People of Afghanistan

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"Afghans" redirects here. For other uses, see Afghan.

Afghan is the name used to describe a person from the country of Afghanistan. It is, however, hard to combine the varying groups. Often the Pashtun are referred to as Afghans while other groups hold to their ethnic name (e.g., Tajiks are known as Tajiks, etc.). Thus, in recent years, the term Afghanistani has been suggested for the citizens of Afghanistan in contrast to (ethnic) Afghans who would be the Pashtuns. The citizens of Afghanistan are in many ways somewhat distinct from the notion of ethnic Afghans as a result of this understanding. But despite that, they all refer to themselves as Afghans.

Contents

History

For more information see: History of Afghanistan and Durrani Empire

Afghans as a whole draw their modern national identity from the founding of the Durrani Empire in the mid 1700's. From 1747 until 1823 Ahmed Shah Abdali and his sons and grandsons held the monarchy. They were the first Pashtun rulers of Afghanistan, from the Sadozai line of the Abdali (known as the Durrani since Ahmad Shah's reign) group of clans. It was under the leadership of Ahmad Shah that the nation of Afghanistan began to take shape following centuries of fragmentation and exploitation. However each ethnic group has its own unique history which makes up the entire Afghan history.

There requires some realization that Afghan nationalism can be synonymous with that of Pashtun nationalism and as a result cannot be conflated into an Afghan national identity as the country is a multiethnic entity. Thus, it is important to note that there have been a variety of groups who have lived in what is today Afghanistan, but were not ethnic Afghans such as the aforementioned Tajiks as well as Uzbeks and Hazaras etc. who are currently divided as to what constitutes a national Afghan identity. Because Afghan history is fraught with regional cleavages it is important to note that any notion of an Afghan nation-state is largely absent until the 18th century and the rise of the Durrani Empire. For this reason, important figures from the past such as Avicenna and Rumi, who were of ethnic Persian (Tajik) identity , are often not identified as ethnic Afghans or even as Afghan people, at least according to academics, while they are generally included within the context of the collective history of the modern nation-state in the geographic sense.

Pashtun

Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, and an ethnic Pashtun.

Pashtun or Pakhtun, are independent people that reside mainly in southern, south western, and eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Considerable pockets also exist throughout other parts of Afghanistan and they make up major ethnic minority in all the major cities of Pakistan. Smaller groups of Pashtuns are also found in Iran and India as well. Pashtun culture is ancient and much of it is yet to be recorded in contemporary times. There are many conflicting theories, some contemporary, some ancient, about the origins of the Pashtun people, both among historians and the Pashtun themselves. Most scholars agree that the Pashtuns are partly descendants of eastern Iranian peoples and speak Pashtu, an eastern Iranian language. According to the writer W.K. Frazier Tyler writing in his book Afghanistan, "The word Afghan… first appears in history in the Hudud-al-Alam, a work by an unknown Arab geographer who wrote in 982 AD." Until the advent of the modern Afghan state in the 18th century, the word Afghan had been synonymous with Pashtun.

Tajik

Hammasa Kohistani, "Miss England 2005" and an ethnic Tajik from Afghanistan.

The Tajiks are closely related to the Persians of Iran and are amongst the oldest inhabitants of the region. They can trace their roots back to the original Iranian peoples that settled Central Asia in ancient times, such as the Bactrians, Sogdians, and Parthians, as well as ancient Persians who fled to Central Asia during Arab Islamic expansion. The Tajiks also comprise the majority population of Tajikistan and Afghanistan and are found in large numbers in Uzbekistan and Iran as well as the western Pakistan and Xinjiang province of China. A related group in Afghanistan known as the Farsiwan are often affiliated with the Tajiks, but are generally of the Shia sect and are mostly distinct from the Hazaras as the Farsiwans are a Mediterrean people and are basically almost identical to the Persians of Iran. Tajiks are, by contrast, considered the Persians of Central Asia.

Hazara

Dr. Sima Samar, Former Vice President, Current Chairperson of Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, United Nations' special envoy to Darfur Sudan, and an ethnic Hazara.

Historically, the Hazara seem to have Turkic-Mongolian origins, but with some Caucasoid admixture from surrounding groups. Linguistically though the Hazara speak Dari, but their variant is interspersed with more Mongolian words, but this is also the case with many Turkic languages such as Uzbek. It may simply be the case that the Hazara are of Uyghur Turkic origin as many Turks accompanied the Mongol armies or arrived in the region long before the Mongols. It is however commonly believed by many Afghans that the Hazara are descendants of Genghis Khan's army, which marched into the area during the 12th century. Proponents of this view hold that many of the Mongol soldiers and their family members settled in the area and remained there after the Mongol empire dissolved in the 13th century, converting to Islam and adopting local customs. The theory regarding a more Turkic origin for the Hazara has equal validity and the relatively small number of actual Mongols in comparison to Turks makes it more likely that the Hazara are descendants of Turkic invaders who were Persianized over time. Unlike most Afghans the Hazara are Shia, which has often set them apart from their neighbors.

Uzbek

The Uzbeks are the main Turkic people of Afghanistan and are found mainly in the northern regions of the country. Most likely the Uzbeks migrated with a wave of Turkic invaders and intermingled with local Iranian tribes over time to become the ethnic group they are today. By the 1500s the Uzbeks had settled throughout Central Asia and reached Afghanistan following the conquests of Muhammad Shibani. Most Uzbeks are Sunni Muslim and are closely related to the Turkmen who also can be found in Afghanistan.

Turkmen

The Turkmen are the smaller Turkic group who can also be found in neighoring Turkmenistan. Largely Sunni Muslim, their origins are very similar to that of the Uzbeks.

Baluch

The Baluch are another Iranian ethnic group that numbers around 200,000 in Afghanistan. The main Baloch areas located in Balochistan province in Pakistan and Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran. Many also live in southern Afghanistan. They are most likely an offshoot of the Kurds and reached Afghanistan sometime between 1000 and 1300 BCE. Mainly pastoral and desert dwellers, the Baluch are also Sunni Muslim.

Nuristani

The Nuristani are an Indo-Iranian people, representing a third branch of independent of the Iranian and Indo-Aryan groups, who live in isolated regions of northeastern Afghanistan. Better known historically as the Kafirs of what was once known as Kafiristan (now called Nuristan), they were forcibly converted to Islam during the rule of "Iron" Amir Abdur Rahman and their country was renamed "Nuristan" or "Land of Light" as in the light of Islam. Many Nuristanis believe that they are the descendants of Alexander's Greeks, but there is a lack of genetic evidence for this and they are more than likely an isolated pocket of early Aryan invaders. They are largely Sunni Muslim.

Culture

Contributions to Humanity

The different ethnic groups that today make up Afghanistan made significant contributions in poetry, architecture, art, music, and religion. Prominent individuals are:

Literature:

Khushal Khan Khattak, the greatest poet of the Pashto language.
Abdur Rahman Baba, a famous Pashto poet.
Rumi of Balkh, Persian poet; considered one of the greatest poets of all time.
Sana'i of Ghazni, a great Persian poet of the Ghaznavid era.
Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedel, a famous Persian poet.
Jami of Herat, the last great Persian Sufi poet of the medieval times.
Nava'i of Herat, an important politician and Chaghatay and Persian poet of the Timurid era.

Theology And Philosophy:

Although the renowned Imam and jurist, Abu Hanifa, was born in Kufa (located in modern day Iraq) his ancestors were from Kabul.["Abu Hanifah & Abu Yusuf", Chapter XXXIV, from Muslimphilosophy.com]
al-Bukhari, choronologist of Hadiths.

Kings And Conquerors:

Mahmūd Ghaznavī, most powerful ruler of the Ghaznavī dynasty.
Muhammad Ghorī, most powerful ruler of the Ghorī dynasty.
Shāhrukh Mīrzā, famous ruler of the Timurid dynasty.
Babur, the founder of the Moghul Dynasty in India.
Ahmed Shah Abdali, founder of modern Afghanistan.
Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji, founder of the Turko-Pashtun Khalji dynasty.
Ala ud din Khilji, most powerful and famous of the Khalji rulers.

Modern prominent individuals include mucisians:

... and poets:

Mohammad Rahim el-Ham
Abdul Ali Mustaghni
Ustad Khalilullah Khalili

Language

Afghans speak a variety of languages of which the largest are Pashto and Persian (Dari or Afghan Persian). Other significant languages include the Turkmen and the Uzbek. Pashto and Persian are the official languages of Afghanistan.

Religion

Afghans are 99% Muslim, the majority are Sunni. The remaining are mostly Shiites. Before Islam's arrival, the region was predominately Buddhist and Zoroastrian. Recent media attention to the arrest of an Afghan Christian Convert indicates that there are a few [Afghan Christians] living inside and outside Afghanistan.

Symbols

The Flag of Afghanistan has three stripes which represent three stages in Afghan history. The black represents the 19th century when Afghanistan was occupied, the red symbolizes the fight for independence and the green represents the fight for independence. In the past on the flags before communist takeover the black represented sovereignty, the red symbolized progress and development and the green represented Islam.[Flags of the World, "Islamic State of Afghanistan", 2005]

Identity

The Afghan identity began to develop as Pashtun identity under the rule of Ahmad Shah who united the Pashtun (Afghan) chiefdoms in the late 18th century. Another boost took place under the rule of Nadir Shah who with Pashtun support further centralized the government.

Notes & References

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