Afghan Americans ( prs, آمریکاییهای افغانتبار ''Amrikāyi-hāye Afghān tabar'', ps, د امريکا افغانان ''Da Amrīka Afghanan'') are
Americans
Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...
of
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
**Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pash ...
descent or Americans who originated from
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
. They form the largest
Afghan community in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
with the second being
Afghan Canadians
Afghan Canadians are Canadians with ancestry from Afghanistan. They form the second largest Afghan community in North America after Afghan Americans. Their ethnic origin may come from any of the ethnic groups of Afghanistan, which include Pa ...
. The Afghan Americans may originate from any of the
ethnic groups of Afghanistan. They have long been considered by the
Board of Immigration Appeals
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is an administrative appellate body within the Executive Office for Immigration Review of the United States Department of Justice responsible for reviewing decisions of the U.S. immigration courts and cert ...
and the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
as
White Americans
White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...
,
but a significant number of individuals may also identify themselves as Middle Eastern or as
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...
s, or even as "Central Asian" or "South Asian".
The Afghan community in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
was minimal until large numbers were admitted as
refugees
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. following the December 1979
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
. Others have arrived similarly during and after the latest
war in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
* Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...
.
Afghan Americans reside and work all across the United States.
The states of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
historically had the largest number of Afghan Americans.
Thousands may also be found in the states of
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
,
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
,
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Monta ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
, and
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
.
As of 2022, their total number is approximately 155,000.
History and population
Afghan Americans have a long history of immigrating to the United States, as they have arrived as early as the 1860s.
This was around the time when
Afghanistan–United States relations were being established.
Wallace Fard Muhammad
Wallace Dodd Fard, also known as Wallace Fard Muhammad or Master Fard Muhammad (; reportedly born February 26, – disappeared ), was the founder of the Nation of Islam. He arrived in Detroit in 1930 with an obscure background and several alia ...
claimed to have been from Afghanistan. A
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
draft registration card for ''Wallie Dodd Fard'' from 1917 indicated he was living in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
, California, as an unmarried restaurant owner, and reported that he was born in
Shinka, Afghanistan in 1893.
[Ancestry.com database, Registration Location: Los Angeles County, California; Roll: 1530899; Draft Board: 17] Between the 1920s and 1940s, hundreds of Afghans immigrated to the United States.
Between 1953 and early 1970, at least 230 lawfully entered the United States.
Some of them were students who had been granted
scholarship
A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need.
Scholars ...
s to study in
American universities.
Afghan refugees and the Refugee Act of 1980
After the 1979
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
, around five million
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
**Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pash ...
citizens were displaced. They were compelled to secretly migrate to (or seek refuge in) other countries. These
Afghan refugees
Afghan refugees are citizens of Afghanistan who were compelled to abandon their country as a result of major wars, persecution, torture or genocide. The 1978 Saur Revolution followed by the 1979 Soviet invasion marked the first wave of interna ...
or
asylum seeker
An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and m ...
s found temporary shelter in neighboring
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, and from there thousands made it to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
,
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
,
Oceania
Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...
, and
elsewhere in the world. Under the law, the ones born in Pakistan, Iran or
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
are not in any way
Pakistanis
Pakistanis ( ur, , translit=Pākistānī Qaum, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. According to the 2017 Pakistani national census, the population of Pakistan stood at over 213 million people, making it the w ...
,
Iranians or
Indians. Their birth certificates and other legal documents confirm that they are
citizens of Afghanistan.
Beginning in 1980, Afghan Americans arrived into the United States as families. They were admitted as
refugees
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. or
asylum seekers
An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and ...
. In some cases a family was represented by only one parent due to the death of the other parent. They began settling in the
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
(mainly in the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...
and the
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
-
Orange County area) and in other parts of the United States, where large
Muslim community centers keep them bonded.
Fremont, California
Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San Fra ...
, is home to the largest population of Afghan Americans followed by
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
and then
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Smaller Afghan American communities also exist in the states of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
,
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
,
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Monta ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
,
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
,
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex
, Offi ...
,
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...
and so on.
In the city of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
, the 2000 census counted 556 Afghan Americans, approximately half of them within the city.
The first arrivals of Afghan families in the early 1980s were mainly the wealthy and from the
urban and educated
elite
In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. ...
. They had rightfully applied for refugee status while temporarily residing in Pakistan and India, and a large number had similarly resided in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
before their
firm resettlement in the United States. The
family reunification
Family reunification is a recognized reason for immigration in many countries because of the presence of one or more family members in a certain country, therefore, enables the rest of the divided family or only specific members of the family to e ...
program brought in less affluent communities from
rural
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are de ...
Afghanistan, many of which were illiterate and maintained a more traditional village lifestyle.
Child Citizenship Act of 2000
Those admitted under and becoming
green card
A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...
recipients under are statutorily protected against inadmissibility, even if they are not in possession of their green cards,
Afghan passports,
Afghan identity cards, or any other legal document. In addition to that privilege or benefit, whenever one
parent
A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male t ...
becomes
naturalized
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
all of his or her
child
A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person young ...
ren statutorily become entitled to
naturalization
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
through such
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
parent. This conferral of
American nationality statutorily extends to all of his or her children that are born outside of the United States. All such nationality claims are statutorily reviewable under the
federal judiciary of the United States
The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government. The U.S. federal judiciary consists primaril ...
.
Post September 11, 2001, the Afghan American community faced discriminations. Bush's plan to legalize works to help the economy came to a halt after the terror attack in 2001. It interrupted talk of legalizing immigrants thus leading to few admitted immigrants from 2001 to 2005. 406,080 immigrant visas were issued in 2001. 395,005 were issued in 2005 according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009
A news reporter in 2001 randomly stated, without providing any references or sources, that there were 200,000 Afghan Americans. This wild assumption probably included
Afghan Canadians
Afghan Canadians are Canadians with ancestry from Afghanistan. They form the second largest Afghan community in North America after Afghan Americans. Their ethnic origin may come from any of the ethnic groups of Afghanistan, which include Pa ...
. According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, there were approximately 65,972 Afghan-Americans in 2006. The
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
(ACS) estimated a total of 94,726 Afghan foreign-born immigrants were residing and working in the United States in 2016, which shows a 30% increase in the last ten years. Since 2005, thousands of Afghans have been admitted to the United States under the
Special Immigrant Visa
The Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) programs are programs for receiving a United States visa. The program is administered under the '' Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, Public Law 110-181'', which was signed into law on January 28, 20 ...
(SIV) program.
Congress passed the
Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
**Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pash ...
, which was extended in 2014. Afghans who had put their lives at risk during the
US-led war in Afghanistan became eligible for SIVs. This program for Afghans created a legal pathway towards
U.S. citizenship for the recipients and their immediate family members.
Evacuations of 2021
Large numbers of Afghans, including those that worked with the United States, moved to the country following the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
take over of Kabul in August 2021.
Discrimination of Refugees
Afghans who went through resettlement difficulties may experience discrimination, worsening the trauma.
Culture
As other immigrants in the United States, Afghan Americans have gradually adopted the
American way
The American way of life or the American way refers to the American nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. At the center of the American way is the belief in an American Dream that is clai ...
of life. But many of those who were born in Afghanistan still highly value
Afghan culture
The culture of Afghanistan has persisted for over three millennia, tracing record to at least the time of the Achaemenid Empire in 500 BCE, and encompasses the cultural diversity of the nation. Afghanistan's culture is historically strongly c ...
. For example, they often wear at home Afghan clothes, watch
Afghan shows, listen to
Afghan music, eat mostly
Afghan food, and enthusiastically keep up with
Afghan politics. They also value their oral tradition of story telling. The stories they sometimes tell are about
Mullah
Mullah (; ) is an honorific title for Shia and Sunni Muslim clergy or a Muslim mosque leader. The term is also sometimes used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and sharia law.
The title has also been used in some M ...
Nasreddin
Nasreddin () or Nasreddin Hodja (other variants include: Mullah Nasreddin Hooja, Nasruddin Hodja, Mullah Nasruddin, Mullah Nasriddin, Khoja Nasriddin) (1208-1285) is a character in the folklore of the Muslim world from Arabia to Central Asia ...
,
Afghan history, myths and religions.
Afghan Americans celebrate August 19 as
Afghan Independence Day
Afghan Independence Day is celebrated as a national holiday in Afghanistan on 19 August to commemorate the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 and relinquishment from British protectorate status. The treaty granted a complete neutral relation betwee ...
, which relates to August 1919, the date when Afghanistan became fully independent after the signing of the
Anglo-Afghan Treaty. Small
festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
s are held in cities that have Afghan communities, usually at the parks where black, red and green colored
Afghan flags are spotted around cars. Eid and Nowruz remain popular festivals for Afghans. The 2021 American sitcom ''
United States of Al
''United States of Al'' is an American television sitcom created by David Goetsch and Maria Ferrari. It stars Adhir Kalyan and Parker Young, with Elizabeth Alderfer, Kelli Goss, Dean Norris, and Farrah Mackenzie in supporting roles. The seri ...
'' featured American and Afghan culture.
A ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' article from October 2001 claims that the Afghan-American community, "concentrated in the towns of
Fremont and
Hayward, is in many ways a microcosm of the country that's nearly a dozen time zones away." Various members of the community commented that the Afghan community, following conflicts and divisions at home, are still divided in the United States, but that they all share love for their home country.
Ethnicity and race
Afghan Americans are composed of the various
ethnic groups
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
that exist in Afghanistan, which include
Pashtun
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...
,
Tajik,
Hazara,
Uzbek,
Turkmen,
Baloch, and a number of others. Since 1945, Afghan Americans have been officially classified as
Caucasians.
For
U.S. Census purposes Afghans are
racially categorized as White Americans.
Some Afghan Americans, however, may self identify as being
Middle Eastern Americans,
Central Asian Americans or
Asian Americans
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...
.
In recent years the creation of a new census category called SWANA (which includes Afghan Americans) has been proposed in an effort for more accurate categorization.
Religion
The majority of Afghan-Americans are Muslims whom follow
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disag ...
, with a sizable community of
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...
Muslims. Many Afghan Americans residing in
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
are members of the
All Dulles Area Muslim Society, which has a number of local branches. After the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
in 2001, a mosque run by Afghan-Americans in New York City donated blood, held a vigil for those who died inside the
World Trade Center (WTC) and funded a memorial for the
New York City fire fighters.
There is a community of
Afghan Jews
The history of the Jews in Afghanistan goes back at least 2,500 years. Ancient Iranian tradition suggests that Jews settled in Balkh, an erstwhile Zoroastrian and Buddhist stronghold, shortly after the collapse of the Kingdom of Judah in 587 ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, numbering about 200 families in 2007.
A group of Afghan Americans in the Los Angeles area follow
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
.
Hussain Andaryas is an Afghan Christian televangelist who belongs to the Hazara ethnic group. Outside of the Abrahamic faiths, there exists a community of
Afghan Hindus
Hinduism in Afghanistan is practiced by a tiny minority of Afghans, believed to be about 30-40 individuals as of 2021, who live mostly in the cities of Kabul and Jalalabad. Afghan Hindus are ethnically Pashtun, Hindkowan (Hindki), Punjabi, or S ...
and
Afghan Sikhs. They are mainly found in the states of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
.
Media
Afghan Americans have formed media outlets dedicated for its diaspora. Examples include television channels such as
Ariana Afghanistan,
Payam-e-Afghan,
Tuti TV, and Pamir TV. In the 1990s, ''Afghanistan TV'' broadcast on
KSCI
KSCI (channel 18) is a television station licensed to Long Beach, California, United States, serving the Los Angeles area. Owned by WRNN-TV Associates, the station airs programming from ShopHQ. KSCI's studios are located on South Bundy Drive ...
Channel 18 in Los Angeles and as well as magazines like the ''Afghanistan Mirror''. Many organizations have also been formed for Afghan youth, solidarity, women's rights and more. Recently a new radio station has also launched named Radio Afghan Los Angeles.
Demographics
Economics
Many Afghan Americans own
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...
in Afghanistan,
which in some cases have been
lawfully inherited from their earliest ancestors for generations upon generations. Afghan Americans who arrived before the 21st century are mostly found residing near other
middle class Americans. Some may be found living in the
upper middle class
In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term ''lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class strat ...
neighborhoods and earning high salaries.
Because the majority of Afghan Americans were originally admitted as refugees under , the government provided various forms of
assistance
Assistance is an act of helping behavior.
Assistance may also refer to:
Types of help
* Aid, in international relations, a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another
* Assistance dog, a dog trained to aid or assist a person ...
(
welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
) and selected their city of residence.
Some decided to move to other cities that had larger Afghan communities but most remained in the cities where they first arrived. They gradually left the government assistance programs and eventually
mortgaged homes. Their children were sent to
colleges or universities. Those who could not achieve this decided to build or
franchise small business
Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have fewer employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being able to ...
es. Others became real estate agents, bank employees, office workers, hotel workers, store clerks, salespersons, security guards, drivers, mechanics, waiters, etc.
Like many other immigrants in the United States, Afghan Americans often engage in the operation of small businesses. Many operate
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
and
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
**Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pash ...
restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
s as well as Afghan markets,
while some have been reported in the 1990s as
vendors
In a supply chain, a vendor, supplier, provider or a seller, is an enterprise that contributes goods or services. Generally, a supply chain vendor manufactures inventory/stock items and sells them to the next link in the chain. Today, these terms ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
where they have replaced
Greek Americans
Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...
in the field.
The family incomes of Afghan Americans (specifically, those that were termed "refugees") was a median of $50,000 in 2015. This figure is higher than
Mexican Americans
Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...
,
Cuban Americans
Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cubans, Cuban desc ...
and slightly higher than
Hmong Americans, but lower than
Vietnamese Americans
Vietnamese Americans ( vi, Người Mỹ gốc Việt, lit=Viet-origin American people) are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They make up about half of all overseas Vietnamese and are the fourth-largest Asian American ethnic group after Chinese ...
.
Education
Afghan immigrants that were admitted to the United States before 1979 were well educated.
In contrast, current immigrants have escaped from
totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regu ...
,
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...
,
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...
,
persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these ter ...
,
mistreatment
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
, and military conflicts. This group has had some trouble coping with learning the English language.
Those who have pursued their education in America during the middle of the 20th century and traveled back to Afghanistan faced trouble attaining employment when returning to the United States since their education, often in medicine and engineering, is frequently viewed as outdated.
After the 1979 Soviet invasion,
Afghanistan's education system worsened, causing many migrants in the late 20th century to place less emphasis on educational attainment.
Notable people
Politics, academia and literature
*
Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad ( ps, ځلمی خلیل زاد, prs, زلمی خلیلزاد; born March 22, 1951) is an Afghan-American diplomat and foreign policy expert. Khalilzad was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to serve as U.S. Speci ...
–
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nations ...
from 2007 to 2009
*
Ashraf Ghani
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban.
Born in ...
- 5th
President of Afghanistan
The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was constitutionally the head of state and head of government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021) and Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan Armed Forces.
On 15 August 2021, as th ...
*
Ali Jalali
Ali Ahmad Jalali (Pashto/ prs, علی احمد جلالی) is an Afghan politician, diplomat, and academic. Jalali served as the Minister of Interior from January 2003 to September 2005. He has also been a distinguished professor at the Near East ...
–
Distinguished Professor
Distinguished Professor is an academic title given to some top tenured professors in a university, school, or department. Some distinguished professors may have endowed chairs.
In the United States
Often specific to one institution, titles such ...
at the
National Defense University
The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...
in
Washington, D.C.; ex-Afghan diplomat
*
Mohammad Qayoumi
Mohammad Humayon Qayoumi (born December 14, 1952) is an engineer and professor who formerly served as acting Minister of Finance (Afghanistan), Minister of Finance and as the Chief Adviser on Infrastructure and Technology to the President of Afgh ...
– Former President of
San Jose State University
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) ...
and
California State University, East Bay
California State University, East Bay (Cal State East Bay, CSU East Bay, or CSUEB) is a public university in Hayward, California. The university is part of the 23-campus California State University system and offers 136 undergraduate and 60 pos ...
*
Safiya Wazir - Member of the
New Hampshire House of Representatives
The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...
* Aisha Wahab - Member of the
Hayward City Council
*
Ajmal Ahmady - Politician in Afghanistan
*
Said Tayeb Jawad – Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States from 2003 to 2010
*
Nazif Shahrani – Professor of
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
at
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universi ...
*
Ishaq Shahryar Ishaq M. Shahryar (January 10, 1936 – April 12, 2009) was the inventor of the low-cost photovoltaic cell and the first Afghan ambassador to the United States since the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. ''New Scientist'' named Shahryar " ...
–
Afghan Ambassador to the United States from 2002 to 2003
*
Wali Karzai – Professor of Bio-Chemistry at Stony Brook University
*
M. Ishaq Nadiri – Professor of economics at
NYU
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
and signatory at 2001 Afghanistan Bonn conference
*
Nake M. Kamrany – Professor of economics at
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
*
Haris Tarin
Haris Tarin (born 1978) is an Afghan-American Muslim leader.
Tarin is the son of a former diplomat who fled war-torn Afghanistan with his family when Tarin was four years old. He grew up in Los Angeles and earned a B.A. from California State Univ ...
– Director of
Muslim Public Affairs Council ( MPAC)
*
Tamim Ansary
Mir Tamim Ansary (born November 4, 1948, in Kabul, Afghanistan) is an Afghan-American author and public speaker. He is the author of ''Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes'', ''West of Kabul, East of New York'', and othe ...
– Author of ''West of Kabul, East of New York'', a book published in 2001, shortly after the "9-11" attacks.
*
Khaled Hosseini
Khaled Hosseini (;Pashto/Dari ; born March 4, 1965) is an Afghan-American novelist, UNHCR goodwill ambassador, and former physician. His debut novel ''The Kite Runner'' (2003) was a critical and commercial success; the book and his subsequen ...
– Best-selling author whose work includes ''
The Kite Runner
''The Kite Runner'' is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, it tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul. The story is set against a backdrop of ...
'' and ''
A Thousand Splendid Suns
''A Thousand Splendid Suns'' is a 2007 novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini, following the huge success of his bestselling 2003 debut '' The Kite Runner''. Mariam, an illegitimate teenager from Herat, is forced to marry a shoemaker fr ...
''
*
Fariba Nawa
Fariba Nawa (born 1973) is an Afghan-American freelance journalist who grew up in both Herat and Lashkargah in Afghanistan as well as Fremont, California. She was born in Herat, Afghanistan to a native Afghan family., by Fariba Nawa, Lemar-Afta ...
– Author of ''
Opium Nation'' and journalist
*
Qais Akbar Omar
Qais Akbar Omar (born November 18, 1982) is an Afghan-American writer. Omar is the author of '' A Fort of Nine Towers'', an autobiography of his childhood in Afghanistan during the years of the civil war and the Taliban from 1992 to 2001.
Bio ...
– Author of ''A Fort of Nine Towers'' and co-author of ''Shakespeare in Kabul''
*
Hamid Naweed
Hamid Naweed (Persian: حامد نوید) is an Afghan-American writer and art historian.
Naweed received his MFA from State University of New York at Buffalo after which he thought Art History and Aesthetics at Kabul University. As a Fulbright ...
- Author and art historian
*
Leila Christine Nadir - Writer and Artist
*
Ghulam Haider Hamidi
Ghulam Haider Hamidi ( ps, غلام حیدر حمیدی, also spelled Ghulam Haidar Hameedi and also known as Henry Hamidi; 1945 – 27 July 2011) was the Mayor of Kandahar in Afghanistan. his family fled to Pakistan, then to the United St ...
- Former Mayor of
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...
*
Hafizullah Emadi
Hafizullah Emadi is an Afghan author, independent scholar and works as a development consultant for international non-governmental organizations. Most recently, he lives in California and works in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Biography
He was born in ...
(born
Shibar), independent scholar and development consultant for Focus Humanitarian Assistance
*
Safi Rauf (born 1994) - 2021 Washingtonian of the Year, TED fellow, Tillman scholar, Georgetown graduate, Navy reservist, and the founder of Human First Coalition
Business and finance
*
Mahmoud Karzai Mahmood Karzai, also spelled Mahmud Karzai, or Mahmoud Karzai (born 1957 Kandahar) is an Afghan businessman. He was the third of the six children and son of a prominent political figure, Abdul Ahad Karzai who was a member of the Afghan National Asse ...
– Brother of former Afghan President
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
and owner of Afghan cuisine restaurant
*
Qayum Karzai
Abdul Qayum Karzai or Qayyum Karzai (born 1947) is businessman and politician in Afghanistan. He is the elder brother of former President Hamid Karzai. His brothers also include the controversial Mahmoud Karzai and the assassinated Ahmed Wali Ka ...
– Brother of former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and owner of
Afghan cuisine
Afghan cuisine ( ps, افغان پخلی, translit=Afghan Pakhlai, ) is influenced by Persian, Central Asian and Indian cuisines due to Afghanistan's close proximity and cultural ties. The cuisine is mainly based on Afghanistan's main crops, su ...
restaurants in the Southern California and
Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area
*
Ehsan Bayat – Business entrepreneur who founded
Afghan Wireless
Afghan Wireless Communication Company, also known as Afghan Wireless and AWCC, is Afghanistan's first wireless communications company. Founded in 1998, it is based in Kabul, Afghanistan with various regional offices. Headquartered in Kabul, Afgha ...
*
Masuda Sultan (born 1978), entrepreneur, international human rights advocate, and memoirist
Sports
*
Hailai Arghandiwal -
Association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
(soccer) player who plays for German club
Duisburg
Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in ...
and the
Afghan national team.
*
Adam Najem
Adam Ahmad Najem (Persian language, Persian: آدام نجم; born January 19, 1995) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bhayangkara F.C., Bhayangkara and the Afghanistan national football team, Afgha ...
– Association football player who plays as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for
Canadian Premier League
The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary national soccer league compe ...
club
FC Edmonton
FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to 2017. The club went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operat ...
, and the
Afghanistan national team.
*
David Najem
David Najem ( Dari: داوید نجم; born May 26, 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for USL Championship club New Mexico United and the Afghanistan national team.
Najem grew up in Clifton, New Jersey and attended P ...
– Association football player who plays as a
defender for
USL Championship
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...
club
New Mexico United and the
Afghanistan national team
*
Ahmad Hatifi – Association football player who is a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
and currently plays for
CD Aguiluchos USA
Club Deportivo Aguiluchos USA is an American soccer club, founded in 2012 and based in Oakland, California, that competes in the West Region, Golden Gate Conference of the National Premier Soccer League, the fourth division of the American soccer ...
*
Mohammad Mashriqi
Mohammad Yusef Mashriqi (born 7 July 1987) is an American-born Afghan professional soccer player who represented the Afghanistan national team.
Early life
Mashriqi's soccer lineage started with his father, Tahir, a former member of the Afgh ...
- Association football player
*
Alex Hinshaw
Alexander "Alex" Omar Hinshaw (born October 31, 1982) is an American
former professional baseball pitcher. He graduated from Claremont High School and attended Chaffey College and San Diego State University. He played in Major League Baseball fo ...
– Former baseball pitcher
*
Jeff Bronkey
Jacob Jeffery Bronkey (born September 18, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched with the Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers. He attended Klamath Union High School in Klamath Falls, Oregon and became Player of the Year and ...
– Former baseball player
*
Shamila Kohestani - Former soccer player and founder of the first women's national soccer team
Media and art
*
Azita Ghanizada
Azita Ghanizada is an Afghan-born American actress. She is known for her films and television series. She debuted her career with a short film entitled A kiss on the nose, in which she played the role of Ciara. Ghanizada is also the founder and ...
– Actress and TV host, she appeared in a number of films and TV shows
*
Donnie Keshawarz - Canadian-American stage, film and television actor of Afghan descent
*
Sonia Nassery Cole
Sonia Nassery Cole (born 1965) is an Afghan-born American human rights activist, filmmaker, and author.
Early life
Sonia Nassery Cole was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, the daughter of an Afghan diplomat.. At fourteen, she fled Afghanistan amid th ...
– Actress and director
*
Anwar Hajher
Anwar Hajher is an Afghan American filmmaker. After leaving Afghanistan during the Soviet Union, Russian invasion, he traveled around the world and settled in the United States. In 2008 he directed ''16 Days in Afghanistan'' a documentary about ...
– Filmmaker and professor, ''
16 Days in Afghanistan
''16 Days in Afghanistan'' is a 2007 documentary film about the journey of Afghan-American Anwar Hajher, also the director, traveling to his homeland Afghanistan after 25 years to rediscover his country. The film is produced by Mithaq Kazimi and ...
''
*
Youssof Kohzad
Youssof Kohzad (Persian: يوسف كهزاد; also spelled Youssef Kohzad) (born 1935) was an ethnic Tajik writer, painter, playwright, artist, poet, actor, and art consultant from Afghanistan. He has now taken residence in Tracy, California, Un ...
– Artist, Poet, Painter and Actor
*
Zakia Kohzad
Zakia Kohzad (Persian: ذكيه كهزاد) is a former TV news anchor for Kabul TV. Zakia was born in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانست ...
– Former Afghan actress and news anchor
*
Nabil Miskinyar – Television anchor
*
Jawed Wassel Jawed Wassel (1959 – October 3, 2001) was an Afghan-American film director who made the film '' FireDancer'', which was the first Afghan film to be submitted for an Academy Award. He was fatally stabbed on October 3, 2001, after getting into ...
– Writer/Director of first Afghan Oscar contender Feature Film called ''
FireDancer''.
*
Josh Gad
Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical '' The Book of Mormon'', and playing Le Fou in the live-action ada ...
– Actor appearing in
''Frozen'' and
''Jobs''. Afghan-Jewish father.
*
Leena Alam
Leena Alam (Persian: , born in Kabul, Afghanistan) is an Afghan film, television, and theater actress. She has appeared in films such as '' Kabuli Kid'', ''Black Kite'', ''Loori'', '' A Letter to the President'' and '' Hassan''. She is widely ...
– Actress from ''Kabuli Kid'', ''Loori'', ''Soil and Coral'', and ''The Unknown''
*
Fahim Fazli – Actor who appears in various films, such as ''
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The cha ...
''
*
Robert Joffrey
Robert Joffrey (December 24, 1930 – March 25, 1988) was an American dancer, teacher, producer, choreographer, and co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets. He was born Anver Bey Abdullah Jaffa Khan in Se ...
– born Abdullah Jaffa Bey Khan is known for co-founder of the
Joffrey Ballet
The Joffrey Ballet is one of the premier dance companies and training institutions in the world today. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at Lyric ...
*
Aman Mojadidi – Artist whose art focuses on Afghan politics and cross-cultural identity
*
Noor Wodjouatt, founder of
Zarin TV and performer at Kennedy Center
Musicians
*
Omar Akram
Omar Akram is an Afghan-American producer, composer, and pianist. In 2013, he became the first Afghan-American to win a Grammy Award for Best New Age Album for his fourth studio album, ''Echoes of Love.'' He is also an inspirational writer who c ...
– Pianist who won a
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
award for best new age album
*
Farhad Darya
Farhad Darya ( Pashto/ Dari: ; born 22 September 1962) is an Afghan singer, composer and music producer who has written and composed songs in various languages.
Darya sings in various languages including mostly his native language of Persian ...
– Afghan musician
*
Jawad Ghaziyar – Afghan musician
*
Rahim Jahani – Afghan musician
*
Naim Popal
Naim Popal (Pashto/Dari: ) (born 18 June 1954) is an Afghan singer, songwriter, and composer.
In 2006, Popal returned to perform for a New Year concert in Afghanistan after 30 years in exile.
Biography
Naim Popal was born on 18 June 1954, into ...
– Afghan musician
*
Ahmad Wali – Afghan musician
*
Aziz Herawi - Afghan musician
*
Naghma
, background = solo_singer
, image = Naghma 2010-3.jpgborder
, caption = Naghma singing during the 2010 Nowruz celebration at Fairplex in Pomona, California
, birth_name = Shaperei (''Fairy'')
, birth_date ...
- Afghan musician
*
Ehsan Aman - Afghan musician
Beauty pageant contestants
*
Zohra Daoud –
Miss Afghanistan 1974
*
Vida Samadzai –
Beauty for a Cause Beauty for a Cause is the slogan of the Miss Earth beauty pageant adopted since the pageant's inception in 2001. It empowers the contestants to work with an environmental advocacy that is personally significant to them. The first Beauty for a Cause ...
of
Miss Earth 2003
Miss Earth 2003, the 3rd edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on November 9, 2003, at the University of the Philippines Theater in Quezon City, Philippines. Fifty-seven delegates from all over the globe participated in the event. The page ...
Afghan royalty
*
Ahmad Shah Khan, Crown Prince of Afghanistan
Ahmad Shah, Crown Prince of Afghanistan (Dari: احمد شاه خان, Pashto: احمد شاه خان; born 23 September 1934) is the second son of Mohammed Zahir Shah, the former King of Afghanistan. He holds the title of Head of the House of ...
and Khatul Begum, Princess of Afghanistan
Other
*
Hevad Khan
Hevad Khan (born January 25, 1985) is an American professional poker player, best known for making the final table at the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event, where he finished in sixth place.
Competitive Gaming
Khan began on the competitive ...
– Professional
Poker player
Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...
*
Zahira Zahir
Zahira Zahir is a Washington barber and cosmetologist.
Zahira's salon is in the Watergate hotel. She is known for cutting the hair of
United States President George W. Bush. The President's nickname for her is Z.
Early life
Zahira is the da ...
- Sister of Afghan singer
Ahmad Zahir
Ahmad Zahir (Dari/Pashto: ; 14 June 1946 – 14 June 1979) was an Afghan singer, songwriter and composer. Dubbed the "Elvis of Afghanistan", he is widely considered the all-time greatest singer of Afghanistan. The majority of his songs were sung ...
. Known for cutting the hair
George W. Bush, among others.
*
Ahmad Khan Rahami
On September 17–19, 2016, three bombs exploded and several unexploded ones were found in the New York metropolitan area. The bombings left 31 people wounded, but no fatalities or life-threatening injuries were reported.
On the morning of Sept ...
– Perpetrator of the
2016 New York and New Jersey bombings
On September 17–19, 2016, three bombs exploded and several unexploded ones were found in the New York metropolitan area. The bombings left 31 people wounded, but no fatalities or life-threatening injuries were reported.
On the morning of Sept ...
*
Omar Mateen – Perpetrator of the 2016
Orlando nightclub shooting
On , 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old man, killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Orlando Police officers shot and killed him after a three-hour standoff.
In a ...
*
Razia Jan
Razia Jan, born in Afghanistan is the founder of Razia's Ray of Hope Foundation, a nonprofit education organization in Afghanistan.
Career and charity work
Jan moved to the United States in 1970. The proprietor of a small tailoring business in Du ...
- head of non-profit education organization in Afghanistan
*
Shamim Jawad
Shamim Jawad is the founder and president of the ''Ayenda Foundation'', the Afghan Children Initiative, which works for the welfare, education, health, shelter and safety of Afghan children. She is a member of the ''U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council'', ...
- Women's rights advocate and aid worker
See also
*
Afghan diaspora
Afghan diaspora refers to the Afghan people that reside and work outside of Afghanistan. They include citizens of Afghanistan who have immigrated to other countries. The majority of the diaspora has been formed by Afghan refugees since the star ...
*
Afghanistan–United States relations
*
Demographics of Afghanistan
The population of Afghanistan is around 40 million as of 2021. The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multilingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between Central Asia, South Asia, and Western ...
References
Further reading
* Aslami, Wajma. "The Impact of 9/11 on Afghan-American Leaders." ''Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship'' 15.1 (2010): 124+.
* Baden, John Kenneth. "Through Disconnection and Revival: Afghan American Relations with Afghanistan, 1890-2016." (PhD Diss. Case Western Reserve University, 2018).
* Cvetkovich, Ann. “Can the Diaspora Speak? Afghan Americans and the 9/11 Oral History Archive.” ''Radical History Review'' (2011), no. 111 (2011): 90-100.
* Eigo, Tim. "Afghan Americans." ''Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America,'' edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2014), pp. 17–30
online* Lipson, Juliene G., and Patricia A. Omidian. “Afghans.” In ''Refugees in America in the 1990s: A Reference Handbook,'' edited by David W. Haines. (Greenwood Press, 1996).
* Thernstrom, Stephan, ed. ''Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups'' (1980) pp 3–5.
External links
Afghan-American Chamber of CommerceIn Va.'s Little Kabul, Joy(Washington Post, Nov. 14, 2001)
{{Central Asians in the United States
American people of Afghan descent
Afghan diaspora
Central Asian American