Islam in Afghanistan - Shi'a Islam in Afghanistan

Shi'a Islam in Afghanistan

About 10-19% of the Afghan population practice Shi'a Islam. 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. Mixtures occur in certain areas such as Bamyan Province where Sunni, Twelver and Ismaili may be found. Twelver Shi'a are also found in urban centers such as Kabul, Kandahar, Ghazni, and Mazar-i-Sharif where numbers of Qizilbash and Hazara reside. 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. 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. 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.