Qatar’s relationship with the Taliban has been in the spotlight lately, which makes it the perfect time to talk about a more long-standing “Taliban” presence here: The Taliban shop in Muntazah.

The clothing and tailoring store, which owner Saleem Khan told one journalist has been open for more than 50 years, has no relation to the Afghan political group, but has done brisk business in part because of the curiosity of new customers.

The Peninsula reports:

“Taliban was just a name for us; we didn’t give it much thought then. Back in 2000, the name Taliban was not seen in the same context as it is seen now,” says (family member Alam) Jaan. “It was only after September 11, 2001, that Taliban became synonymous with terror.”

He explains that the government keeps strict checks on the records of the store, which includes monitoring flow of money earned from the store goes. “They have all our records, they know everything,” he adds.

To learn more, check out this fun video journalist Omar Khalifa produced a couple years ago. 

Shades of Doha – The Tailor Man from Omar Khalifa on Vimeo.

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