On August 5, 2023, the state-owned Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) published a new audio of a Pashtu-language speech by Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, the Defense Minister of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Mujahid delivered his speech to an audience of the mujahideen and the military commanders of the Afghan Taliban's Ministry of Defense. Although he said that jihad is also for defending the current system – that is, the system of government established by the Islamic Emirate since August 2021 – his mention of the purpose of jihad "to protect the borders of Islam" means that the Taliban have never abandoned the global ideology of jihad. He emphasized that part of the obligation of jihad is to match the capabilities of the enemy, saying:
"Jihad is not over and working for this system is jihad... They [the infidels] make drones; it is obligatory upon you to make drones. They make airplanes; it is obligatory upon you to make airplanes. They make weapons; it is obligatory upon you – and this is jihad, that you should also do this, to protect Muslims, to protect the borders of Islam, to protect your system."
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