Four men from Afghanistan were ordered to report to the country’s Taliban government and warned for dressing in suits inspired by TV show Peaky Blinders.
The Taliban took control of the country in 2021 and govern through their interpretation of Islamic Shariah law, a legal and moral code that establishes rules around conduct in society. Following videos of the group in their outfits being posted online, the men were ordered to report to the Taliban’s “morality police” on Sunday (December 7), and presented themselves for questioning in the Herat province the next day.
A Taliban spokesman, Saiful Islam Khyber, told the BBC that the costumes were “in conflict with Afghan and Islamic values.” “The values in the Peaky Blinders series are against Afghan culture,” he continued. “The clothing they wore has no Afghan identity at all and does not match our culture. Secondly, their actions were an imitation of actors from a British movie. Our society is Muslim; if we are to follow or imitate someone, we should follow our righteous religious predecessors in good and lawful matters.”
Khyber said the men has undergone a “rehabilitation programmed” and explained to CBS News (via BBC) that the men were not arrested, “only summoned and advised and released”.
Loosely based on a real criminal organisation, Peaky Blinders follows a crime gang whose influence in Birmingham grows in the aftermath of the First World War. Running for six series from 2013-22, Cillian Murphy starred as the gang’s leader, Thomas Shelby, a character that became a cultural icon among fans online.
A movie continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, will be released in cinemas on March 6 next year, before arriving on Netflix on March 20.
In October, the BBC announced two new series of the show, focusing on a “new generation of Shelbys.”
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