The Hazaras of Afghanistan

by Sayed Askar Mousavi

This is a study of the second largest but least well-known ethnic group in Afghanistan. Largely Shi'a by religion and Farsi-speaking, the Hazaras traditionally inhabited Central Afghanistan although because of the war they are now scattered in large numbers across the country and in neighbouring countries as well. The Hazaras have recently come into a more influential position within the country's social fabric because its tribally based pyramidal structure has been disrupted. This book, therefore, makes a unique contribution in Afghanistan studies. It also directly confronts the taboo subject of an Afghan sense of national identity, a concept crucial to the resolution of Afghanistan's current crisis.