AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The students raised their concerns during a visit by a representative of Afghanistan's Taliban-run Ministry of Justice, who reportedly returned to the seminary to discuss the possible evacuation of the religious and educational complex.
According to sources close to the institution, an official identified as Mawlawi Daneshyar, a member of the ministry's technical commission, visited the Khatam al-Nabieen complex on instructions from the Ministry of Justice. His visit was met with protests from students, several of whom directly appealed to him over the continued closure of the seminary.
“Are we not children of this land and this country?” the students asked, according to accounts of the meeting. “What is our crime that the doors of our mosque and religious school have been closed to us?”
The students said they had been studying in open spaces for almost two months, exposed to harsh weather conditions, and questioned whether education and religious worship had become grounds for restricting their activities.
They also called for the reopening of the seminary's mosque and library, asking whether Afghanistan's Shia community had the right to maintain its own religious schools and places of worship.
The students urged the ministry's representative to convey their objections and their demand for the immediate reopening of the institution to Taliban Justice Minister officials.
Major Sections Sealed
The Taliban's Ministry of Justice closed major sections of the Khatam al-Nabieen complex on June 24, according to the institution's board of trustees. The board said at the time that the mosque, Hussainiya congregation hall, library and religious schools for male and female students had been sealed.
The move came in the days leading up to Ashura and shortly after Tamadon TV, another prominent institution associated with Afghanistan's Shia community, was forced to suspend operations. The closures prompted widespread concern among members of the country's Shia community.
Afghanistan's Shia Ulema Council also expressed concern at the time over the closure of the Khatam al-Nabieen seminary, restrictions on Muharram religious symbols and the reported detention of several officials connected to Shia mosques and Hussainiyas. The council called for the seminary to be reopened.
The Taliban's Ministry of Justice has previously alleged that the Khatam al-Nabieen seminary, Khatam al-Nabieen University and Tamadon TV were linked to a political party, and that part of the complex had been built on state-owned land.
Officials connected to the institutions have rejected those allegations.
The seminary's board of trustees said when the complex was sealed that the disputed case was still under consideration by a special court and that no final judicial ruling had been issued at the time of the closure.
Sources close to the Khatam al-Nabieen complex have also said that the land was legally allocated for public-benefit purposes under Afghanistan's previous government and that documentation supporting the ownership and status of the property exists. They have also denied allegations that the seminary is affiliated with the Islamic Movement political party.
Concerns Over Religious Rights
Khatam al-Nabieen is among the best-known Shia religious and educational institutions in Kabul. The complex includes a religious seminary, mosque, Hussainiya and library and serves as an important centre for religious education and community activities.
Nearly two months after the closure of its main facilities, students say normal academic activities have yet to resume. Some students continue to attend lessons outdoors, according to accounts from those connected to the institution.
The Taliban's Ministry of Justice had not issued a new public statement on the students' latest demand for the seminary's reopening or on the outcome of Mawlawi Daneshyar's visit by the time of publication.
The dispute has increasingly raised broader questions about religious freedom and minority rights in Afghanistan. For the students of Khatam al-Nabieen, however, the issue remains immediate: whether they will be allowed to return to their classrooms, library and mosque and continue their education and religious practices without further interruption.
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