Four men detained by Taliban for dressing up as Peaky Blinders characters
The group of men received positive comments when they would wear trench coats and flat caps around their village in Afghanistan
Four young men were given rehabilitation by the Taliban for "promoting foreign culture" after they took to dressing up as characters from Peaky Blinders.
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The men would don trench coats and flat caps to wander around the Jibrail township, in a southern province of Afghanistan, inspired by the Shelby family from the hit show Peaky Blinders.
People would stop them in the streets and take photos of them, and although there were some negative comments, the group was generally well-received.
However, the Taliban found their outfits to be "contrary to Islamic values and Afghan culture".
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Saif-ur-Islam Khyber, a spokesman for the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, said: "They were promoting foreign culture and imitating film actors in Herat, arrested, and a rehabilitation program started for them.
"Praise be to Allah, we are Muslims and Afghans; we have our own religion, culture, and values. Through numerous sacrifices, we have protected this country from the spread of harmful cultures, and now we are also defending it."
The men were not formally arrested, Khyber told CBS, only advised and then released.
He added that the clothing worn by the four men "had no Afghan identity" and people should imitate their Muslim predecessors instead.
An interview with Asghar Husinai, Jalil Yaqoobi, Ashore Akbari and Daud Rasa, was recently posted on YouTube and showed the friends walking around their town.
They said that they admired the show's fashion.
The ministry released a video that includes a statement by one of the men.
A man can be heard saying: "I'm on Instagram and have five million followers. Without realizing it, I used to publish and spread things that were against Sharia.
"I was summoned and advised, and from today onward I will no longer engage in such sinful activities — and I have stopped."