Taliban Detains Four Afghan Men for Dressing Like Characters from British Television Series

Four young Afghan men in their early twenties have been detained by Taliban authorities and placed in a rehabilitation program after appearing in public dressed as characters from the British television drama “Peaky Blinders.”

The men had gained local notoriety in their hometown of Jibrail, located in Herat province in southern Afghanistan, for walking through the streets wearing the distinctive trench coats and flat caps that characterize the popular period drama about a Birmingham crime family in post-World War I England.

Afghanistan’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice announced the detentions, stating the young men were taken into custody for “promoting foreign culture.” Saif-ur-Islam Khyber, a spokesman for the ministry, initially described the incident as an arrest followed by the commencement of a rehabilitation program. In a social media statement released Sunday, Khyber defended the action by invoking Afghanistan’s cultural sovereignty.

“Praise be to Allah, we are Muslims and Afghans; we have our own religion, culture, and values,” Khyber stated. “Through numerous sacrifices, we have protected this country from the spread of harmful cultures, and now we are also defending it.”

However, in subsequent statements made Tuesday, Khyber walked back the characterization of the incident, clarifying that the men were not formally arrested but rather “only summoned and advised and released.” This revision suggests either internal confusion within the Taliban bureaucracy or a calculated effort to soften the international perception of the incident.

The spokesman elaborated on the Taliban government’s position regarding cultural expression and dress. “We have our own religious and cultural values, and especially for clothing we have specific traditional styles,” Khyber explained. “The clothing they wore has no Afghan identity at all and does not match our culture. Secondly, their actions were an imitation of actors from a British movie. Our society is Muslim.”

This incident represents yet another chapter in the Taliban’s ongoing effort to enforce strict cultural codes since regaining control of Afghanistan. The regime has systematically restricted various forms of expression it deems inconsistent with its interpretation of Islamic values and Afghan tradition.

What makes this particular case noteworthy is the apparent triviality of the offense. Four young men wearing vintage British clothing hardly constitutes a threat to national security or religious observance. Yet for the Taliban, even such modest expressions of foreign cultural influence warrant government intervention and corrective action.

The international community continues to watch as the Taliban government attempts to erase decades of cultural exchange and modernization in Afghanistan. While the regime speaks of protecting Afghan culture, critics argue they are instead imposing an austere, restrictive interpretation of tradition that leaves little room for individual expression or the natural evolution of cultural identity.

For these four young men from Jibrail, their admiration for a British television series resulted in detention and what the Taliban describes as rehabilitation. Their story serves as a stark reminder of the realities facing ordinary Afghans under Taliban rule, where even fashion choices can become matters of state concern.