Showing his age, The Guy notes with amusement that early in his career "Afghanistanism" meant "the practice (as by a journalist) of concentrating on problems in distant parts of the world while ignoring controversial local issues" (per the authoritative Merriam-Webster)!
Today, many will argue that no nation is more important in news terms than the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which affects both international turmoil and Islam's global status and cultural direction.
Journalists may ask, “Why?” This is probably the most heavily Muslim of nations and the Taliban who regained power in August proudly proclaim totalist governance based upon strictly interpreted and enforced Sharia (Islamic religious law). This example of Islam in action presents a huge challenge to the world religion.
A two-page (paywalled) Wall Street Journal status report by chief foreign correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov last weekend said the militantly Sunni Taliban have yet to impose the harshest policies that provoked wide condemnation during the prior Taliban years in power.
But the future is iffy.
For the moment, females seem able to attend primary school, but mostly not high school and college. Rigid bans on women leaving home unless accompanied by male relatives have not reappeared, and some women continue careers though many do not.
Public spectacles of beheading of opponents, and street beatings by religious police, have not resumed (though there are social-media rumors), nor have music and visual art yet been restricted. Shia and Sufi Muslims, and the tiny enclaves of non-Muslims, are understandably anxious, along with Christians, both coverts and missionaries who chose to remain after the exodus. (Other aspects of autocratic rule are commonplace in that part of the world.)
Which brings reporters to the key leader who'll be deciding such policies for years to come. As in neighboring Iran's theocracy, both national and religious leadership are fused in the person of 60-year-old Supreme Commander Hibatullah Akhundzada. This mullah now becomes one of the most impactful personalities on the international religious and political scenes.
His reign will be a challenge for journalists since he has never made a public appearance and rarely issues even canned statements. He keeps his exact whereabouts unknown, but is thought to operate out of his home region — not the seat of government in Kabul. In the information vacuum, wild rumors have spread regarding his supposed diseases or death. This raises an essential question for journalists: When Akhundzada is said to have released a new statement or ruling, how does the press know that he, in fact, said or wrote it"?
Only one photo of him exists; some media mentions of that seem unaware that strict jurists incorporate photography into authoritative Hadith teachings by the Prophet Muhammad that denounced visual art of humans and animals.
Akhundzada is Pashtun, like almost all current rulers though this ethnic group is only 37 percent of the population. He was trained by his father, a small-town imam, with further study in Pakistan. Importantly, after the Taliban took power in 1996, Akhundzada eventually ended up as chief justice over the Sharia courts and was responsible for many or most of the brutal religious edicts that caused such an international ruckus.
Taliban defectors have told Al Jazeera that he is "ruthless" and "very narrow-minded," with "the attitude of a typical tribal man." He is the third leader of the Taliban. Founding Mullah Mohammed Omar died in 2013 though this was not announced till 2015 when Mullah Akhtar Mansour was named as head. Akhundzada became the top Taliban in 2016 after Mansour was killed by a U.S. drone strike. Akhundzada has reportedly survived at least two assassination attempts. His brother Hafiz was killed by bombing, and his son Abdur Rahman died while carrying out a suicide bombing.
Though Akhundzada was a deputy to Mansour, his elevation to the top post was mildly surprising to analysts. The other contenders were Mohammad Yaqoob, son of the revered Omar, and Mansour's other deputy, Sirajuddin Haqqani, who runs the vicious Haqqani Network, is designated a terrorist by the U.S. and United Nations, and is now also Afghanistan's powerful interior minister.
If the current economic chaos and civil bloodshed persist and cause the downfall of Akhundzada's regime, the replacement would be even more radical Sunni hardliners in Afghanistan's version of the Islamic State, whose troops are actively terrorizing the populace in hopes of seizing power.