Afghanistan: Religions
Filed Under Afghanistan Country Profile |
It won’t come as a surprise to anybody to find out that Islam is the dominant religion of Afghanistan. At least 99% of Afghans are Muslim.
There is a denominational split between Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims. Around 80% of the country is Sunni and 20% is Shia. The Sunnis are clearly in the majority.
To some extent, religious denomination can be said to be associated with ethnicity. Almost all Pashtuns, Uzbeks, Turkmen, and Aimaqs are Sunni. Most Tajiks are also Sunni, except for the Tajiks in Western Afghanistan, who are Shia. The Hazara are the ethnic group that is most closely linked to Shia Islam.
There is significant tension between Sunni and Shia groups in Afghanistan.
Comments
Leave a Reply