Press Release

Russia's Recognition of the Afghan Government: A Further Step to Hinder the Emergence of an Islamic System in the Region

(Translated)

Russia announced on Thursday that it had formally accepted the credentials of the new Afghan ambassador, becoming the first country to recognize the Taliban government.

The Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir / Wilayah Afghanistan considers this recognition to be part of a broader process, through which the current regime will be gradually integrated into the international secular nation-state system, which will, over time, distance the Taliban from the most prominent Islamic goal of establishing and spreading the religion of God Almighty. Furthermore, this recognition may turn Afghanistan into an arena of conflict between regional and global powers.

Since the regime change in Afghanistan, Russia has strived to build strong relations with the new authorities. This political shift stems from Russia's national security concerns and its strategic interests in Central Asia. Moscow fears the rise of political Islam, the re-establishment of the Caliphate, and the unification of the Islamic Ummah. Russia expects the current Afghan regime to suppress the Mujahideen in Central Asia. For this reason, its President Putin explicitly declared on July 4, 2024: "The Taliban are undoubtedly our allies in the fight against terrorism." This statement clearly reveals Russia's manipulative and exploitative view of the Afghan government.

Recognition, in our current era, is a modern political tool used to serve the national interests of powerful states. It is a political benefit granted by Russia based solely on its own strategic calculations, and it expects the Afghan government to seek and maintain this benefit by prioritizing material interests alone, abandoning all other criteria, including Islamic values and principles. Just as US President Donald Trump expected from the new Syrian regime, these shared concerns among non-Islamic states demonstrate their common strategy of containing political Islam and preventing the rise of an Islamic system in the region.

Furthermore, the desire to gain this political benefit from hostile countries like Russia does not stem from Islamic doctrine, but from a mindset built on pragmatism and profit-orientation. Similarly, Amanullah Khan sent an official letter to Vladimir Lenin, requesting political support from the Soviet Union, which was the first country to recognize his rule. However, historically - and even under Vladimir Putin - Russia remains one of the fiercest enemies of Islam and Muslims, and a major obstacle to the unity of the Islamic Ummah. Its crimes against Muslims in Russia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Syria, Afghanistan and other regions are undeniable.

There is no doubt that diplomatic, political and economic relations with the disbelieving countries must be in accordance with what Islam approves, and this has historical precedents. From the era of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ through the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and beyond, the foreign relations of Muslims have always been conducted in accordance with Islamic doctrine and the rule of loyalty and disavowal. The foreign policy of the Caliphate served the mission of spreading Islam through Da’wah and Jihad to expand the scope of Islamic rule. A clear example of this is the Prophet ﷺ sending envoys to the palaces of the emperors at that time.

Diplomacy in Islam is based on concepts such as showing the religion, loyalty and disavowal, and classifying countries as Dar al-Islam or Dar al-Kufr. These concepts have no place in the secular nation-state system; in fact, they are often treated as a danger. The current regime cannot pursue an Islamic foreign policy and diplomacy unless it aims to establish a political system rooted in Islam itself, and not a system integrated into the secular system. This is only possible through the re-establishment of the Caliphate, otherwise the current state will gradually drift into deviation, driven by political realism and involvement in the secular world order.

Unfortunately, this is the same political delusion that other rulers in the Islamic countries have entered into - and are still entering into today - which has led to their hands being tied by the restrictions of the international system.

﴿Those who take disbelievers for allies instead of the believers, do they seek honor with them? Indeed, honor belongs to Allah entirely.﴾

The Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Afghanistan