Class+Separation

__**Class Separation**__ By: Canela and Liz __Hazaras vs. Pashtuns__ In Kite Runner Amir's servant Hassan is Hazaran. Hazaran are a ethic group living in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, however must Hazaran living in Pakistan and Iran are refugees. Hazaran are descendent of the Mongolian invaders under Genghis Khan. Khans army marched through Afghanistan during the 12th century, here the Mongolian soliders settled and mixed with the natives, converting to Islam and picking up local customs. Also during the end of the Il-Khan empire in Persia the ruler of the time decided to cleanse is control of all Mongols sending many of the refugees to Afghanistan. Hazaran have Asian features and for almost a century have been persecuted for their difference in ethnicity and religion. Most Hazaran are Shi'a Muslims. Shi'a Islam is a sect of Islam much as Protestantism is a form of Christianity. Shi'a believe that the after the death of the prophet Mohammed the next prophet was Ali. Ali then had sons and these descendents should be worshipped and viewed as prophets just as Mohammed was.
 * The Hazara and Shi'a Islam: **





The Pashtuns and Sunni Islam: ** Amir and his father are Pashtuns. Pashtuns are the majority of the population in Afghanistan. They are of Middle Eastern and Iranian decent. They hold more Middle Eastern customs and traditions. The Pashtuns worship a sect of Islam called Sunni Islam. The Sunni's believe that after the death of Mohammed, Ali his predecessor is the only other prophet. Sunni Muslims do not believe that Ali ever had children so there should be no descendents to worship. The next prophants in line to worship after Ali are Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman. None of them related to Mohammed or Ali. Sunni and Shi'a Muslims practise the same core belifs of Islam, The Five Pillars. However these small differneces in their r eligions has caused a great and volient rift between the two r eligions.


 * **Sunnah** || **Shia (or Shi'ah)** ||
 * adherents called || Sunnis || Shiites, Shi'i ||
 * meaning of name || "well-trodden path" or "tradition" || "party" or "partisans" of Ali ||
 * current adherents || 940 million || 120 million ||
 * percentage of total Muslims || 90% || 10% ||
 * primary locations || most Muslim countries || Iran, Iraq, Yemen ||
 * subsects || none, but four major schools of Muslim law are recognized || Ithna 'Ashariyah (Twelvers; the largest), Isma'iliyah and Zaydiyah ||
 * origins || c. 632 CE; theology developed especially in 10th cent. || c. 632-650 CE; killing of Ali's son Husayn in 680 CE is major event ||
 * did Muhammad designate a successor? || no || yes ||
 * true successor of the Prophet || Abu Bakr, father of the Prophet's favoured wife, 'A'ishah (elected by people of Medina) || 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, husband of the Prophet's daughter Fatimah (designated by the Prophet) ||
 * qualifications for ruler of Islam || tribe of the Prophet (Quraysh); later, any qualified ruler || family of the Prophet ||
 * current leaders || imams || mujtahids ||
 * identity of imams || human leaders || infallible manifestations of God and perfect interpreters of the Qur'an ||
 * Al Mahdi || will come in the future || was already on earth, is currently the "hidden imam" who works through mujtahids to intepret Qur'an; and will return at the end of time ||
 * religious authority other than the Qu'ran || ijma' (consensus) of the Muslim community || infallible imams ||
 * concealing faith for self-protection (taqiya) || affirmed under certain circumstances || emphasized ||
 * temporary marriage (mut'ah) || practiced in the Prophet's time, but now rejected || still practiced ||
 * holy cities || [|Mecca], [|Medina], [|Jerusalem] || [|Mecca], [|Medina], [|Jerusalem], [|Najaf], [|Karbala] ||
 * major holidays || [|Eid al-Adha], [|Eid al-Fitr] || [|Eid al-Adha], [|Eid al-Fitr], [|Ashura] ||

__Mazari Sharif__ ​ ​

Mazari Sharif is the fourth largest city of Afghanistan. Between May and July 1997, the Taliban unsuccessfully attempted to take Mazari Sharif, causing approximately 3,000 Taliban soldiers to be massacred by Abdul Malik and his followers. In retaliation for this incident, the Taliban on August 8, 1998, returned and led a six-day killing frenzy of Hazaras, a report the Taliban denied at that time. Soon after, the city was occupied and taken over by the Taliban. It was this capture of Mazar, the last major city in Afghanistan to fall to the Taliban, that prompted Pakistan's recognition of the Taliban regime. Soon afterward, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia extended official recognition to the regime, while Turkmenistan resumed relations - although the Taliban was not officially recognized by Turkmenbashi as the rulers of Afghanistan.

__ Aghanistan Today __

Following 9/11, Mazar was the first Afghan city to fall to the Northern Alliance (former militias). The Taliban's defeat in Mazar quickly turned into a rout from the rest of the north and west of Afghanistan. On November 9, 2001 the city was recaptured by the Afghan Northern Alliance after the Battle of Mazari Sharif with help from the United States Special Operations Forces.

__ Time Line __ In the original state named Afghanistan, dating back to 1747, the Pashtun ethnic group constituted an overwhelming majority. Until the late nineteenth century, Afghanistan was a fragile confederation of Pashtun tribes, and the word "Afghan " was used as a synonym for Pashtun. As part of a nation-building project early in the twentieth century, it increasingly came to imply "citizen of Afghanistan." The borders of the territory that now form Afghanistan were established toward the end of the nineteenth century, when the British and Russian empires were competing for control of the region. The Pashtun population was split, one part living in British India and the Pashtun majority in Afghanistan being reduced to around half the total population. During his monarchy, Abdur Rahman Khan (reigned 1880–1901) attempted to build a stronger, more modern state, less dependent on shifting tribal alliances. Trying to establish authority throughout the country, particularly where ethnic minorities were dominant, the king battled several contentious groups, with especially harsh implications for the Hazara and Nuristani peoples.