Afghan Religious Council Denounces TV Programs

Many private TV stations have sprung up in Afghanistan in recent years.

A council of religious authorities in western Afghanistan has denounced what it calls “immoral” shows on Afghan television.

The Herat-based Ulema Council said shows it deems offensive to Muslims pose a greater danger to the country than do suicide bombers.

The spokesman of the council, Mir Faroq Husseini, also warned that if “immoral” shows were not prevented the clerics would not denounce suicide attacks any more.

Dozens of privately run television stations have sprung up in Afghanistan over the past decade and have angered clerics by showing Bollywood films.

Responding to past clerical pressure, Afghan President Hamid Karzai in April demanded that the Information and Culture Ministry prevent broadcasting of programs which are “vulgar, obscene, and un-Islamic and are counter to social morality."

With reporting by 'The Guardian'