Almost no one in Canada has the slightest idea who Jahid Mohseni is. Until recently, most of his own countrymen in Afghanistan also had no idea who he was. However, all that changed overnight as Jahid Mohseni, director of Tolo TV, Afghanistan's most popular television station, found himself locked in a battle over freedom of the press and media with conservatives and Muslim clerics.The showdown between Mohseni and conservatives arose when the Afghan minister of information and culture, Karim Khurram, backed by senior Afghan Muslim clerics, demanded all commercial TV stations quit broadcasting Indian soap operas. They denounced the programs as un-Islamic and against Afghan cultural traditions. The programs in question had become a cause célèbre for conservatives, claiming they were examples of foreign values corrupting Afghan society. They denounced the soaps for showing uncovered areas of female actors' bodies, men and women mixing together, plus dancing and singing, and the display of Hindu gods – all against Afghan values.
Many TV stations had already bowed to earlier pressure from the clerics, cutting scenes of Hindu worship and blurring areas of bare flesh exposed by the Indian actresses. Nevertheless, such efforts clearly did not appease conservatives who called for a total ban of the soaps. Subsequent threats by the information ministry to punish unco-operative TV stations caused several to cease broadcasting the programs.
But despite further repeated threats, Tolo TV's Mohseni refused to capitulate. He even went on the offensive, denouncing the information ministry's order as completely illegal, insisting he had no intention of removing the five Indian soap operas. He also took on the minister himself, saying his action was purely personal and violated the constitution's commitment to freedom of expression and the media law.
Unfortunately, the banning attempts by the minister of information and culture are not isolated actions. In recent days, members of Afghanistan's democratically elected parliament have also entered the picture. In a declaration they proposed measures going beyond banning soap operas. They want a prohibition against loud music, women and men mingling in public, billiards, video games, playing with pigeons – all measures similar to regulations imposed by the fundamentalist Taliban during their 1996-2001 rule. Opponents of the Indian soap operas cite Afghan law that forbids publication of anything "... contrary to the principles of Islam."
For his part, President Hamid Karzai has maintained that media freedom will be upheld but has qualified this by saying "unsuitable material should not be broadcast." Commenting on the soaps controversy at a news conference the president said, "There will never be interference with media freedom but media freedom should be compatible with the culture of the Afghan people."
Unfortunately for television stations, they also have to contend with forces within Afghan society that see foreign TV programs as a threat to traditional cultural values. During Friday prayers at Kabul's largest mosque, Enayatullah Balegh, an influential religious cleric (and university teacher) denounced the soaps and warned he and his followers would not sit idly by if such unwanted programs continued. "We are 6,000 people in this mosque; our intention is to go and blow up all the TV antennas if they do not stop it."
Individuals like Jahid Mohseni of Tolo TV warn that the attempts by conservatives and clerics to ban programs they dislike is "... hobbling the development of free media and debate in Afghanistan." Mohseni and others also see conservatives using religion to advance their own agendas, especially as next year's elections approach. Some increasingly are concerned over where all this is leading. Perhaps rightly so, if one is to take seriously remarks of Afghan parliamentarian Qazi Naseer Ahmad, who recently said: "We have the same ideas as the Taliban."