In early April, an attack on a Shia place of worship in Herat, western Afghanistan, killed at least 11 people, according to the AFP news agency, with local sources putting the number of casualties higher.
To date, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Taliban officials announced an investigation and promised to hold those responsible accountable. However, no results have come out yet.
In the past, the so-called “Islamic State in Khorasan” (ISKP) has regularly claimed responsibility for attacks on Shia facilities. The silence in the Herat case has raised questions about the potential perpetrators, the security situation and the ability of authorities to provide security.
Observers view the situation in the Shia community as a barometer of the Taliban’s ability to institutionally safeguard religious diversity. Security is defined not just by military presence, but by political recognition, legal equality and reliable protection.
Taliban security promises under pressure
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have insisted that they have restored stability across Afghanistan. Taliban spokesmen regularly assure the public that all civilians are safe, regardless of ethnic or religious affiliation.
The attack in Herat has shaken this promise and the question of security remains fundamental for many members of the Shia community.
Herat resident R. Jafari, who wished to remain anonymous and whose name has been changed for security reasons, said, “Unfortunately, Afghanistan is not a safe place for Shias in general, and it was not before. Whether under this government or the previous government.”
“This is the first attack on the Shia community since the Taliban came to power, but it certainly won’t be the last,” he told DW.
‘We are afraid’
For a woman in Herat who witnessed the attack firsthand and whose son was killed, the debate about security measures is peripheral. Wishing to remain anonymous, she told DW about living in constant fear.
“We are scared and can’t sleep,” she said. “Every day we expect the atrocities to happen again.”
On the day of the attack, she was at the park – which is also a place of worship – to pray and have a picnic with her family.
She said, “I had just finished praying when I saw them separating men and women. At first we thought they just wanted to check us and look at our phones. When they started hitting them, I started getting stomach aches and went into shock. What happened after that, I couldn’t really pay attention to.”
He told that a total of 14 people were buried. The injured were taken to nearby Iran for treatment. His son’s wife was also injured in the attack and is now taking care of her grandchildren.
“The children are crying and scared. They don’t want to go to school because they are afraid of the guards outside the school. The weapons the guards have remind them of the incident and scare them.”
He said that no support has been received from the authorities. “On the day of the funeral, they assured us that they would find the culprits, but nothing has happened so far.”
She is thinking of leaving the country. “We want to get out of here, but where to go? We can’t go to Iran. We are refugees there and we have no place to go. If we could, we would go.”
“I’m scared and I don’t know what will happen. But we don’t feel safe here,” he said.
Ethnic minorities unsafe in Afghanistan
Niala Mohammed of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate, a Washington-based advocacy group, sees the attack as an expression of a deeper-rooted problem.
“The recent attack in Herat highlights the ongoing weakness of the Shia community in Afghanistan,” he said.
“The Taliban’s ultra-conservative Sunni interpretation of Islam labels Shia Muslims as heretics. This characterization contributes to their vulnerability and increases their exposure to sectarian violence,” Mohammed told DW.
Afghanistan has a Shia minority, primarily members of the Hazara ethnic group. Their share in the population is estimated at around 10%–20%. However, these are only estimates. There has been no census here since the 1970s.
Attacks on Shia mosques, educational centers and civilian facilities occurred during the rule of previous governments, often carried out by the ISKP. However, the attack in Herat shows that the threat remains even under the de facto Taliban government, which presents nationwide security as its central claim to legitimacy.
However, experts consider this claim to be far-fetched. According to human rights organizations, the Taliban has been responsible for several massacres targeting the Shia community over the past decades. At the same time, they continue to systematically discriminate against Shias during their current rule.
Since the Taliban took power, international organizations have been documenting measures that particularly affect Shia communities.
In July 2025, Human Rights Watch reported on violence eviction Of the 25 Hazara families in Bamiyan province. Additionally, in Badakhshan, approximately 50 members of the Ismaili community were forced to convert to Sunni Islam under threat of violence.
The teaching of Shia jurisprudence is banned in all schools throughout Afghanistan – including private schools. The Shia legal system has been abolished, Shia literature has been banned, Persian holidays such as Nowruz, which marks the beginning of spring and the new year, have been banned, and Hazara people have been excluded from public service.
These developments impact both religious practice and institutional participation, with the attack in Herat occurring against the backdrop of these documented structural restrictions.
How does Taliban view Shia Muslims?
Besmillah Taban, a former head of the Afghan criminal investigation department and now a doctoral candidate at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, told DW that violence against the Shia minority is motivated by ideological prejudice.
He said, “The ideology of the Taliban and the governor of Herat hold a misanthropic view and consider Shias as heretics. If a fatwa is issued to this group that Shias are infidels, the regime does not need to issue direct orders to kill Shias. The fighters will carry out these acts themselves.”
At the same time, he also emphasizes that interreligious solidarity remains strong among the population. “Whenever Shia people have suffered, Sunni fellow citizens have donated blood and shown their sympathy,” Taban said.
Shia cleric Mashkoor, living in exile in Germany, recalls earlier security promises made by the Kabul Taliban.
“The Taliban have repeatedly assured us that they will protect Shiites. If they really intend to protect Shiites, they have not yet proven it,” he told DW.
“The Taliban does not accept any religious sect other than the Sunni Hanafi school and expects all others to convert,” he said.
Kabulis see this as a structural feature that makes it difficult to build trust between the authorities and the Shia community. He also stressed that the Taliban will not succeed in destroying relations between Sunnis and Shias in Afghanistan.
This article was translated from German