Baby Chakraborty, KalimNews, August 30, 2024: The Taliban government in Afghanistan has announced a ban on mixed martial arts (MMA), citing the sport as being “against Islam.” The decision was announced yesterday by Afghanistan’s sports organization, which stated that MMA violates Islamic law, or Sharia.
The Taliban government’s sports department told AFP, “This sport is against Sharia rules and the teachings of Islam. It is in this context that it has been decided to ban this sport in Afghanistan.” An official from the sports department further explained to local media that MMA was banned due to its potential for causing serious injury or even death.
Since forming a government in 2021, the Taliban has implemented some relaxations of its strict Islamic laws, such as the ban on wearing “human clothing” (with specific mention of men’s pants above the knee). However, they continue to enforce conservative regulations on various aspects of Afghan society, including sports.
Martial arts is a popular sport in Afghanistan. At the Paris Olympics, four out of the eleven Afghans who competed, either representing the Afghanistan national team or the Refugee Olympic Team, were martial arts athletes. Despite its popularity, MMA is not recognized as an Olympic sport due to safety concerns.