The book cover of ‘Al-Emarat al-Islamiya wa Nizamuha’

(The Islamic Emirate and its System of Governance) was written by the Islamic Emirate’s Chief Justice, Abdul Hakim Haqqani

The Islamic Emirate has been described by one scholar as “a highly underspecified and under-theorised political system.” It is notable that since re-taking power, the Taleban have been ruling without a constitution. Even before that, unlike similar armed opposition groups, the Taleban never had an aligned political party to promote their policies or politics (see AAN discussion here). In their previous incarnation in government (1996-2001), they did have a manifesto of sorts, written in Pashto, ‘Taleban: Da jihad atalan da fasad dushmanan’ (Taleban: Champions of Jihad, Enemies of Corruption), but it was scarcely known to the outside world. This is why the Chief Justice’s book, with its endorsement by Emirate Supreme Leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, is so significant.

This report takes a close look at the Chief Justice’s book, which reads like a work of jurisprudence (fiqh) on Taleban policies, jurisprudence being the theory or philosophy of law. One can say that the book amounts to an exposition of what Haqqani sees as Islamic political theory, a vision of what he believes a truly ordered Islamic state should look like.

قاضی القضاة العلامة الشیخ عبدالحکیم الحقانی