About the artist
Dr. Mohammad Yousof Asefi was born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1960. After earning his medical degree from Kabul Medical University in 1989, Asefi balanced his medical career with his passion for painting. Under the Taliban regime in the 1990s, Asefi risked his life to preserve Afghan art by ingeniously concealing human and animal figures in over 120 paintings, protecting them from destruction. His courageous efforts earned him national and international recognition. Following the fall of the Taliban, Asefi restored the altered artworks and established a public gallery in Kabul. But, in 2021, after the Taliban regained power, he was forced to flee Afghanistan with his family. Now, settled in Arizona, he serves as artist-in-residence at Arizona State University’s Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, where he continues to create and share his art with new audiences.
Upcoming events
Repression, Resilience and Renewal: Religious freedom and the art of Mohammad Yousof Asefi | Art Exhibition
July 21-23, 2026
10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Washington, DC
Through paintings and personal stories, this exhibition highlights Dr. Mohammad Yousof Asefi’s journey from preserving Afghanistan’s threatened cultural heritage under Taliban rule to rebuilding his life in Arizona, showcasing the power of art to preserve memory, resist oppression and uphold human dignity.
The Courage to Create: Art, Humanity and Religious Freedom | Panel Discussion
July 23, 2026
3 - 4:30 p.m.
Washington, DC
Inspired by the life and work of Dr. Mohammad Yousof Asefi, this panel discussion explores how art can preserve cultural heritage, strengthen communities and serve as a powerful force for resilience, resistance and religious freedom in the face of repression.
Past events
The Brush is Mightier: One Man's Mission to Rescue Art from the Taliban
Live painting and gallery open house
October 24, 2024
West Hall, Room 135 | ASU Tempe campus
Additional reading
The brush is mightier: One man’s mission to rescue art from the Taliban
Amid the horrors of war, survival needs often eclipse all else. But for Dr. Mohammad Yousof Asefi, a practicing physician and nationally recognized artist, saving Afghanistan’s art was as critical as saving lives.
Under the Taliban’s iron-fisted rule, Asefi risked his life to protect his country’s cultural heritage — a mission he continues as artist-in-residence at the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict ...
When the Taliban announced they would destroy paintings in the Afghan National Gallery, Asefi resolved to save them.
Meet Dr Mohammad Yousef Asefi: the man who saved Afghan art from the Taliban
More than 150 paintings hang centimetres apart across the walls, they also rest on the floor and lean against the wooden columns of the two-floor private gallery. These are all the works of one of Afghanistan’s most prominent artists, but most of them haven’t yet been seen by Kabul’s art enthusiasts. The owner of the gallery and the artist behind the paintings, Dr Mohammad Yousef Asefi, 57, says the surge in the number of deadly attacks across Afghanistan, particularly over the past year, have heightened people’s fear of public gatherings, which has put a dent in his plans to hold an official opening for the space.
An Afghan Artist Erases Layers of Taliban Repression
Muhammad Yousef Asefi does his best work with a palette and a paintbrush. These days, he has happily put them aside for a sponge soaked in water. Many mornings, Dr. Asefi can be found at the National Gallery here, gently scrubbing landscapes and portraits he painted years ago. Each brush of the sponge brings a revelation. A swan glides on a shimmering stream, where there had been only water. A man stands on a quay in Amsterdam, where there had been a tall stand of flowers.
It looks like a magic trick. In fact, it is the happy outcome of an act of cultural subterfuge against a repressive rule.
Support the Fund
"Dr. Asefi’s presence on campus gives students a chance not only to see an accomplished artist at work but also to be inspired by a man who fought for the liberty essential to every artist and every citizen of the world."
- Tom Mallon, donor
Your gift in support of visiting scholars in religion and conflict broadens learning opportunities by introducing diverse viewpoints and fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration. This advances the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict's mission to foster innovative research and education on religion, conflict and peace.
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