Taliban jail barbers over DiCaprio-style haircuts
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KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have jailed 22 barbers for giving men Leonardo DiCaprio-style haircuts deemed offensive to Islam because the long bangs interfere with the ability to bow and say prayers.
The hairstyle, referred to among young men in Kabul as the "Titanic," mimics that of DiCaprio in the blockbuster movie.
Religious police deployed by the Taliban's Ministry of Vice and Virtue - responsible for imposing the religious militia's strict brand of Islamic rule - contend the hairstyle is offensive, said Mohammed Arif, a barber in the capital.
The cut allows hair on the forehead, which the Taliban say could interfere with a person's ability to say prayers. Muslim prayers are said while bowing toward Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Islam's holiest site.
After taking power in 1996, the Taliban closed cinemas in Kabul, saying the images were contrary to Islam. But pirated videos, including "Titanic," can be found. It's not clear whether the barbers would be punished or what the penalty might be. The Taliban espouse public punishment for most offenses. None of those arrested in a sweep that began Saturday has been freed yet.
Arif watched while bearded Taliban religious police stormed into his business and arrested his colleague.
"There isn't anything you can do," he said.
Religious police patrol Afghanistan's capital and arrest violators of the Taliban's brand of Islam, which requires the faithful to literally follow the teachings of the Koran and dress as Islam's prophet, Mohammed, dressed in the seventh century when he founded the religion.
The Taliban, in control of about 95 percent of the country, also has banned most forms of light entertainment and demand that men pray in the mosque and grow beards. Men are not allowed to shave their facial hair, and trimming beards is strictly forbidden.
But Arif said men secretly do get their beards trimmed.
"They come very early in the morning or very late at night," he said. "It is done very secretly and only for friends."
Young men in Kabul often grumble about the Taliban's edicts.
Hafiz Ullah, 18, who sports the offending hairstyle, complained about the strictness of his country's rulers. Although he defies their ruling on the haircut, Ullah is careful.
"I don't go near the government offices, and my eyes are always looking for the religious police," he said.