DNA Explainer: What is the Sharia law and why Afghanistan's future depends on how Taliban interprets it

When the Taliban took control of the final fort held by the Afghan forces, there was mayhem everywhere in Kabul. The roads were blocked with numerous cars and vehicles, all trying to flee the capital city. The scenes from the Kabul airport were even more heart-wrenching. 

People could be seen running on the tarmac, climbing walls to enter the airport. Many were even clinging to the airplanes that were to take off with foreign nationals. And what shook the conscience of the entire world was the video where people were seen falling off the airplane, who in their bid to escape the Taliban had climbed on the wings of the flights.

We also saw how around 650 people packed inside a US cargo flight that took off from Kabul. These people chose such desperate paths fearing that staying back would mean dying at the hands of the Taliban. But what makes the Taliban so dreadful? The answer lies in the cause and effects of the oppressive first Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Taliban, which belongs to the majority Pashtun ethnic group of Afghanistan are followers of the Sunni form of Islam. They implement the Sharia law when in power. It is their historical interpretation of these age-old laws during the first regime in 1996 to 2001 that stems fear of oppression in people's minds.

What is the Sharia law?

Sharia is not a written code of rules but it is associated with the Islamic law mostly derived from the holy Koran and the Sunnah. Sunnah represents Prophet Mohammed's life, teachings, and practices. The documentary form of Sunnah is known as the Hadith. 

Sharia law covers everything from how to practice religion, rules of conduct, dressing, and even legal matters. Since there is no strict legal code, the implementation of Sharia is largely left up to the interpretation of Islamic scholars.

There are ultra-orthodox schools like the Hanbali, which are followed in Saudi Arabia and by the Taliban, as per Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). On the other hand, liberal schools like the Hanafi are dominant among Sunnis in Central Asia, Egypt, Pakistan, India, China, Turkey, the Balkans, and the Caucasus. There are other schools like Maliki (North Africa), Shafi'i (Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, etc) while Shia Iran follows the Ja'fari school.

Why do people fear the Taliban?

In the late 1909s, when the Taliban ruled over Afghanistan they handed out some of the harshest punishments for not abiding with their rules. From whipping to amputating limbs, public executions, and women being subjected to the harshest of punishments, the Taliban has done it all during its previous rule.

Most forms of art and entertainment were banned including movies, music, photography, filming, and display of women's pictures. Men could be beaten up for sporting too short a beard and listening to music or watching movies. 

From public humiliation to beatings, women were subjected to a range of punishments for not following diktats on everything from their dressing to behaviour. Girls were stopped from going to schools and higher education of women was banned in the country. Women's movements were restricted. They could not go out alone in public and had to be accompanied by a male relative. The strict Taliban dress code required women in Afghanistan to be covered head-to-toe in the traditional burqa.

Stoning was prescribed for adultery while theft or looting could be punished with the chopping off of arms.