Afghan clerics call for new religious police
Last Updated: Saturday, July 15, 2006 | 2:59 PM ET
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A council of Islamic clerics is pressing the Afghan government to re-establish a religious police force to make sure Shariah law is obeyed.
The proposal will be referred to parliament for consideration, government spokesman Mohammad Asif Nang said on Saturday.
The Department of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice was disbanded after the toppling of the Taliban in 2001.
Previously, its officers patrolled the streets, punishing men for not sporting beards and women for not wearing the burqa, an all-concealing traditional robe with built-in mesh over the eyes.
The religious police also punished anyone caught listening to music or drinking alcohol. They were allowed to detain without trial Afghans considered to be flouting the Taliban's strict interpretation of Islam.
The parliament elected in Afghanistan last year is a mixture of religious conservatives, old political and faction leaders, and younger independents.
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