COUNTRY
AfghanistanPOPULATION
30,419,928 (July 2012 est.)GDP PER CAPITA
$1,000 (2011 est.)RELIGIONS
Sunni Muslim 80%, Shia Muslim 19%, other 1%AT THE CENTER
RELATED RESOURCES
ORGANIZATIONS (1)
PEOPLE (3)
QUOTES (14)
Hamid Karzai on Terrorism as a Political Mutation
January 23, 2008
Article 17: Education
January 4, 2004
Article 1: The State
January 4, 2004
January 23, 2008
Article 17: Education
January 4, 2004
Article 1: The State
January 4, 2004
PUBLICATIONS (2)
The Taliban and the Crisis of Afghanistan
January 1, 2009
Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil, and Fundamentalism in Central Asia
January 1, 2000
January 1, 2009
Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil, and Fundamentalism in Central Asia
January 1, 2000
Afghanistan
Events (12)
Afghan society and politics are simultaneously united by Islam – one of the few agents of social cohesion in a land split along ethnic and tribal lines – and threatened by militant Islamism. Though Zoroastrians, Buddhists and Greeks all left an imprint on Afghanistan’s early history, Islam has dominated its religious landscape since the 9th century. When the Soviets invaded in 1979 to support the country’s new communist government, Islam united the multiethnic opposition to the atheist regime. Once the insurgency succeeded in 1989, the country plunged into civil war. The radical Taliban regime gained power in 1996 but was deposed by a US-led invasion in 2001. However, its supporters remain a significant power in large parts of the country. The current Constitution of Afghanistan guarantees freedom of religion but mandates that Islam is the state religion and no law may contradict Islam. Islam remains a major political force, with numerous Islamic political parties as well as an ongoing Taliban insurgency.
The Berkley Center led its first conference for the US Air Force on "US Policy in a Highly Religious World: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Beyond" at the Armed Forces Chaplains Center, Ft. Jackson, South Carolina. The conference was open to chaplains from all the services and was led by Berkley Center Associate Director Eric Patterson. Experts provided the chaplains with contemporary thinking on issues of international religious freedom and national security policy, the intersection of faith and...
Can an American Idol spin off unite a country, promote women, and enable citizens to experience democracy? The award-winning documentary Afghan Star answers these questions as it follows contestants on the program as they compete, campaign, and even face death threats. The screening was followed by a panel discussion with Daoud Sediqi, the former emcee of Afghan Star, who defected to the United States and now works for Voice of America; Georgetown Professor Katrin Sieg, who is writing a book...
The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, & World Affairs, The Mortara Center for International Studies, the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, the World Faiths Development Dialogue, and the Theater and Performance Studies Program at Georgetown University presented this event with moderator Ambassador Cynthia Schneider. Panelists included Nicholas Kent, Director of Tricycle Theatre and 'The Great Game'; Sharon Memis, Director of the British Council in the U.S.; Paula Newberg of the Institute...
"The Religious Dynamics of War and Peace" was a two-day symposium for faculty from Professional Military Education institutions at the intermediate, advanced-warfighting, and senior service levels, held at the Berkley Center on January 6-7, 2011. The theme for this faculty development program was "Pedagogy and Classroom Resources" on religion, war, and peace. Among the sessions were "The Latest Washington Thinking on Religion and US Foreign Policy," "Case Study Resources on Conflict...
This student discussion explored the ways religion and interreligious communities can be forces to bring peace and prosperity in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and learn about strategies and best practices for interreligious cooperation and intercultural understanding. This event was cosponsored by HASC, The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, and the World Faiths Development Dialogue.
With the growth of religious pluralism on a global scale, freedom of religion has emerged as more than a fundamental human rights issue. It also intersects with other foreign policy challenges, including political, social, and economic development. One of the most important but most poorly understood connections is with national security.
Afghanistan's 30 years of war have seen the gradual and heavy politicization of religion, transforming the landscape of religious authority, political process, and the Afghan statebuilding project. The complex situation makes an understanding of Afghanistan's diverse religious landscape and the various positions vis-à-vis the state all the more essential in the context of efforts to develop strategies for peace and reconciliation. Kristian Berg Harpviken, Director of the Peace Research...
How can war end well? President Obama's Nobel Prize speech argued, "There will be times when nations...will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified." But what comes next? Just War theory, which the President referenced, traditionally focused on the morality of the decision to go to war (jus ad bellum) and the ethics of how war was fought (jus in bello) not the nature of war's end and post-conflict. However, protracted conflicts like that in Afghanistan challenge both...
U.S. and associated armed forces, including interagency and non-governmental partners, are involved in regions of the world where issues of religion and identity can both drive conflict and promote reconciliation. To date, however, religion-related issues have played very little role in military leadership training. In order to further understanding among officers, Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs and National Defense University's Institute for the...
On Tuesday, March 24, 2009, the Berkley Center and the Office of the President of Georgetown University hosted "From Iraq to Pakistan: The Arc of Turbulence" featuring MJ Akbar on the geopolitical consequences of America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.The US military presence in the region has unintentionally strengthened the regional position of Iran, America's principal foe, and undermined its principal ally, Pakistan. Instability in Pakistan, a country that combines toxic ideology and...
"Islam, Constitutions and Durable Democracy: The Cases of Iraq & Afghanistan" focused on the fragile democratic experiments in these two countries. In Iraq, sectarian conflict abetted by foreign terrorists is putting enormous pressure on a weak governing coalition. In Afghanistan, a resurgent Taliban is challenging the writ of Kabul's democratic government. The event looked to address what roles the two countries' respective constitutions, written by nationals but brokered by the United...
In her lecture, Nancy Sherman explored questions about the motivation behind the choice to engage in war and combat. In the run-up to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, many Americans enlisted out of a sense of anger and revenge. But should a soldier fight with anger and war raging in his heart? The Stoics insisted that justice, not vengeance, should motivate combat. What does the Old Testament teach here? Anger is no stranger to the Hebrew Bible, both in the voice of God and humans. Sherman...