Why the Taliban feel alone in a shifting Muslim world

It’s been half a year since the Taliban took over Afghanistan and no country has officially recognized the new regime. Frustrated with this diplomatic isolation, the acting prime minister, Mullah Hasan Akhund, pleaded with other Muslim-majority countries on Wednesday to set up ties and send ambassadors. The silence from those countries has been telling.

Many Islamic nations have been moving toward religious tolerance and a moderate version of Islam even as the Taliban return Afghanistan to the violent theocracy of their 1996-2001 rule. Among Arab youth, for example, only 34% saw religion as central to their identity last year, according to a PSB Insights poll. That is down from 40% compared with the previous year.

In addition, more than two-thirds of those between ages 18 and 24 want reform of religious institutions. In Saudi Arabia, for example, officials have largely expunged textbooks of teaching hate and fear of others, especially Jews and Christians.

Many young Arabs “have been playing a very instrumental role in bringing different cultures and traditions together,” Rabbi Levi Duchman, the first resident rabbi of the United Arab Emirates, told The Circuit publication.

A few Muslim-majority countries where women play prominent roles have warned the Taliban that their exclusion of women in many parts of society is a barrier to close ties. In the world’s most populous Islamic nation, Indonesia, the foreign minister is a woman. Even in Iran, which shares a long border with Afghanistan, the theocratic regime says the Taliban government has not included enough ethnic minorities.

In December, the 57 countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation held a special meeting on Afghanistan and gave a cold shoulder to the Taliban. The OIC urged the country to abide by the “principles and purposes” enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

The most visible sign of a shift in Arab thinking has come since the 2020 Abraham Accords. Four countries – the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan – agreed to normalize relations with Israel. Saudi Arabia has also increased its unofficial ties with Israel.

“A surprising number of Arab countries are welcoming back Jews and embracing their Jewish heritage,” finds The Economist magazine. “Sympathetic portrayals of Jews have appeared in Arab films and TV shows; documentaries have explored the region’s Jewish roots.” In Israel itself, a new government includes the first independent Arab party in a governing coalition.

The Taliban may still believe they can set up a model Islamic state. Instead, most Muslim countries are simply watching to see if the Taliban prevent Afghanistan from again becoming a breeding ground for terrorist groups. Desperate for recognition and financial aid, the Taliban may yet come to reflect the emerging pluralism and diversity in other Islamic countries.