The global jihadist community has had a mixed reaction to the Taliban’s remarkable sweep to power in Afghanistan.
Al-Qaida – Osama bin Laden’s alma mater – was brimming with enthusiasm, heralding a triumphant new era of Islamic rule that proves jihad, and not the “democracy game,” is the way to achieve power. The al-Qaida-linked news agency, the Global Islamic Media Front, released a statement of congratulations that said: “May Allah grant the mujahideen in Somalia, the African Sahel, Yemen, Syria, Pakistan, the Indian subcontinent and everywhere the same victory.”
The Islamic State wasn’t so positive.
As Aymenn Jawad Tamimi, a jihadist expert and fellow at the Washington-based Center for Global Policy, notes in his blog, IS has argued the Taliban’s actions weren’t so much a conquest as a takeover coordinated with the U.S. The Islamic State’s path was better, the group argued, because “supporting Islam does not pass through the hotels of Qatar nor the embassies of Russia, China and Iran.”
It’s here the Taliban may run into some problems of its own. It’s already attempting – albeit pretty unsuccessfully so far – to play both sides, trying to keep the international community onside with its promises of a more moderate version of itself – complete with footage of schoolgirls being ushered into classrooms – while its heavily armed soldiers detain activists and beat journalists.