Taliban OUTRAGE – CHESS And GAMBLING?

Taliban extremists in Afghanistan have once again proven their fanatical contempt for freedom by banning chess, labeling the world’s oldest strategy game as “gambling” that violates Islamic law.

At a Glance

• The Taliban regime has suspended all chess activities across Afghanistan, citing religious concerns about its supposed connection to gambling.
• Chess clubs have been shuttered, with the “vice and virtue” police enforcing the ban through intimidation and confiscation.
• Women were reportedly the first to be targeted by the chess ban, consistent with the Taliban’s pattern of restricting women’s rights.
• Other activities banned by the Taliban include music, cinema, and most sports for women.
• The ban mirrors a previous prohibition from 1996, which was reversed after the Taliban were removed from power in 2001.

The “Sin” of Strategic Thinking

Just when you thought the Taliban couldn’t find new ways to oppress the Afghan people, they’ve now declared war on a board game. Apparently, the strategic thinking required to play chess represents a grave threat to their medieval interpretation of Islamic law. The Orwellian-named “Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” has suspended all chess activities and dissolved the national chess federation.

According to a Taliban spokesman in a report from France24, “Chess in sharia (Islamic law) is considered a means of gambling.” This justification would come as a surprise to the dozens of predominantly Muslim countries where chess flourishes.

Big Brother’s Brutal Enforcement

The Taliban’s prohibition isn’t just administrative; they are actively enforcing it with their trademark brutality. As reported by NPR, a former chess coach experienced this firsthand when the vice squad confronted him and his friends in a park. Their threatening message was clear: “Playing chess is forbidden. Buying a chess set is forbidden. Even watching it is forbidden.”

“The Taliban, when they decide, are firm in their decision,” noted Ghulam Ali Malikzad, the former president of Afghanistan’s Chess Federation. This is tyranny disguised as religious piety.

The Systematic Erasure of Culture

The ban on chess is part of the Taliban’s broader campaign to erase any activity that might bring joy, develop intellect, or connect Afghanistan to the broader world. Since retaking power, they have systematically banned music, cinema, and most sports for women. They even prohibited mixed martial arts for being “too violent”—rich coming from a regime that publicly flogs and executes people.

This ban has nothing to do with Islamic values and everything to do with controlling the population. Critical thinking is dangerous to authoritarian regimes, and chess teaches precisely the skills—strategic planning, consequence evaluation—that the Taliban doesn’t want Afghans to develop.

A Painful Reminder of America’s Abandonment

The chess ban serves as yet another painful reminder of the catastrophic consequences of the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. After 20 years of American blood and treasure invested to prevent precisely this kind of extremist rule, the Taliban is now emboldened to impose their 7th-century ideology with impunity.

The silence from the international community is deafening. The Taliban knows there will be no meaningful consequences for their actions. They have transformed a once-developing nation into a laboratory for religious extremism while the world watches. The chess ban may seem minor compared to their other atrocities, but it represents the same fundamental assault on human freedom that characterizes everything the Taliban does.