Can you name a Muslim people who have been persecuted by other Muslims within their own country? The Shia Muslim Hazara of Afghanistan have been the recipients of attacks by Afghan Sunni Muslims for centuries. At one time, Hazaras formed half the population of the nation. Today they make up only about one tenth. Some Hazara have settled in cities, but the majority still carry on their traditional, nomadic lifestyle of seasonal migration with their herds of goats, sheep, cattle and horses.
Forcefully converted to Islam by Arabs in the 7th century, Afghan Tajiks remain almost entirely Muslim. Religious traditions dictate rituals to celebrate important life passages, including birth, marriage and death. Memorized prayers are recited daily, and in some communities old practices incorporating magic, charms and animistic beliefs still have a place.
The Pashtun are the largest people group among Afghanistan peoples. More significant than dialectical differences, a Pashtun's primary loyalty is to his particular social group (tribe or sub-tribe). The Pashtun were the traditional rulers of Afghanistan for over 250 years. Since the overthrow of the Afghan king, communist coup and Soviet invasion in the 1970s, Afghanistan has been in a state of constant conflict. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Pakistan-Afghanistan borderlands were the launchpad for mujahideen (freedom fighters) who, with Western, Saudi, and global support, resisted and overthrew the communist regime. The cost was high: Over 3.5 million refugees settled into hundreds of refugee camps in border provinces of Iran and Pakistan; one-third of the population was displaced. During the 1990s, Pashtun tribal areas and thousands of Arab-funded madrassas (religious schools) throughout Pakistan, became the seedbed for the rise of the Taliban movement. Driven by a combination of religious zeal and Pashtun nationalism, and fueled by Arab money, the Taliban; (a term for religious students) imposed a harsh, hyper-conservative (Wahabi) version of Islam on the country. Unfortunately, attempts toward a peace accord and durable central government have, to date, been unsuccessful.
Join in praying that the people of Afghanistan will all have the opportunity to hear a clear presentation of the gospel.
