Religion in Afghanistan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The majority Religion in Afghanistan is Islam, with over 99% of Afghans being counted as Muslims. Of those, approximately 80% are Sunni, 20% are Shi'a [1][2] [3] (estimates vary). There are about 30,000 to 20,000 Hindus and Sikhs living in different cities but mostly in Jalalabad, Kabul, and Kandahar.[4][5] Also, there was a small Jewish community in Afghanistan (See Bukharan Jews) who fled the country after the 1979 Soviet invasion, and only one individual, Zablon Simintov, remains today.[6] There are an estimated 3,000 - 5,000 Christians in Afghanistan. (See Christianity in Afghanistan) Most of these are former Muslims who converted.[7] Buddhists, very few in number, probably number about 0.3% of the current population. Baha'is account for more than 20,000 members. According to the World Christian Encyclopedia, which provided statistics for world countries to Britannica, there are also Zoroastrians still remaining in Afghanistan. The figures vary widely though statistics of more than 300,000 have been given[8] If so, Zoroastrianism should be considered Afghanistan's second largest religion.
Once the communist regime in Afghanistan came to power in 1978, from 1978 to 1987, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan moved to suppress religion, it implemented state atheism, replacing religious and traditional laws with secular and Marxist ones. Men were obliged to cut their beards, women were forbiden to wear a burqa, and mosques were placed off limits. After National Reconciliation talks in 1987 Islam became once again the state religion and the country removed the word "Democratic" from its officall name. From 1987-1992 the country's official name was the Republic of Afghanistan.[9]
[edit] See also
- Bahá'í Faith in Afghanistan
- Christianity in Afghanistan
- Islam in Afghanistan
- Hinduism in Afghanistan
- Roman Catholicism in Afghanistan
- Protestants in Afghanistan
- Buddhism in Afghanistan
- Religious freedom in Afghanistan
[edit] References
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica - Afghanistan...Link (PDF)
- ^ CIA World Factbook
- ^ Goring, R. (ed) "Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions" (Larousse: 1994); pg. 581-58;: Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs", ISBN 0-7523-0000-8, Note: "... Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% ..."
- ^ Hinduism Today: Hindus Abandon Afghanistan
- ^ BBC South Asia: Sikhs struggle in Afghanistan
- ^ Washingtnhkbgrud hbigwiouogh ufuonpost.com - Afghan Jew Becomes Country's One and Only - N.C. Aizenman
- ^ AfghanTimes.com - Afghan Christian News Network
- ^ http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/religious_studies/CDC/afghanistan.html.
- ^ Willem Vogelsang. "The Afghans". Google Books. http://books.google.com/books?id=9kfJ6MlMsJQC&pg=RA1-PA319&dq=PDPA+Kabul+Safe&hl=no#PRA1-PA319,M1. Retrieved on 2009-03-22.
