The Taliban`s Ministry of Higher Education has announced a ban on 679 academic and educational textbooks across various disciplines - including law, economics, sociology, communications, journalism, art, and literature - in both public and private universities throughout Afghanistan.

According to Ansar News Agency, the decision followed a content review conducted by a special committee of religious scholars and professors specializing in Islamic law and culture. The ministry stated that the review was based on "ideological, intellectual, religious, political, cultural, and scientific criteria."

In an official letter issued on August 25 (4 Sunbula) by Ziaur Rahman Al-Ayoubi, the Deputy Minister for Academic Affairs, universities were instructed to remove all banned titles from their curricula and replace them with materials aligned with "Islamic principles and the policies of the regime."

Among the prohibited titles are works such as Principles of Law, International Sustainable Development, Political Thought in the 20th Century, Aesthetics, Philosophy of Art, Political Sociology, and History of Islamic Civilization.

While the Taliban has not yet released the full list of banned books or their proposed replacements, officials announced that a committee will soon introduce substitute textbooks deemed "appropriate under Sharia standards."

This move is part of the Taliban`s wider campaign of cultural censorship, which has intensified since their return to power in 2021. The regime has already established a special commission within the Ministry of Information and Culture tasked with monitoring and restricting publications considered "contrary to Islamic values."

Observers note that the expansion of academic censorship reflects the Taliban`s attempt to reshape knowledge within their ideological framework, rather than merely "protecting cultural integrity."

Analysts warn that such policies will not only erode the quality of higher education but also further isolate Afghanistan from global academic and intellectual currents, creating deep structural barriers to the country`s eventual reintegration into the international community.