The Sectarian Divide: Understanding Afghanistan's Sunni Majority And Shia Minority

Afghanistan is a country with a strong Islamic faith, with around 99% of the population practising the religion. The majority of Afghans are Sunni Muslims, with estimates ranging from 80-90% of the population. The remaining 10-20% of the population are Shia Muslims, with the largest group being the Shia Hazaras. The country's religious landscape is dominated by Islam, with the religion becoming the official state religion after the Islamic conquest of the region from the 7th to the 10th centuries.

Afghanistan is a predominantly Sunni country, with around 80-90% of the population practising Sunni Islam

The history of Islam in Afghanistan goes back to the 7th century, when the Rashidun Caliphate Arabs entered the territory during their pursuit of Yazdegerd III, the last Sassanid emperor. Islam was established as the state religion in the 10th century, and it has dominated the country's religious landscape ever since.

The Sunni branch of Islam is the most prevalent in Afghanistan, with estimates suggesting that around 80-90% of the population follows this denomination. The remaining 10-20% of Muslims in the country are primarily Shia, with a smaller number following Ismailism.

The Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence, which is followed by Sunni Muslims, serves as the basis for the country's legal system. This has been emphasised by the Taliban, who have stated that their governance is based solely on Sunni Hanafi jurisprudence.

The distribution of Sunni and Shia Muslims in Afghanistan is not uniform across the country. The majority of Shiites live in the central, western, and northern regions, as well as in major cities like Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat, and Ghazni. The largest Shia group is the Hazaras, who mainly reside in the Hazarajat region and make up about 90% of the Shia population.

While Afghanistan is predominantly Sunni, there is a significant Shia minority, and the interpretation and practice of Islam can vary across different regions, communities, and individuals.

Shia Muslims make up approximately 7%-15% of the population

Afghanistan is a predominantly Muslim country, with Islam as its official state religion. Sunni Muslims make up the majority of the Muslim population, with estimates ranging from 80-90%. Shia Muslims, on the other hand, constitute a significant minority, accounting for approximately 7%-15% of the total population. While the majority of Shias in Afghanistan belong to the Twelver branch, there is also a smaller presence of Ismailis, who accept Ismail ibn Jafar as the successor to Imam Jafar as-Sadiq.

The Shia community in Afghanistan is predominantly comprised of the Hazara ethnic group, who mainly reside in the central and western provinces, as well as cities like Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat, and Ghazni. The Hazara Shias have faced persecution and discrimination throughout history, including massacres perpetrated during the Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001. Even after the fall of the Taliban regime, the Hazara Shia community continued to face security threats from emerging conflict actors such as the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).

Despite their numerical minority, the Shia Muslims in Afghanistan have a strong presence in certain regions and play a significant role in the country's religious and cultural landscape. They have their own religious ceremonies and practices, such as the annual celebration of Ashura. Additionally, the Shia community has produced prominent religious figures like Ayatollah Mohaqiqi Kabuli, a Shia cleric who passed away in 2019.

The political involvement of Shia Muslims in Afghanistan is also notable. During the 1960s and 1970s, politically aware Shia students formed the Afghan Maoist movement. Following the Saur Revolution of 1978 and the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Shia rebel groups in the Hazarajat region became active in mujahideen activities, receiving aid from Shi'a Iran. However, despite their efforts, the Shia groups were unsuccessful in negotiating for more equitable and consequential political and social roles during the establishment of the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1992.

The largest group of Shia Muslims in Afghanistan are the Hazara people

Afghanistan is a predominantly Sunni Muslim country, with around 90% of the population practising Sunni Islam. However, there is a significant minority of Shia Muslims, who make up around 10% of the population. The largest group of Shia Muslims in Afghanistan are the Hazara people, who are estimated to constitute 90% of the country's Shia population.

The Hazara are one of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan, and they primarily reside in the central region of Hazarajat. They are said to be descendants of Genghis Khan and the Mongol soldiers who invaded the region in the 13th century, as well as several other Turkic, Mongolic, and Iranic tribes. Today, the Hazara make up between 10% and 20% of Afghanistan's total population, and they have a distinct culture, language, and physical appearance that sets them apart from other Afghans.

Historically, the Hazara have been one of the most persecuted groups in Afghanistan. They have faced discrimination, violence, and massacres at the hands of various groups, including the Taliban, the Pashtun King Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, and extremist organisations like the Islamic State. The Hazara's adherence to the Shia branch of Islam has made them a target for extremist Sunni groups, and they have been subjected to forced evictions, illegal taxation, forced labour, physical abuse, and detention. Despite this, the Hazara have actively campaigned against discriminatory policies and demanded equal rights as citizens of Afghanistan. They have formed their own political parties and participated in alliances to exert influence over state policies.

In recent years, the Hazara have continued to face threats and attacks from both the Taliban and the Islamic State. The United Nations has reported that human rights abuses and attacks against Hazara Shia and other Shia Muslims have resulted in a significant loss of civilian life. The Hazara community has also faced prejudice and negative attitudes from the Taliban due to their engagement with the former government and their perceived closeness to Western powers. As a result, the Hazara have become a marginalised and repressed group within Afghan society, facing widespread discrimination and marginalisation in public service delivery and hiring.

The Hazara people have been the target of massacres and persecution, including by the Taliban and ISKP

Afghanistan is a predominantly Sunni Muslim country, with around 90% of its population practising Sunni Islam. The remaining 10% are Shia Muslims, and it is this minority group that has been the target of massacres and persecution by the Taliban and the Islamic State's Khorasan Province (ISKP).

The Hazara people are the largest Shia group in Afghanistan, and they have been persecuted for decades. During the reign of Amir Abdur Rahman (1880-1901), millions of Hazaras were massacred, expelled, and displaced, and sold into slavery. Abdur Rahman sought to bring the Hazara people under his rule, waging a brutal war that resulted in the transfer of Hazara land to Pashtun tribes. This period is considered a genocide by some scholars.

The Hazara people continued to face repression, discrimination, and socio-economic marginalisation in the following decades. They were denied access to higher education, the army, and senior government jobs. They were also forced to conceal their identities to obtain state identification.

During the Taliban's rule from 1996 to 2001, several massacres were perpetrated against the Hazaras. The Taliban declared war on the Hazara, considering them non-Muslims and justifying their killing. One of the most brutal events took place in Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998, where thousands of Hazaras were systematically executed.

After the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, the situation for the Hazara people improved. However, new security threats emerged with the emergence of ISKP in 2016. The group has carried out attacks targeting Hazaras, considering them apostates and, therefore, legitimate targets for killing.

Since the Taliban's return to power in 2021, the Hazara community has faced new atrocities. There have been reports of forced evictions, with thousands of Hazara families displaced from their ancestral homes. The Taliban have also been accused of failing to protect the Hazara community from attacks by ISKP.

The Hazara people have historically been one of the most persecuted ethnic groups in Afghanistan, facing discrimination, violence, and marginalisation. The Taliban and ISKP's actions against them, including massacres, forced evictions, and failure to protect, demonstrate a continued pattern of persecution.

The Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is the basis for the legal system in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a predominantly Sunni Muslim country, with around 90% of the population practising Sunni Islam, and the remaining 10% practising Shia Islam. The Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is the basis for the legal system in Afghanistan.

The Hanafi school, or Hanafism, is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was established by the 8th-century scholar, jurist, and theologian Abu Hanifa, and is the oldest and most-followed of the four schools. Hanafi is predominant among Sunni Muslims in Pakistan and northern Egypt, and is also the main school of jurisprudence in the Balkans, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, the Levant, Central Asia and South Asia, in addition to parts of Russia and China.

The Hanafi school recognises the Quran, hadith, consensus (ijma), legal analogy (qiyas), juristic preference (istihsan) and normative customs (urf) as sources of Sharia law. It is considered to be the most open to modern ideas out of the four schools of Sunni Islam, and is notably more liberal than some of the other schools—for example, under Hanafi jurisprudence, blasphemy is not punishable by the state.

The Hanafi school was founded in Kufa, present-day Iraq, and its influence spread to the Mughal and Ottoman empires. It can now be found from Turkey to Central Asia, the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and as far as Western Europe and North America.

The 1931 Constitution of Afghanistan made Hanafi Shariah the state religion, and the 1964 Constitution stated that the state should conduct its religious ritual according to the Hanafi school. The Taliban, which has ruled Afghanistan since August 2021, has confirmed that Hanafi jurisprudence is the basis for the country's legal system.

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