Free Republic

The Taliban has said it will ban music in public in Afghanistan because it is forbidden in Islam, despite the assurances given by the insurgent group that it will be more tolerant than it was two decades ago. The restriction on public playing of music acts as a return to one of the harshest policies of the Taliban in the 1990s. The previous emirate only allowed religious chants, with nearly all other forms of music forbidden because it was viewed as a distraction that could encourage evil thoughts. In an interview with The New York Times, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid...