Taliban official attends religious conference in Diyarbakır, says 'we recognize Kurdistan'

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Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson of the Taliban, attended an Islamic scholars conference in the Kurdish-majority southeastern city of Diyarbakır, saying that the Taliban "recognizes Kurdistan."

Organized by the Union of Scholars and Madrasahs between October 15-16, the conference was attended by religious scholars from Türkiye, Afghanistan, Rojava and Libya.

Zabihullah Mujahid spoke at the 7th conference of the Scholars Meeting organized by the Union of Scholars and Madrasahs on common issues and problems of Muslims.

In response to a question by a reporter, he said "I recognize Kurdistan," and that he hoped that the Kurdish question could be resolved without violence.

He explained that the Kurdish issue is not only a problem of the Kurds, and called for unity among Muslims, hoping that dialogue could resolve national and ethnic problems.

"We see Türkiye as a friendly country"

As for the Taliban's view of Türkiye, Mujahid emphasized that Afghanistan and Türkiye have historically, culturally and religiously close ties. Referring to Türkiye as a friendly and brotherly country that stood by the Afghans in bad times.

While Türkiye has had a military presence in the country as part of NATO missions since 2002, it took a non-combatant role, ensuring that its troops were not involved in active warfare.

Furthermore, Türkiye was one of the few countries, and the only NATO member, that did not cut diplomatic ties with Afghanistan when the Taliban came to power last year.

Both the Taliban and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have previously expressed the desire to cooperate since the group's takeover of the country last year.

The president had said it was a "requirement of brotherhood" to stand with Afghanistan, and "we have nothing against their beliefs."

Taliban's Suhail Shaheen had made similar remarks, emphasizing that Türkiye's bond with Afghanistan is "incomparable" to other countries.

Erdoğan had later emphasized that Afghanistan's economy needs to be revitalized to prevent a refugee crisis. According to UNHCR statistics, there are 2.7 million Afghan refugees in various countries. Türkiye hosts over 300,000 of them, according to government figures.

Preventing "deviant behavior"

Besides the geopolitical talk, the Islamic conference in Diyarbakir ended with a declaration that called for a strengthening of the Shari'a madrasahs, the religious schools.

The statement emphasized "family values," referring to the family as the stronghold against global colonial powers. "At a time, where heresies are legally guaranteed for the destruction of the family, the ulema should come forward and guide the society in preventing deviant behavior." (TY/WM/VK)