On Religious Diversity in Afghanistan: True progress can only go hand in hand with peace

"Afghanistan Mosque Detail," Uploaded on June 27, 2005 by babasteve on flickr

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No country is completely homogeneous. Afghanistan is no exception. -gw

...areas of Afghanistan, Kabul, the capital, included, are more diverse. These areas contain a sizable amount of Sunni, Shiite, Sikh, Hindu, and Baha’i peoples. Likewise, the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif have a mix of Sunni Muslims, which included ethnic Pashtuns, Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Turkmen; and also Shiites (the Qizilbash and the Hazaras). The Shiite population includes the Ismaili Shiites.

Yet despite the religious diversity, Afghanistan as a nation is still in the painful process of recovery from religion-tainted violence. Twenty-five years of such a hostile climate is not an easy nationwide paradigm to turn around. But as time goes by, and as the Afghan culture evolves and receives pressure from foreign sources, religious tolerance on the government and the law’s side increases. And yet, if there be traces of religious intolerance left in Afghanistan, it is no less an issue of law as it is an issue of culture and customs that our Afghan people have gotten used to.

But then we Afghans should remember that true progress can only come when we all decide to agree to move in one focus for our country: Progress that could only go hand in hand with Peace, regardless of race, ethnic group, or religion.

Safiullah Amin, "Religion, Spirituality and Tradition, the Afghan Way of Life," Islamic Republic Of Afghanistan: Afghan culture, Afghan history and other information on Afghanistan

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