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Mazari Sharif's Blue Mosque is a magnificent and sacred structure of cobalt blue and turquoise minarets, attracting visitors and pilgrims throughout the world.
Mazari Sharif's Blue Mosque is a magnificent and sacred structure of cobalt blue and turquoise minarets, attracting visitors and pilgrims throughout the world. Mazār-e Sharīf ( is the fourth largest city of Afghanistan, with population of 300600 people (2006 estimate

Approximately 99 percent of Afghans are Muslims, and out of them, eighty percent are Sunni of the Hanafi School; the rest are Shi'a, the majority of whom are Twelver along with smaller numbers of Ismailis. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic The Hanafi ( Arabic حنفي school is the oldest of the four schools of thought ( Madhhabs See also Shi'a Islam Twelver Shi'ism ( ar اثنا عشرية Ithnāˤashariyyah) is the largest branch of Shi'a branch of Islam For the Egyptian city see Ismaïlia. The Ismāʿīlī ( Urdu: إسماعیلی Ismāʿīlī, Arabic: الإسماعيليون There is also a strong influence of Sufism among both Sunni and Shi'a communities. Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف

Contents

Early history

See: Islamic conquest of Afghanistan

Part of a series on
Islam by country
Islam in Africa
Islam in Asia
Islam in Europe
North and South America
Islam in Oceania
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Twelver Shi'a

About 12-25% of Afghans are Shi'as. The Islamic conquest of Afghanistan ( 656 - 870 CE began after the Islamic conquest of Persia, when Arab Muslims shattered the might of the Listing of Muslims by country Important note Population counts by religious affiliation like most demographic characteristics of a Population The precise number of Muslims in Africa is unknown as statistics regarding religious demography in Africa are incomplete Islam, the religion of almost all of the Algerian people pervades most aspects of life Islam in Angola is a minority religion with 80000-90000 adherents composed largely of migrants from West Africa and families of Lebanese origin According to the 2002 census 271 percent of the population of Benin is Roman Catholic, 24 Islam in Botswana comprises only 2-3 percent of the population Islam in Burkina Faso ( Upper Volta) has a long and varied history Muslims in Burundi are officially around 1% of the total population though Muslim Burundians estimate the figure to be closer to 8-10% Muslims comprise roughly 22 percent of Cameroon 's 18 million inhabitants According to the US State Department International Religious Freedom Report 2006 there is a small Muslim community in Cape Verde Islam accounts for approximately 22% of the population of the Central African Republic, making it the second most followed organized religion in the country The earliest Islamic presence in Chad can be traced back to the legendary Uqba ibn Nafi, whose descendants can be found settled in the Lake Chad region to this day According to the 2006 estimate by the US Department of State, roughly 98% of the population in the Comoros are Muslim. Islam in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is not a recent phenomenon as it has been present within the area since the 18th century when Arab traders from Islam spread to the Republic of the Congo from North Africa in the mid-19th century According to the CIA factbook, Muslims make up about 35-40% of the population of Côte d'Ivoire. Islam in Djibouti has a long history first appearing in East Africa during the lifetime of Muhammad. The republic of Egypt has recognized Islam as the State religion since 1980 According to the US State Department International Religious Freedom Report 2006 practicioners of Islam comprised less than 1 percent of the population of Equatorial Although reliable statistics are not available it is estimated that 50 percent of the population of Eritrea is Sunni Muslim and 49 percent is Christian. According to the latest 1994 national census Islam is the second most widely practiced religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with approximately one third (32 Approximately 12% of the population of Gabon practice Islam (of which 80 to 90 percent are foreigners Islam is the majority religion of The Gambia, with around 90% of the population being Muslims The spread of Islam into West Africa, beginning with ancient Ghana in the ninth century was mainly the result of the commercial activities of North African 2005 official statistics for Islam in Guinea estimate that 85% of Guinea 's 7 Islam is the predominate religion of Guinea-Bissau, numbering an estimated 38-45% of the roughly 1 Islam is the religion of approximately 10% of the Kenyan population or approximately 3 According to Adherents the Muslim population of Lesotho in 2000 was 1000 or 0 Islam in Liberia is practiced by 10% of the population The vast majority of Liberian Muslims are Sunni, with only a few Shi'ites, mostly of Lebanese origin Most Libyans adhere to the Sunni branch of Islam, which provides both a spiritual guide for individuals and a keystone for government policy Islam has been well-established in what is now known as Madagascar for centuries and today Muslims represent 7% of the population or approximately 1 Islam is the second largest religion in Malawi after Christianity; nearly all of Malawi's Muslims adhere to Sunni Islam. Muslims currently make up approximately 90 percent of the population of Mali, the largest country in West Africa. Virtually all Mauritanians are Sunni Muslims. They adhere to the Maliki Madhab, one of the four Sunni schools of law The 1968 constitution of Mauritius recognized four religious categories Hindus, Muslims Sino-Mauritians and the general population Islam is the largest religion in Morocco, with roughly 987% of the population adhering to it Islam in Mozambique is the religion of approximately four million Mozambicans or about 17 Islam is the third largest religion in Namibia after Christianity and indigenous beliefs 90% of the Nigerien population—approximately 113 million people—are followers of Islam', with a majority of those being linked to the Tijaniya Fifty percent of the population of Nigeria adheres to Islam. Islam came to Northern Nigeria as early as the ninth century and was Islam was first introduced into Rwanda by Muslim traders from the East Coast of Africa in the 18th century São Tomé and Príncipe, with a total population of about 181000 has about 5500 Muslim inhabitants about 3 percent of the population Islam is the predominant religion in Senegal. Ninety-four percent of the country's population is estimated to be Muslim Islam in the Indian Ocean was established by Muslim Sea Merchants well before the European discovery of Seychelles. Statistics for Islam in Sierra Leone estimate a Muslim population of 3610585 representing around 60 percent of the country's total population Nearly all Somalis are Sunni Muslims Practicing Islam reinforces distinctions that further set Somalis apart from their immediate African neighbors many of whom are either Christians Islam in South Africa predates the colonial period and consisted of isolated contact with Arab and East African traders Sudan is a religiously mixed country although Muslims have dominated national government institutions since independence in 1956 The population of Swaziland is approximately 35 percent Protestant, 30 percent African Zionist, 25 percent Catholic, and 1 percent Muslim. Islam is as of 2007 the largest religion (or may be the second after Christianity) in Tanzania with 35% of the population of the mainland ( Tanganyika) Muslims in Togo represent between 137 and 55% of the national population Islam is the official state religion in Tunisia Approximately 98 percent of the population of Tunisia is nominally Muslim. According to the National Census 2002 Islam is practiced by 12 According to the CIA World Factbook, Muslims make up nearly 100% of the population of the Western Sahara. The arrival of Islam in Zambia dates to the fourth Hijri century when Muslims established emirates on the coast of East Africa. Estimates on the number Muslims in Zimbabwe vary from as low as 120000 to as many as 1 Islam began in Asia in the 7th century during the life of Muhammad. Islam in Armenia has generally been avoided throughout the centuries See also Religion in Azerbaijan Approximately 934 to 96 percent of the population of Azerbaijan is nominally Muslim. Islam is the state religion in Bahrain where the citizens are all Muslims with the majority of the population practicing Shia Islam. Islam is the largest religion of Bangladesh, the Muslim population is over 130 million (the fourth-largest muslim population in the world after According to adherentscom Muslims constitute over 5% of the population However the CIA factbook claims that Muslims are less than 1% in Bhutan Islam is Brunei 's official religion 64 percent of the population is Muslim, mostly Sunnis of Malay origin who follow the Shafi school Islam is a Minority religion in primarily Buddhist country of Burma, practiced by approximately 4% of the population Islam is the religion of a majority of the Cham (also called Khmer Islam) and Malay minorities in Cambodia. Islam in China has a rich heritage China has some of the oldest Muslim history dating back to as early as 650 when the uncle of Islam is practiced in Hong Kong by somewhere between 20000 and 100000 Muslims. Adherentscom states that the number of Muslims in Macau is 100 Islam in Cyprus was introduced when Uthman the 3rd Caliph conquered Cyprus in 649. Islam is a minority religion in East Timor. The US State Department and the CIA World Factbook estimate that Muslims make up 1% of the population although some organizations Islam in Georgia was introduced in 645 AD when an army sent by the Second Caliph of Islam Umar, conquered Eastern Georgia Islam in India is the second-most practiced religion after Hinduism. Islam is Indonesia's dominant Religion with approximately 88% over 200 million of its population identifying as Muslims, making it the most The Islamic conquest of Persia (637-651 led to the end of the Sassanid Empire and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia. The history of Islam in Iraq goes back several centuries to the lifetime of Muhammad (d Islam in Israel and Palestinian territories includes the Muslims of Israel, where they constitute 16% of the population those who comprise 75% of the population of The history of Islam in Japan is relatively brief in relation to the Religion 's longstanding presence in other countries around the world More than 90 percent of population in Jordan adhered to Sunni Islam in the late 1980s Islam is the largest religion practiced in Kazakhstan. Ethnic Kazakhs are historically Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi school. In South Korea, the Muslim population has been steadily increasing since the introduction of the Islamic faith shortly after the Korean War. In South Korea, the Muslim population has been steadily increasing since the introduction of the Islamic faith shortly after the Korean War. In South Korea, the Muslim population has been steadily increasing since the introduction of the Islamic faith shortly after the Korean War. Islam is the main religion of the citizens of Kuwait Sunni Islam is dominant in Kuwait with 60% of the total population The vast majority of today's Kyrgyz are Muslims of the Sunni branch which came into the region during the 8th century Muslims are a small minority in this Buddhist majority country Islam in Lebanon is divided between four Muslim sects Shiites Sunnis, Alawites and Ismailis including the Druze. Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, and the Government actively promotes the spread of Islam in the country and its friendship with other Muslim countries Islam is the state religion of Maldives, and adherence to it is legally required of citizens by a revision of the constitution in 2008 Article 9 Section D states that Islam in Mongolia is mainly practised by the Kazakhs of Bayan-Ölgii (88 Islam is a minority religion in NepalAccording to a 2006 Nepalese census 4 The majority of Omanis are Ibadhi Muslims, followers of Abd Allah ibn Ibad Islam is the official religion of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This article is concerned with the religion of Islam in the Philippines Qatar is a Muslim-majority country with Islam as the state religion Islam is currently the second most widely professed religion in the Russian Federation The vast majority of Saudis are Sunni Muslims. Around 10% of citizens are Shia Muslims, most of whom live in the Eastern Province, with the largest concentrations Sunni Islam is the religion of about 15% of Singapore 's population mainly the sizeable Malay minority who constitute about 13 Islam in Sri Lanka is practised by a group of minorities who make up approximately 10% of the population Islam in Syria is composed of a Sunni majority and four minority sects Twelver Shiites, and also Druze (which is not an Islamic sect Alawi Islam in Taiwan is a slowly growing religion (about 03% of the population it could be higher if included nominally Muslims from Indonesia with an estimated 100 converts annually Islam in Tajikistan. Demographics and early history Islam, the predominant religion of all of Central Asia, was brought Islam is most popular in southern Thailand, near the border with Malaysia, where the vast majority of the country's Muslims predominantly Malay The region comprising modern Turkey has a long and rich Islamic tradition stretching back to the dawn of the Seljuk period and Ottoman Empire. Traditionally the Turkmen of Turkmenistan, like their kin in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, are Sunni Muslims. More than 80% of the population of the UAE are non-citizens Virtually all of the country's citizens are Muslims approximately 85% are Sunni and the remaining 15% are Islam is by far the dominant Religion in Uzbekistan. In the early 1990s many of the Russians remaining in the Republic (about 8% of the Islam in Vietnam is primarily the religion of the Cham people, a minority ethnic group related to Malays; however roughly one-third of the Muslims in Islam was introduced into the region by Ali ibn Abu Talib in about 630 when Prophet Muhammad was still alive This article deals with the history and the evolution of the Islamic religion in Europe. During the Ottoman occupation according to Ottoman data the majority of Albanians were of Muslim affiliation ( Sunni and Bektashi) According to the US Religious Freedom Report of 2006 there are about 2000 North Africans currently living in Andorra and they are the largest Muslim group in the country Islam in Armenia has generally been avoided throughout the centuries Islam is a Minority religion in Austria with 422 % of the population in the 2001 census See also Religion in Azerbaijan Approximately 934 to 96 percent of the population of Azerbaijan is nominally Muslim. Islam in Belarus was introduced by Lipka Tatars in the 14th -16th centuries and now also includes Muslim immigrants Islam in Belgium is relatively new and is mostly practised in the Belgian immigrant communities The modern Bosniaks, often referred to as Bosnian Muslims, descend from Slavic converts to Islam in the 15th and 16th centuries that lived in the medieval Bosnian Kingdom The Muslim population of Bulgaria, including Turks, Muslim Bulgarians, Pomaks, Roma, and Crimean Islam in Croatia was introduced by the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Islam in Cyprus was introduced when Uthman the 3rd Caliph conquered Cyprus in 649. Islam in the Czech Republic History First documented visit of a person with knowledge of Islam was made (964-965 by Íbrahím Population Approximately 2-3% of the population of Denmark are Muslims Islam is the largest minority religion in Denmark In the most recent Census, performed in the year 2000 the number of people who reported themselves to be Muslims was 1387 Islam was introduced to Finland by Baltic Tatars at the end of the 19th century Statistics Estimates of the number of Muslims in France vary widely Islam in Georgia was introduced in 645 AD when an army sent by the Second Caliph of Islam Umar, conquered Eastern Georgia Owing to work migration of the 1960s and several waves of political refugees since the 1970s Islam became a visible religion in Germany. Islam in Greece is represented by a number of autochthonous and immigrant communities Islam in Hungary has a long history that dates back to at least the twelfth century predating the Ottoman Empire. The Nordic country Iceland is estimated to have between 800 and 1000 members by the Association of Muslims in Iceland The documented history of Islam in Ireland dates to the 1950s The history of Islam in Italy dates back to the 7th and 8th centuries when some of the Lombards, a Germanic people that ruled parts of northern Italy converted from Islam is the largest religion practiced in Kazakhstan. Ethnic Kazakhs are historically Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi school. The presence of Muslims in Latvia was first recorded in the early 1800s According to the US Department of State, there are 1384 Muslims living in Liechtenstein, which is about 4% of the general population In Lithuania, unlike many other northern and western European countries Islam came long ago Muslims in Luxembourg are a minority together with Protestants, Orthodox Christians, and Jews. Muslims in the Republic of Macedonia form 33% of the Republic of Macedonia's total population With Roman Catholics estimated at 95-98% of the population the Maltese Muslim community is considered to be very small According to the US Department of State, there is a small community of Muslims in Moldova, numbering a few thousand Many wealthy Arab and Iranian Muslims reside in Monaco as non-citizens Islam in Montenegro is the largest minority religion Montenegro's 110000 Muslims make up 17 History Treaty with Morocco In the early 1600s a delegation from the Dutch Republic visited Morocco to discuss a common alliance against Spain Islam is the largest minority religion in Norway with over 2% of the population The first noticeable presence of Islam in Poland began in the 14th century According to the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (the National Statistical Institute of Portugal) there were according to the 1991 Census Islam in Romania is followed by only 03 percent of population but has 700 years of tradition in Northern Dobruja, a region on the Black Sea coast which was part Islam is currently the second most widely professed religion in the Russian Federation Muslims in San Marino are a minority as over 95 percent of the population is Roman Catholic The arrival of Islam in Scotland is relatively recent The bulk of Muslims in Scotland come from families who immigrated during the late 20th century The Muslims in Serbia are mostly ethnic Bosniaks and Albanians, but also members of the smaller ethnic groups like Muslims by nationality, Ashkali The number of Muslims in Slovakia according to the 2001 census is negligible (according to ?? there are 5000 Muslims in Slovakia - less than 0 The Muslims in Slovenia are ethnically Bosnians and Albanians. Islam in Spain has had a fundamental presence in the culture and history of the nation Sweden has today almost exclusively due to Immigration, a significant Muslim population According to the Confederate Census of 2001 a total number of 310807 Muslims were living in Switzerland which made up 4 The region comprising modern Turkey has a long and rich Islamic tradition stretching back to the dawn of the Seljuk period and Ottoman Empire. The majority of Muslims in Ukraine are of Crimean Tatars in ethnicity and live in the Crimean Peninsula. Islam is the second largest religion in the United Kingdom with a total of 1591000 (or 2 Islam in Argentina is represented by one of Latin America's largest Muslim minorities Statistics for Islam in Bolivia estimate a Muslim population of around a thousand representing 0 Islam in Brazil was first practiced by African slaves. The early Brazilian Muslims led the largest slave revolt in Brazil which then had the largest slave population The statistics for Islam in Chile estimate a total Muslim population of 3196 representing 0 The statistics for Islam in Colombia estimate a total Muslim population of 10000 representing 0 The statistics for Islam in Ecuador estimate a total Muslim population of 275 representing 0 About 7 percent of Guyana 's population is Muslim, representing 76528 individuals Islam in Panama has a long and unique history Official data estimates 0 The latest statistics for Islam in Paraguay estimate a total Muslim population of 507 representing 0 The statistics for Islam in Peru estimate a total Muslim population of 1000 representing 0 According to various sources the Muslim population of Suriname represents about 20 percent of the country's total and therefore the nation has the highest percentage of Muslims Muslims constitute 6 percent of the population on Trinidad and Tobago, representing 65318 individuals The statistics for Islam in Uruguay estimate a total Muslim population of 300 to 400 representing 0 There are approximately 100000 Muslims in Venezuela, 04 percent of the nation's population The statistics for Islam in Antigua and Barbuda estimate a total Muslim population of about 200 representing 0 Statistics for Islam in Barbados estimate a Muslim population of 500 representing 0 The statistics for Islam in Belize estimate a total Muslim population of 2794 representing 1 percent of the total population According to Canada's 2001 census, there were 579640 Muslims in Canada, just under 2% of the population The statistics for Islam in Costa Rica is 4000 There are a number of Islamic organizations in San José including the Centro Islámico (Masjid Omar de Costa The latest statistics for Islam in Cuba claim a population of under a thousand Muslims representing 0 Statistics for Islam in Dominica are not readily available According to the International Religious Freedom Report in 2005 followers of minority religions and denominations which range Statistics for Islam in the Dominican Republic estimate that 0 There is a small Islamic community in El Salvador,they are people mostly coming from the Arab World and Turkey. There are over 200 Muslims in Grenada. They make up 030% of the population The Muslim population of Guatemala is approximately 1200 Of this population 95% are Palestinian Arab immigrants The estimated population of Haitian Muslims is about 3250 representing approximately 0 The statistics for Islam in Honduras estimate a total Muslim population of 2790 representing 0 The statistics for Islam in Jamaica estimate a total Muslim population of 5000 representing 0 While some have claimed that official data estimates that there are 318608 Muslims in Mexico, representing 0 Statistics for Islam in Nicaragua are not readily available but according to Fahmi Hassan President of the Asociación Cultural Nicaragüense-Islámica the Muslim population Islam in Panama has a long and unique history Official data estimates 0 According to the United States Department of State, Islam is a minority religion in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, with some Muslims living in the island nation Muslims constitute 6 percent of the population on Trinidad and Tobago, representing 65318 individuals The history of Islam in the United States starts in the early 16th century, with Estevánico of Azamor being the first Muslim to enter the historical record Islam in Oceania refers to Islam and Muslims in Oceania. Some countries in Oceania notably Australia have Islam as their third largest Religion For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Islam is the fourth largest religious grouping in Australia after Christianity, ' No Religion ' and Buddhism. The CIA World Factbook estimates that 7% of the population of Christmas Island is Muslim The CIA World Factbook estimates that roughtly 80 percent of the 629 inhabitants on the Cocos (Keeling Islands are Sunni Muslims. Melanesia (from Greek: μέλας black, νῆσος island) means "islands of the black-skinned people" Islam is a minority religion in East Timor. The US State Department and the CIA World Factbook estimate that Muslims make up 1% of the population although some organizations The Muslims of Fiji comprise around 7% of the population (62 534 Islam in New Caledonia arrived more than a 100 years ago The first Muslims in New Caledonia were the Arabs who were brought there by the French Islam in Papua New Guinea is a minority religion the US department of state estimates that there are about 2000 muslims in the country The United States Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report states that according to the most recent reports there are approximately 350 Muslims in the Solomon Islam in Vanuatu is practised by about 200 members of the small island nation of Vanuatu in Oceania. Micronesia, from the Greek mikros (μικρός (meaning small) and nesos (νῆσος (meaning island) is a Subregion Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over Islam in New Zealand has grown with inward immigration to that country Islam in Tonga consists of about 100 people in a population of about 102000 The most numerous Shi'a sect in Afghanistan is the Twelver Shi'a, who are mostly of the Hazara ethnic group living in the Hazarajat of central Afghanistan, and the Farsiwan of Herat Province. See also Shi'a Islam Twelver Shi'ism ( ar اثنا عشرية Ithnāˤashariyyah) is the largest branch of Shi'a branch of Islam The Hazāra ( are a Persian-speaking people residing in the central region of Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. Hazarajat, also known as Hazaristan, is the name given to a region in central Afghanistan that makes up the native homeland of Afghanistan's Hazara Fārsīwān ( or its more archaic version Pārsīwān - پارسیوان) is a general designation of the Persian-speakers in Afghanistan. Herat ( is one the 34 Provinces of Afghanistan; together with Badghis, Farah, and Ghor provinces it makes up the north-western region Mixtures occur in certain areas such as Bamyan Province where Sunni, Twelver and Ismaili may be found. Bamyan Province ( is one of the thirty-four Provinces of Afghanistan. Twelver Shi'a are also found in urban centers such as Kabul, Kandahar, Ghazni, and Mazari Sharif where numbers of Qizilbash and Hazara reside. } Kābul ( Persian and Pashto: کابل, IPA:) is the Capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with For the 2001 film see Kandahar (film; for the Kandahar meteorite of 1959 see Meteorite falls; for the places in Azerbaijan see Cəndəhar and Ghazni City ( - Ğaznī; Ghazna and Ghaznīn are the old names for Ghazni Mazār-e Sharīf ( is the fourth largest city of Afghanistan, with population of 300600 people (2006 estimate Qizilbash or Kizilbash ( Nastaliq: قزلباش - Qizilbāš; Ottoman Turkish for "Red Heads" is a name given to a wide Urban Shi'a are successful small business entrepreneurs; many gained from the development of education that began in the 1950s.

The political involvement of Shi'a communities grew dramatically during the politicized era during and following the Soviet invasion. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. Politically aware Shi'a students formed the hard core of the Afghan Maoist movement of the 1960s and early 1970s After 1978, Shi'a mujahidin groups in the Hazarajat, although frequently at odds with one another, were active in the jihad and subsequently in the fighting for the control of Kabul. Maoism, variably and officially known as Mao Zedong Thought ( is a variant of Marxism derived from the teachings of the late Chinese leader Jihad (جهاد ʤɪhæːd an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. } Kābul ( Persian and Pashto: کابل, IPA:) is the Capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with During the political maneuvering leading up to the establishment of The Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1992, the Shi'a groups unsuccessfully negotiated for more equitable, consequential political and social roles. This heightened profile created a backlash among some Sunni groups, notably those associated with the Hezbi Islami of Mawlawi Yunus Khalis and the Ittihad-i-Islam of Professor Abd al-Rabb al-Rasul Sayyaf. Hizb-e Islami (also Hezbi Islami, Hezb-i-Islami, Hezbi-Islami, Hezb-e-Islami) meaning Islamic Party is an Islamic organization Violent sectarian confrontations took place, particularly in and around Kabul.

Ismailis

The Ismaili Shi'a rejected the heir designated by the sixth Imam, Jafar al Sadiq (d. For the Egyptian city see Ismaïlia. The Ismāʿīlī ( Urdu: إسماعیلی Ismāʿīlī, Arabic: الإسماعيليون Jaʿfar al-Sadiq (702-765 in accurate transliteration Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq Arabic: جعفر الصادق in full Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Husayn 765), whom the Twelver accepted: Musa al-Kadhim. Mūsá ibn Ja‘far ibn Muḥammad al-Kāżim (الإمام موسى الكاظم‎ ( October 28, 746 AD - September 1, 799 / Ismaili communities in Afghanistan are less populous than the Twelver who consider the Ismaili heretical. They are found primarily in and near the eastern Hazarajat, in the Baghlan area north of the Hindu Kush, among the mountain Tajik of Badakhshan, and amongst the Wakhi in the Wakhan Corridor. Hazarajat, also known as Hazaristan, is the name given to a region in central Afghanistan that makes up the native homeland of Afghanistan's Hazara Baghlan ( Baġlān) is a city in northern Afghanistan, in the eponymous province Baghlan Province. The Hindu Kush is a Mountain range located between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Badakhshan ( Tajik: Бадахшон is a region comprising parts of northeastern Afghanistan and southeastern Tajikistan. The Wakhan Corridor or Wakhan Salient is a narrow (in some places less than 10 miles wide Corridor in the Wakhan in the Badakhshan province

Ismaili in Afghanistan are generally regarded with suspicion by other ethnic groups and for the most part their economic status is very poor. Although Ismaili in other areas such as the northern areas of Pakistan operate well-organized social welfare programs including schools, hospitals and cooperatives, little has been done among Afghan Ismaili communities. The Northern Areas ( Urdu:,) is officially referred to by the government of Pakistan as the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA

Considered less zealous than other Afghan Muslims, Ismaili are seen to follow their leaders uncritically. The pir or leader of Afghan Ismaili comes from the Sayyid family of Kayan, located near Doshi, a small town at the northern foot of the Salang Pass, in western Baghlan Province. For the Lost character please see Sayid Jarrah Sayyid ( ar سيد) (plural Saadah is an Honorific title Kayan is name of a tribe found in Borneo island The Kayan people are categorized as a part of the Dayak people of Borneo Doshi is a fairly common surname in India. While the roots can be traced back a few hundred years the origin of the name is still a matter of much dispute Kotal-e Salang or Salang Pass (el 3878 m is the major Mountain pass connecting northern Afghanistan and Kabul province, with further connections Baghlan (بغلان is one of the thirty-four Provinces of Afghanistan. During the Soviet-Afghan War this family acquired considerable political power. The Soviet war in Afghanistan, also known as the Soviet-Afghan War or just the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, was a nine-year conflict involving

Sufis

Sufism has considerable influence in Afghanistan, in both rural and urban settings, especially among the middle classes of larger villages, town and cities. Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف

Three Sufi orders are prominent: the Naqshbandiya founded in Bokhara, the Qadiriya founded in Baghdad, and the Cheshtiya located at Chesht-i-Sharif east of Herat. Naqshbandi ( Naqshbandiyya) is one of the major Tasawwuf orders ( Tariqa) of Islam. Bukhara (Buxoro Бухоро بُخارا Бухара also spelled as Bukhoro and Bokhara, from the Soghdian βuxārak ("lucky Qadiriyyah ( Arabic: القادريه, Turkish: Kadirilik) (also Transliterated Kadri, Elkadry, Kadray Baghdad (بغداد) is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous The Chishti Order ( - Češtī) is a Sufi order within the mystic branches of Islam which was founded in Chisht, a small town near Herat area3018 sq mi Herāt ( classically called the Aria, is a city in western Afghanistan, in the province also known as Herāt. Among the Naqshbani, Ahmad al Faruqi Kabuli, born north of Kabul, acquired renown for his teachings in India during the reign of the Moghul Emperor Akbar in the sixteenth century. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The Mughal Empire ( Persian and self-designation گورکانی; مغلیہ سلطنت) was an Islamic imperial power which ruled most Akbar redirects here For other uses see Akbar (disambiguation Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar ( Jalāl ud-Dīn Muhammad Akbar Sometime during the nineteenth century members of this family moved back to Kabul where they established a madrassa and a khanaqah in Shor Bazar which became a center of religious and political influence. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar "Madrasa" and "Medrese" redirect here For the village in Azerbaijan see Mədrəsə. Many Afghan Naqshbandi are linked with the Mujaddedi family. Sibghatullah Mujaddedi, leader of the mujahidin Jabha-i Nejat-i Melli party, became the head of this order when his predecessor, along with 79 male members of the family, were executed in Kabul by the Taraki-Amin government in January 1979. Hafizullah Amin ( حفيظ الله امين) ( August 1, 1929 – December 27, 1979) was the second President of Afghanistan He served for two months as the first acting president of the Islamic State of Afghanistan established in April 1992.

Hazrat Naqib Sahib, father of Sayyid Ahmad Gailani Effendi, the pir of the Qadiriya, established the family seat in Afghanistan on the outskirts of Jalalabad during the 1920s. Qadiriyyah ( Arabic: القادريه, Turkish: Kadirilik) (also Transliterated Kadri, Elkadry, Kadray Jalalabad (Jalalkot ( Pashto: جلالکوټ، جلال اباد) is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Pir Ahmad Gailani is the leader of the mujahidin Mahaz-i Melli Islami party. The leadership of both the Naqshbandiya and Qadiriya orders derive from heredity rather than religious scholarship.

Another famous Qadiriya pir named Mawlana Faizani came to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s, and was a leading critic against the creeping influence of communist philosophy. Qadiriyyah ( Arabic: القادريه, Turkish: Kadirilik) (also Transliterated Kadri, Elkadry, Kadray Mawlana Faizani was born 17 April, 1923 (the twenty-first day of Ramadan of that year in Herat, Afghanistan to a family of Jailed in the mid-70s, Mawlana Faizani disappeared when the khalqis came to power and remains missing to this day. Khalq ("Masses" was a fraction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan.

The Cheshtiya order was founded by Mawdid al-Cheshti who was born in the twelfth century and later taught in India. The Chishti Order ( - Češtī) is a Sufi order within the mystic branches of Islam which was founded in Chisht, a small town near Herat The Cheshtiya brotherhood, concentrated in the Hari River valley around Obe, Karukh and Chehst-i-Sharif, is very strong locally and maintains madrasas with fine libraries. The Hari River (Persian Rudkhaneh-ye Hari Rud sometimes Harirud) is a River flowing 1100 kilometers from the mountains of central Afghanistan The town of Obe (Owbi Obeh is the administrative center of Obe District in Herat Province, Afghanistan. The town of Karukh is the center of Karukh District in Herat Province, Afghanistan. Traditionally the Cheshtiya have kept aloof from politics, although they were effectively active during the resistance within their own organizations and in their own areas.

Herat and its environs has the largest number and greatest diversity of Sufi branches, many of which are connected with local tombs of pir (ziarat). Other Sufi groups are found all across the north, with important centers in Maimana, Faryab Province, and in Kunduz. Maymana, Meymaneh or Maimana (Persian میمنه is the capital of Faryab province, northern Afghanistan, near the Turkmenistan Faryab ( is one of the thirty-four Provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the north of the country Kunduz ( قندوز) also known as Kundûz Qonduz Qondûz Konduz Kondûz Kondoz or Qhunduz is a city in northern Afghanistan, the capital The brotherhoods in Kabul and around Mazari Sharif are mostly associated with the Naqshbandiya. The Qadiriya are found mainly among the eastern Pushtun of Wardak, Paktya and Ningrahar, including many Ghilzai nomadic groups. Pashtuns ( Pashto: پښتون Paṣtūn, Paxtūn, also rendered as Pushtuns, Pakhtuns, Pukhtuns) also called Wardak (in Pashto ‎ وردګ; also spelled Wardag, Vardag, or Vardak) is one of the thirty-four Provinces of Afghanistan The Ghilzais (also known as Khiljis or Ghaljis) are a large Pashtun Tribe located mainly in southeastern Afghanistan, between Other smaller groups are settled in Kandahar and in Shindand, Farah Province. For the 2001 film see Kandahar (film; for the Kandahar meteorite of 1959 see Meteorite falls; for the places in Azerbaijan see Cəndəhar and Shindand may refer to Shindand Herat, Afghanistan Shindand Farah, Afghanistan Farah ( is one of the thirty-four Provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the west of the country The Cheshtiya are centered in the Hari River valley. There are no formal Sufi orders among the Shi'a in the central Hazarajat, although some of the concepts are associated with Sayyids, descendants of the Prophet Mohammad, who are especially venerated among the Shi'a.

Afghanistan is unique in that there is little hostility between the ulama and the Sufi orders. Ulema ( ar علماء,, singular ar عالِم,, "scholar" refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف Numbers of Sufi leaders are considered as ulama, and many ulama closely associate with Sufi brotherhoods. The general populace accords Sufis respect for their learning and for possessing karamat, the psychic spiritual power conferred upon them by God that enables pirs to perform acts of generosity and bestow blessings (barakat). Sufism therefore is an effective popular force. In addition, since Sufi leaders distance themselves from the mundane, they are at times turned to as more disinterested mediators in tribal disputes in preference to mullahs who are reputed to escalate minor secular issues into volatile confrontations couched in Islamic rhetoric.

Meaning and Practice

Islam represents a potentially unifying symbolic system which offsets the divisiveness that frequently rises from the existence of a deep pride in tribal loyalties and an abounding sense of personal and family honor found in multitribal and multiethnic societies such as Afghanistan.

Islam is a central, pervasive influence throughout Afghan society; religious observances punctuate the rhythm of each day and season. In addition to a central Friday mosque for weekly communal prayers which are not obligatory but generally attended, smaller community-maintained mosques stand at the center of villages, as well as town and city neighborhoods. A "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller privately owned mosque and the larger Mosques serve not only as places of worship, but for a multitude of functions, including shelter for guests, places to meet and gossip, the focus of social religious festivities and schools. Almost every Afghan has at one time during his youth studied at a mosque school; for many this is the only formal education they receive.

Because Islam is a total way of life and functions as a comprehensive code of social behavior regulating all human relationships, individual and family status depends on the proper observance of the society's value system based on concepts defined in Islam. These are characterized by honesty, frugality, generosity, virtuousness, piousness, fairness, truthfulness, tolerance and respect for others. To uphold family honor, elders also control the behavior of their children according to these same Islamic prescriptions. At times, even competitive relations between tribal or ethnic groups are expressed in terms claiming religious superiority. In short, Islam structures day-to-day interactions of all members of the community.

The religious establishment consists of several levels. Any Muslim can lead informal groups in prayer. Mullahs who officiate at mosques are normally appointed by the government after consultation with their communities and, although partially financed by the government, mullahs are largely dependent for their livelihood on community contributions including shelter and a portion of the harvest. Supposedly versed in the Qur'an, Sunnah, Hadith and Shariah, they must ensure that their communities are knowledgeable in the fundamentals of Islamic ritual and behavior. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran Sunnah ar (سنة plural سنن Sunan literally means “trodden path” and therefore the sunnah of the prophet means “the way and the manners of the prophet” Hadith ( ar الحديث, pl aḥadīth; lit. "narrative" are oral Traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. This qualifies them to arbitrate disputes over religious interpretation. Often they function as paid teachers responsible for religious education classes held in mosques where children learn basic moral values and correct ritual practices. Their role has additional social aspects for they officiate on the occasion of life crisis rituals associated with births, marriages and deaths.

But rural mullahs are not part of an institutionalized hierarchy of clergy. Most are part-time mullahs working also as farmers or craftsmen. Some are barely literate, or only slightly more educated than the people they serve. Often, but by no means always, they are men of minimal wealth and, because they depend for their livelihood on the community that appoints them, they have little authority even within their own social boundaries. They are often treated with scant respect and are the butt of a vast body of jokes making fun of their arrogance and ignorance. Yet their role as religious arbiters forces them to take positions on issues that have political ramifications and since mullahs often disagree with one another, pitting one community against the other, they are frequently perceived as disruptive elements within their communities.

Veneration of saints and shrines (mazar, ziarat) is not encouraged in Islam and is actively suppressed by some groups. Nevertheless, Afghanistan's landscape is liberally strewn with shrines honoring saints of all descriptions. Many of Afghanistan's oldest villages and towns grew up around shrines of considerable antiquity. Some are used as sanctuaries by fugitives.

Shrines vary in form from simple mounds of earth or stones marked by pennants to lavishly ornamented complexes surrounding a central domed tomb. These large establishments are controlled by prominent religious and secular leaders. Shrines may mark the final resting place of a fallen hero (shahid), a venerated religious teacher, a renowned Sufi poet, or relics, such as a hair of the Prophet Muhammad or a piece of his cloak (khirqah). IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics A great many commemorate legends about the miraculous exploits of Ali ibn Abi Talib , the fourth caliph and the first Imam of Shi'a Islam believed to be buried at the nation's most elaborate shrine located in the heart of Mazari Sharif, the Exalted Shrine. ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (a=علي بن أﺑﻲ طالب|t=ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib 13th Rajab, 24 BH – 21st Ramaḍān, 40 AH The Caliph is the Head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah Hazrat Ali is revered throughout Afghanistan for his role as an intermediary in the face of tyranny.

Festive annual fairs celebrated at shrines attract thousands of pilgrims and bring together all sections of communities. Pilgrims also visit shrines to seek the intercession of the saint for special favors, be it a cure for illness or the birth of a son. Women are particularly devoted to activities associated with shrines. These visits may be short or last several days and many pilgrims carry away specially blessed curative and protective amulets (tawiz) to ward off the evil eye, assure loving relationships between husbands and wives and many other forms of solace. An amulet ( the Elder|Pliny]] meaning "an object that protects a person from trouble" a close cousin of the talisman (from Arabic


Politicized Islam

Although Shariah courts existed in urban centers after Ahmad Shah Durrani established an Afghan state in 1747, the primary judicial basis for the society remained in the tribal code of the Pashtunwali until the end of the nineteenth century. Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (c1723-1773 ( also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī ( احمد شاه ابدالي) and born as Ahmad Khān Abdālī, Pashtunwali ( پښتونوالی) or Pakhtunwali is a Concept of living or philosophy for the Pashtun people and is regarded as an Honour The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Sporadic fatwas (formal legal opinions) were issued and occasional jihads were called not so much to advance Islamic ideology as to sanction the actions of specific individuals against their political opponents so that power might be consolidated. A fatwā (فتوى plural fatāwā فتاوى in the Islamic faith is a religious opinion on Islamic law issued by an Jihad (جهاد ʤɪhæːd an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims.

The first systematic employment of Islam as an instrument for state-building was introduced by Amir Abdur Rahman (1880-1901) during his drive toward centralization. He decreed that all laws must comply with Islamic law and thus elevated the Shariah over customary laws embodied in the Pashtunwali. Pashtunwali ( پښتونوالی) or Pakhtunwali is a Concept of living or philosophy for the Pashtun people and is regarded as an Honour The ulama were enlisted to legitimize and sanction his state efforts as well as his central authority. This enhanced the religious community on the one hand, but as they were increasingly inducted into the bureaucracy as servants of the state, the religious leadership was ultimately weakened. Many economic privileges enjoyed by religious personalities and institutions were restructured within the framework of the state, the propagation of learning, once the sole prerogative of the ulama, was closely supervised, and the Amir became the supreme arbiter of justice.

His successors continued and expanded Amir Abdur Rahman's policies as they increased the momentum of secularization. Islam continued central to interactions, but the religious establishment remained essentially non-political, functioning as a moral rather than a political influence. Nevertheless, Islam asserted itself in times of national crisis. And, when the religious leadership considered themselves severely threatened, charismatic religious personalities periodically employed Islam to rally disparate groups in opposition to the state. They rose up on several occasions against Amanullah Shah (1919-1929), for example, in protest against reforms they believed to be western intrusions inimical to Islam. Amanullah Khan (June 1 1892 &ndash April 25 1960 was the ruler of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929 first as Amir and after 1926 as Shah.

Subsequent rulers, mindful of traditional attitudes antithetical to secularization were careful to underline the compatibility of Islam with modernization. Even so, and despite its pivotal position within the society which continued to draw no distinction between religion and state, the role of religion in state affairs continued to decline.

The 1931 Constitution made the Hanafi Shariah the state religion, while the 1964 Constitution simply prescribed that the state should conduct its religious ritual according to the Hanafi School. A constitution is a system for government often Codified as a written document that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity The 1977 Constitution, declared Islam the religion of Afghanistan, but made no mention that the state ritual should be Hanafi. The Penal Code (1976) and civil law (1977), covering the entire field of social justice, represent major attempts to cope with elements of secular law, based on, but superseded by other systems. A penal code is a portion of a State 's Laws defining Crimes and specifying the Punishment. Civil law or Romano-Germanic law or Continental law is the predominant system of law in the world. Courts, for instance, were enjoined to consider cases first according to secular law, resorting to the BCShariah in areas where secular law did not exist. By 1978, the government of the Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) openly expressed its aversion to the religious establishment. The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (حزب دموکراتيک خلق افغانستان د افغانستان د خلق دموکراټیک ګوند PDPA was a Communist This precipitated the fledgling Islamist Movement into a national revolt; Islam moved from its passive stance on the periphery to play an active role. Islamism ( Islam + ism; Arabic: al-'islāmiyya) a set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only

Politicized Islam in Afghanistan represents a break from Afghan traditions. The Islamist Movement originated in 1958 among faculties of Kabul University, particularly within the Faculty of Islamic Law which had been formed in 1952 with the announced purpose of raising the quality of religious teaching to accommodate modern science and technology. Kabul University ( - Dāneshgāh-e Kābul; Pashto: دکابل پوهنتون The founders were largely professors influenced by the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, a party formed in the 1930s that was dedicated to Islamic revivalism and social, economic, and political equity. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The Muslim Brothers ( Arabic: الإخوان المسلمون al-ikhwān al-muslimūn, full title The Society of the Muslim Brothers, often simply الإخوان Their objective is to come to terms with the modern world through the development of a political ideology based on Islam. The Afghan leaders, while indebted to many of these concepts, did not forge strong ties to similar movements in other countries.

The liberalization of government attitudes following the passage of the 1964 Constitution ushered in a period of intense activism among students at Kabul University. Professors and their students set up the Muslim Youth Organization (Sazmani Jawanani Musulman) in the mid-1960s at the same time that the leftists were also forming many parties. Initially communist students outnumbered the Muslim students, but by 1970 the Muslim Youth had gained a majority in student elections. Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based Their membership was recruited from university faculties and from secondary schools in several cities such as Mazari Sharif and Herat. These professors and students became the leaders of the Afghan Resistance in the 1980s.

With the takeover of government by the PDPA in April 1978, Islam became central to uniting the opposition against the communist ideology of the new rulers. As a politico-religious system, Islam is ideally suited to the needs of a diverse, unorganized, often mutually antagonistic citizenry wishing to forge a united front against a common enemy; and war permitted various groups within the mujahidin to put into effect competing concepts of organization.

The mujahidin leaders were charismatic figures with dyadic ties to followers. In many cases military and political leaders replaced the tribal leadership; at times the religious leadership was strengthened; often the religious combined with the political leadership. Followers selected their local leaders on the basis of personal choice and precedence among regions, sects, ethnic groups or tribes, but the major leaders rose to prominence through their ties to outsiders who controlled the resources of money and arms.

With the support of foreign aid, the mujahidin were ultimately successful in their jihad to drive out the Soviet forces, but not in their attempts to construct a political alternative to govern Afghanistan after their victory. Throughout the war, the mujahidin were never fully able to replace traditional structures with a modern political system based on Islam. Most mujahidin commanders either used traditional patterns of power, becoming the new khans, or sought to adapt modern political structures to the traditional society. In time the prominent leaders accumulated wealth and power and, in contrast to the past, wealth became a determining factor in the delineation of power at all levels.

With the departure of foreign troops and the long sought demise of Kabul's leftist government, The Islamic State of Afghanistan finally came into being in April 1992. This represented a distinct break with Afghan history, for religious specialists had never before exercised state power. But the new government failed to establish its legitimacy and, as much of its financial support dissipated, local and middle range commanders and their militia not only fought among themselves but resorted to a host of unacceptable practices in their protracted scrambles for power and profit. Throughout the nation the populous suffered from harassment, extortion, kidnapping, burglary, hijacking and acts dishonoring women. Drug trafficking increased alarmingly; nowhere were the highways safe. The mujahidin had forfeited the trust they once enjoyed.

Taliban

In the fall of 1994 a Muslim "student militia" came forth vowing to cleanse the nation of the excesses sullying the jihad. Their avowed intention was to bring in a "pure" Islamic state subject to their own strict interpretations of the Shariah. Many of the leaders of this movement called the Taliban (seekers or students of Islam) were one-time mujahidin themselves, but the bulk of their forces are comprised of young Afghan refugees trained in Pakistani madrassas (religious schools), especially those run by the Jamiat-e Ulema-e Islam Pakistan, the aggressively conservative Pakistani political religious party headed by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, arch rival of Qazi Hussain Ahmad, leader of the equally conservative Jamaat-e-Islami and long time supporter of the mujahidin. The Taliban ( طالبان, also anglicised as Taleban; translation "students" is a Sunni Islamist, predominately Afghan refugees (known as Muhajir Afghans in South Asia) are people who fled Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion in 1979 and during the Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and "Madrasa" and "Medrese" redirect here For the village in Azerbaijan see Mədrəsə. Jamaat-e-Islami ( Urdu: جماعتِ اسلامی, " Islamic Block " Jamaat, JI) is an Islamist

Headquartered in Kandahar, initially almost entirely Pushtun, predominantly from the rural areas, and from the top leadership down to the fighting militia characteristically in their thirties or forties and even younger, the Taliban swept the country. For the 2001 film see Kandahar (film; for the Kandahar meteorite of 1959 see Meteorite falls; for the places in Azerbaijan see Cəndəhar and Pashtuns ( Pashto: پښتون Paṣtūn, Paxtūn, also rendered as Pushtuns, Pakhtuns, Pukhtuns) also called In September 1996 they captured Kabul and ruled over two-thirds of Afghanistan.

The meteoric take over went almost unchallenged. Arms were collected and security was established. At the same time, acts committed for the purpose of enforcing the Shariah included public executions for murder, stoning for adultery, amputation for theft, a ban on all forms of gambling such as kite flying, chess and cockfights, prohibition of music and videos, proscriptions against pictures of humans and animals, and an embargo on women's voices over the radio. Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. A kite is a flying tethered object that depends upon the tension of a tethering system Chess is a recreational and competitive Game played between two players. A cockfight is a Blood sport between two Roosters held in a ring called a cockpit Women were to remain as invisible as possible, behind the veil, in purdah in their homes, and dismissed from work or study outside their homes. Like many before them, the Taliban wave the flag of women's chasteness to prove their superior Muslimness.

Because of the strong religious sentiments that animated their minds, rural Afghans were mostly captivated by the Taliban. Others looked on appalled at the rigidly orthodox dictates of these self-proclaimed arbiters of Islamic rectitude. To them Taliban interpretations of the Shariah were foreign deviations alien to the Islam practiced in Afghan society which has always stressed moderation, tolerance, dignity, individual choice and egalitarianism. Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning equal) is a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals and have

See also

References

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