# Taliban vs kites? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 28, 2001, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-vs-kites/95776 "2001-11-28T20:27:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-vs-kites/95776/1 "2001-11-28T20:27:57Z")
Reading this article ( [http://web.realcities.com/content/rc/news/attack/miami/1956671205.htm](http://web.realcities.com/content/rc/news/attack/miami/1956671205.htm) ), I came across this sentence: _Among the more bizarre prohibitions were bans on flying pigeons, selling or flying kites and training dogs, partridges or quail to fight._ OK, training dogs to fight would be cruelty to animals, but _kites?_ Can one of you people in the know explain where that came from? Thanks, RR ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-vs-kites/95776/2 "2001-11-28T20:38:06Z")
I am positive that I read somewhere that Taleban had banned the use of brown paper bags. This step was taken because it was thought people might use copies of the Koran to make said bags. Perhaps Taleban were concerned that kites could be made from the same materials. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-vs-kites/95776/3 "2001-11-28T20:38:58Z")
[Why is kite flying un-Islamic?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=77944) ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-vs-kites/95776/4 "2001-11-28T20:45:55Z")
I dunno either. I saw a version of that in the Chicago _Tribune_, and all I could think was, “Man, them Taliban fellas are just Blue Meanies, born ‘n’ raised, ya know?” They’re just down on everything fun. Actually, I do think it’s more of a “down on everything _American_” thing. Kites are sort of a perfect example of the gadget-oriented American propensity to waste time, along with VCRs, computers, nail polish, etc. And yes, I DO know that “the Chinese invented them”, yadda yadda yadda, but the Chinese weren’t the ones responsible for bringing the world the Pikachu kite. Oooooog, that geeky little critter is bad enough on the ground, but 100 feet overhead, fluttering? Please. :rolleyes: I’ll tell you what baffled _me_: chess games. I mean, _chess_? I think the whole thing is just a Puritan/Fundie “don’t want anybody to do anything besides read the Bible and pray” kind of thing. P.S. [http://www.frontpagemag.com/realitybites/1999/rb03-05-99.htm](http://www.frontpagemag.com/realitybites/1999/rb03-05-99.htm) > [@](#): > > Detroit Free Press | March 4, 1999 > > Kabul, Afghanistan—Leather jackets are the latest item prohibited by Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban religious army. > > Taliban soldiers used knives Wednesday to slash the leather jackets young men were wearing in Kabul, saying they were prohibited under Islam, witnesses said. > > Since taking power in Kabul in 1996, the Taliban have banned music, video cassette recorders, televisions, cameras, and books published outside of Afghanistan. > > They also have banned brown paper bags, fearing they may be made of recycled copies of the Koran. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-vs-kites/95776/5 "2001-11-28T21:37:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > **I’ll tell you what baffled _me_: chess games. I mean, _chess_?** The Sharia (Islamic law) expressly forbids gambling and gambling paraphernila. Strict Islamic lawyers lump chess in with other board games and instruments of gambling (cards, dice, etc.). Why? For one thing, people used to bet on chess games, so Islamic lawyers made the brilliant non-sequitur that chess causes (or at least encourages) gambling. Second, the little chess pieces are just too darned similar to dice and whatnot, so it’s best not to allow any toys that even _remind_ people of gambling. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2001, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-vs-kites/95776/6 "2001-11-29T00:31:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Among the more bizarre prohibitions were bans on flying pigeons, selling or flying kites and training dogs, partridges or quail to fight. Am I the only person who’s wondering what kind of asshole news reporter thinks that banning staged animal fights would be a bizarre law? ---
**Author:** ![Opus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/858c86/32.png) [@Opus1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opus1)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2001, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-vs-kites/95776/7 "2001-11-29T01:18:16Z")
When the people doing the banning have no problem with chopping off hands, feet, and heads, whipping people on the street, and brutalizing millions of their own people, then, no, such a law would indeed be bizarre. I guarantee you that the Taliban ban on fighting animals was done because it was frivolous entertainment for the humans, not because it’s cruel to the animals.