Detention of Four Young Men for Dressing as “Peaky Blinders”
Four young men were detained by Taliban authorities in Afghanistan for parading in public dressed as characters from the popular British drama “Peaky Blinders.”
The Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice stated that the four friends, known in their local Jibrail township in Herat province for wearing trench coats and flat caps, were detained for “promoting foreign culture.”
According to Saif-ur-Islam Khyber, a spokesperson for the ministry, the men, all in their early 20s, were taken into custody in Jibrail. Khyber remarked that they were “promoting foreign culture” by imitating film actors, subsequently leading to their detention and enrollment in a rehabilitation program.
In a recent interview with CBS News, Khyber clarified that the men were not formally arrested but were “summoned and advised” before being released. He emphasized that Afghan culture and traditions dictate specific clothing styles and that their outfits lacked Afghan identity.
The group, consisting of Asghar Husinai, Jalil Yaqoobi, Ashore Akbari, and Daud Rasa, gained attention for their outfits, inspired by the Shelby family from the Netflix series. They had previously expressed admiration for the show’s fashion on a local YouTube chat show.
A video released by the ministry included a young man’s audio clip in which he expressed remorse for his choice of clothing, stating, “Without realizing it, I used to publish and spread things that were against Sharia.” This was confirmed by the ministry, although the man’s name was not disclosed.
One of their friends criticized the detention, calling it “ridiculous” and asserting that the outfits were worn for fun, not for political reasons. The crackdown on what the Taliban deems un-Islamic behavior continues to escalate amid strict imposition of their interpretation of Sharia law.
