Talibanization

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Talibanization is a neologism coined after the rise of the Afghani Taliban describing the process by which a strict and repressive Islamist regime comes to power within which Islamist terrorism and religious persecution of non-Muslims is tolerated or encouraged, in reference to how the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and thereafter harbored the terrorist network of Al Qaeda and conducted such religious persecutions as the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamyan. Talibanization is often distinguished by a strict imposition of sharia law from the Islamic Jurisprudence of Fiqh, coupled with overt or covert anti-Western hostilities and harsh treatment of those who adhere to non-Muslim faiths, a policy at times referred to as Islamofascism. A particularly drastic example of this involved passing sumptuary laws against Afghan Hindus by the Taliban regime, requiring them to wear yellow badges, a practice similar to that of Nazi Germany's anti-Semitic policies^[1]^[2]^[3].

It may apply both literally to areas which are coming under the influence of the Taliban, such as Afghanistan and the areas of Waziristan in Pakistan^[4]^[5]^[6], or situations analogous to the Taliban-Al-Qaeda relationship, such as the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in Somalia and its harboring of Al Qaeda members^[7], or similar harboring of Islamic extremists in Nigeria^[8], Malaysia^[9], or Kashmir^[10] and elsewhere around the world, such as Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the current regime of the country, has been accused of "Talibanizing" the country, especially in their persecution of the Hindu minority^[11][1][2].

The term dates back before the Islamist terrorist attacks of 9/11, such as cited in a Boston Globe editorial published on November 6, 1999, warning of the emerging threat of the Taliban regime almost two years before the attacks of September 11, 2001.^[12] The term is also applied to non-Islamic bodies and organizations by those who allege them to hold "repressive policies" based on their respective religions.

In addition, members of the left in the United States often use it as a political slur against the Republican Party and the Christian Right in their allegations of the right wing implementing policies based on Fundamentalist Christianity^[13].

Sometimes, different analogous neologisms are used by the accusers, such as allegations of "saffronization" used to describe or critique right-wing policies related to Hindu nationalism^[14] or as a slur used by far left^[15]^[16] and anti-Hindu groups.^[17]^[18].Radicalized Muslims often exploit the resonance with this term to attack Hindu Nationalists as Kaffirs (infidels) and "Hindu Talibs"^[19].

Like any highly politicized term, it may also be used hyperbolically or in an alarmist manner, to make a slippery slope argument, such as in the invocation of the phrase "Talibanization of Bradford" to discuss a gamut of common racial problems and tensions which fall far short of the imposition of sharia law and terrorist attacks^[20]. It may also be applied unfairly by those who do not understand Islamic culture and the basis of sharia law, or who fail to distinguish between moderate Islamic and extremist Islamist states, or misapplied to perceived threats which are not true or have yet to be proven.^[21]