Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visited the historic Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband in UP on Saturday as part of his six-day visit to India. This is a first visit by a senior Taliban official to India since the group regained power in Kabul following the US withdrawal in 2021.
Amir Khan Muttaqi Receives Warm Welcome at Deoband
Speaking during his visit, Muttaqi expressed gratitude to the seminary’s leadership and local community.
“I am thankful to the Ulema of Deoband and the people of the area for this warm welcome… The future of India-Afghanistan relations seems very bright,” he said.
#WATCH | Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh: On Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to Darul Uloom Deoband in Saharanpur today, President of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Maulana Arshad Madani, says, “…We have a scholarly and educational connection with Afghanistan… He… pic.twitter.com/Vysd7TVaG3
— ANI (@ANI) October 11, 2025
The Taliban minister arrived in New Delhi on Thursday from Russia and met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday, signaling India’s cautious steps towards engaging with the Taliban, even as New Delhi does not officially recognize the regime.
Muttaqi said that his visit to Deoband had a religious and educational dimension.
“Deoband is a big centre for the Islamic world… and Afghanistan and Deoband are connected, hence I am going to meet the leaders there. We want our spiritual students to come and study here too,” he told reporters on Friday.
Also Read: Congress Targets Govt After Women Journalists Not Allowed to Attend Afghan Minister Presser
Darul Uloom Deoband: Renowned Islamic Seminary
Darul Uloom Deoband, located in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, is one of India’s oldest and most renowned Islamic seminaries. Established in the late 1800s by Sayyid Muhammad Abid, Fazlur Rahman Usmani, Mahtab Ali Deobandi, and others, its current campus foundation was laid by Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi. The seminary primarily teaches manqulat, a traditional Islamic curriculum based on the Quran, Hadith, and other classical texts.
As of 2020, the seminary had 34 departments and over 4,000 students enrolled. Students who complete eight years of study earn the degree of Maulvi (Maulana) and may specialize in literature, fatwa, tafseer, Hadith, English, or computer studies. Weekly classes on Hindu religion and philosophy are also mandatory to provide students with a holistic understanding of India’s religious and cultural heritage, including Islam.
Afghanistan Connection With Deoband
Darul Uloom Deoband has historically influenced Islamic education across South Asia. Many Taliban leaders trace their academic roots to seminaries inspired by Deoband, most notably Darul Uloom Haqqania in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
Maulana Abdul Haq, founder of Darul Uloom Haqqania, studied and taught at Deoband before the Partition in 1947. His son, Sami-ul-Haq, is often referred to as the “Father of the Taliban”, highlighting the seminary’s role in shaping Taliban leadership.
Muttaqi underlined this historical link during interactions with reporters on Friday, “Deoband is a significant religious place for us. This place and its people have a long history with Afghanistan. The way our students come here to study engineering and science, they also come here for religious studies,” he said, according to PTI.
Also Read: India Denies Role In Exclusion Of Women Journalists From Afghan FM Muttaqi’s Presser
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
