Shia Islam in Afghanistan



Shia Islam in Afghanistan is practiced by a significant minority of the population. According to a PEW 2021 survey, 7% of Afghans followed Shia Islam, but other estimates have put the number as high as 35%. Afghanistan's Shia are primarily the Twelvers, while a minority are Ismailis.

Twelvers
The majority of Afghanistan's Shia Muslim's are the Twelvers, primarily of the Hazara ethnicity. The next-largest Twelvers are the Farsiwan of the western Herat and Farah provinces. Other, far smaller, Afghanistan's Twelver communities include the Qizilbash and the Sadat populations.

Ismailis
The Ismailis accepted Ismail ibn Jafar instead of Musa al-Kadhim as the successor to Imam Jafar as-Sadiq. Ismaili communities in Afghanistan are less populous than the Twelver who consider the Ismaili heretical. They are found primarily in and near the eastern Hazarajat, in the Baghlan area north of the Hindu Kush, among the mountain Tajik of Badakhshan, and amongst the Wakhi in the Wakhan Corridor. The Ismailis believe that the series of Imamat or in another word Welayat that comes from the first Imami, Hazar-e-Ali, will never end and it continues. Therefore, they have so far reached to forty-ninth Imam, represented by Aga Khan IV. Ismaili in Afghanistan are seen to follow their leaders uncritically. The pir or leader of Afghan Ismaili comes from the Sayyid family of Kayan, located in Kayayan valley, 30km west of Doshi, a small town at the northern foot of the Salang Pass, in western Baghlan Province. The current leader of Ismailis in Afghanistan is Sayed Mansur Naderi. During the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan this family acquired considerable political power, having over 13,000 armed men who was fighting both with the government and with the different other armed groups including Mujahideen. Sayed Jafar Naderi was the Ismaili commander, known as the 'Warlord of Kayan' in a documentary by Journeyman Pictures. Ismailis have had key contributions to the Islamic culture in Afghanistan including building large mosques, cultural centers and the World's Largest Handmade Quran in Afghanistan, which was unveiled in January 2012.

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) initiated its efforts in Afghanistan in 1996, providing food aid amidst the civil war. Since 2002, AKDN, along with its partners, has allocated over $1 billion to development assistance in the country. The network's multifaceted approach encompasses humanitarian, economic, social, and cultural dimensions. Economically, AKDN's projects extend across more than 240 cities and towns in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Its social development and humanitarian initiatives reach into 61 districts across seven provinces, benefiting over three million people. In the realm of cultural preservation, the network has restored over 90 historic buildings in Kabul, Herat, Balkh, and Badakhshan. AKDN's strategy in Afghanistan includes strengthening Afghan institutions and the public sector by engaging communities and local leaders. In the private sector, it supports the Chamber of Commerce, various business associations, and entrepreneurs. The network also enhances the capacity of local civil society organizations, for instance, by expanding community savings programs. AKDN aims for comprehensive area development that is led by Afghan institutions, fostering partnerships among the government, the business sector, and civil society to facilitate the country's transition towards stability and prosperity. A cornerstone of AKDN's efforts in Afghanistan is the emphasis on gender equity. The network actively addresses social barriers, promotes equitable decision-making, and empowers women and girls by enhancing their voice and agency.

Ismailis in Afghanistan have been continuously engaged in the country's political landscape during the democracy era. Following the fall of Taliban in 2001, Ismailis established a political party under the name of National Unity Party of Afghanistan, also called as the National Solidarity Party of Afghanistan. Considering about 3-5% population of Ismailis in Afghanistan, they managed to send up to four representatives in the Afghanistan National Assembly. They also managed to obtain seats in the Afghan government cabinet, including the State Ministry for Peace in 2020. They played a key role in 2009, 2014 and 2019 presidential elections, backing Hamid Karzai in 2009, Ashraf Ghani in 2014 and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah in 2019.