Religion in Afghanistan
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The majority Religion in Afghanistan is Islam, with over 99% of Afghans being counted as Muslims. Of those, approximately 74-89% are Sunni and 9-25% are Shi'a[1][2] [3] (estimates vary). There are about 30,000 to 150,000 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 is an estimated 3,000 - 5,000 Christians in Afghansitan. (See Afghan Christians) Most of these are former Muslims covert to Christianity.[7]
[edit] See also
- Islam in Afghanistan
- Hinduism in Afghanistan
- Roman Catholicism in Afghanistan
- Protestants in Afghanistan
- Buddhism 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
- ^ Washingtonpost.com - Afghan Jew Becomes Country's One and Only - N.C. Aizenman
- ^ AfghanTimes.com - Afghan Christian News Network
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