new members of Taliban in Mardajan region of Jowzjan Province, Afghanistan, June 2019
In some cases, the accession of new members to the Taliban takes place in accordance with a specific ceremony, identical to local burial or marriage traditions. It may be interpreted as a testimony to the complete breakup of new radical group members the old life and their community, and their birth into a “new life”. The penetration of elements of traditional wedding and funeral ceremonies into the heroic ceremonies of nomadic military communities is a marker of their radical evolution.
