi wrote.
Known among inmates as the Mullah Imam, Parsi said he maintained friendly relations with minority prisoners of Hazaras, communists, and other marginalized groups, which often drew criticism from some hardline inmates. “They used to accuse me of siding with the Rafidis (a derogatory term for Shias), communists, and non-practicing Muslims,” he recalled.
Parsi detailed the religious pressures faced by Shia inmates: “The Hazaras were forced to pray behind us and to keep their hands folded so they wouldn’t be mocked or insulted.” He emphasized his belief in freedom of religion, saying, “I always insisted that everyone should be free to follow their own faith. We are all Muslims, even if we belong to different schools of thought.”
One incident, Parsi said, highlighted the deep-seated sectarian hatred in the prisons: a Taliban member named Haji Shah Wali from Khost province kicked a Shia inmate’s prayer tablet (turbah) across the room, hurling obscene insults. “It caused a huge commotion, and the prison commander had to intervene. Fortunately, the matter was eventually resolved in favor of the Shia doctor,” Parsi recounted.
He also reiterated his commitment to religious tolerance, adding that he often told Shia inmates they were not obliged to pray behind him. “I always remained true to my belief in religious coexistence,” he said.
Parsi concluded by noting that Hazara and Shia prisoners suffer “double discrimination” — both ethnic and religious — under Taliban custody.
His testimony reflects more than personal experience; it exposes a broader pattern of persecution rooted in sectarian extremism. The discrimination against Shia and Hazara prisoners is part of the same exclusivist ideology that has long undermined justice and humanity in Afghanistan.
As Parsi poignantly remarked, no government built on religious hatred can endure — for faith cannot be forced, and respect for others’ sacred beliefs is the foundation of true humanity. If the Taliban claim to uphold Islamic justice, he said, they must begin by practicing it within their own prisons.
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