query: what religions are practiced in afghanistan?

title: Religion in Afghanistan

text: Religion in Afghanistan Afghanistan is an Islamic republic where Islam is practiced by 99% of its citizens. As high as 80% of the population follow Sunni Islam. The remaining are Shias. Apart from Muslims, there are also small minorities of Sikhs and Hindus. The religion Zoroastrianism is believed by some to have originated in what is now Afghanistan between 1800 and 800 BCE, as its founder Zoroaster is thought to have lived and died in Balkh while the region at the time was referred to as Ariana. Ancient Eastern Iranian languages may have been spoken in the region around the

title: Islam in Afghanistan

text: Islam in Afghanistan Islam in Afghanistan began to be practiced after the Arab Islamic conquest of Afghanistan from the 7th to the 10th centuries, with the last holdouts to conversion submitting in the late 19th century. Islam is the official state religion of Afghanistan, with approximately 99.7% of the Afghan population being Muslim. Roughly 90% practice Sunni Islam, belonging to the Hanafi Islamic law school, while around 10% are believed to be Shias. Most Shias (Shiites) belong to the Twelver branch and only a smaller number follow Ismailism. During the 7th century, the Rashidun Caliphate,s Arabs entered modern-day Afghanistan after

title: Religion in Afghanistan

text: and after the 1979 Soviet invasion, and one individual, Zablon Simintov, still remains today. It is thought that there are between 500-1000 secret Jews in Afghanistan who were forced to convert to Islam after the Taliban took control of the country. There are Afghan Jewish communities in Israel, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Religion in Afghanistan Afghanistan is an Islamic republic where Islam is practiced by 99% of its citizens. As high as 80% of the population follow Sunni Islam. The remaining are Shias. Apart from Muslims, there are also small minorities of Sikhs and Hindus. The

title: Islam in Afghanistan

text: Jan, the "pir naqshbandi" of the Aimaq of Purchaman District, Farah. Islam in Afghanistan Islam in Afghanistan began to be practiced after the Arab Islamic conquest of Afghanistan from the 7th to the 10th centuries, with the last holdouts to conversion submitting in the late 19th century. Islam is the official state religion of Afghanistan, with approximately 99.7% of the Afghan population being Muslim. Roughly 90% practice Sunni Islam, belonging to the Hanafi Islamic law school, while around 10% are believed to be Shias. Most Shias (Shiites) belong to the Twelver branch and only a smaller number follow Ismailism. During

title: Shia Islam in Afghanistan

text: Khan. Shia Islam in Afghanistan Shia Islam in Afghanistan is practiced by a minority of the population; estimates vary from 7% to 15% or 20%. Afghan Shia are primarily the Twelvers, while a minority are Ismailis. The majority of Afghan Shia are Twelvers, primarily of the Hazara ethnicity. The next-largest Twelver community are the Farsiwan of the western Herat and Farah provinces. Other, far smaller, Afghan Twelver communities include the Bayat and Qizilbash populations, as well as some of those who claim to be Sayeds. A smaller portion of Afghan Shia are Nizari Ismailis; these populations include many of the

title: Shia Islam in Afghanistan

text: Shia Islam in Afghanistan Shia Islam in Afghanistan is practiced by a minority of the population; estimates vary from 7% to 15% or 20%. Afghan Shia are primarily the Twelvers, while a minority are Ismailis. The majority of Afghan Shia are Twelvers, primarily of the Hazara ethnicity. The next-largest Twelver community are the Farsiwan of the western Herat and Farah provinces. Other, far smaller, Afghan Twelver communities include the Bayat and Qizilbash populations, as well as some of those who claim to be Sayeds. A smaller portion of Afghan Shia are Nizari Ismailis; these populations include many of the Pamir

title: Islam in Afghanistan

text: natives of Zabulistan which was ruled by the Zunbils. During the reign of Al-Mu'tasim Islam was generally practiced amongst most inhabitants of the region and finally under Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari, Islam was by far, the predominant religion of Kabul along with other major cities of Afghanistan. The father of Abu Hanifa, Thabit bin Zuta, was a native from modern-day Afghanistan. He immigrated to Kufa (in Iraq), where Hanifa was born. Later, the Samanids propagated Sunni Islam deep into the heart of Central Asia, as the first complete translation of the Qur'an into Persian occurred in the 9th century. Since then,

title: Hinduism in Afghanistan

text: crossing the Indus River into Hindustan (land of Hindus) in the 10th century, the Ghaznavid Muslims began bringing Hindu slaves to what is now Afghanistan. Al-Idirisi testifies that until as late as the 12th century, a contract of investiture for every Shahi king was performed at Kabul and that here he was obliged to agree to certain ancient conditions which completed the contract. The Ghaznavid military incursions assured the domination of Sunni Islam in what is now Afghanistan and Pakistan. Various historical sources such as Martin Ewans, E.J. Brill and Farishta have recorded the introduction of Islam to Kabul and

title: Culture of Afghanistan

text: 7–15% practice Shia Islam, and approximately 1% are followers of other religions. In addition to Muslims, there are thousands of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus living in the country. They are usually found in the major cities such as Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Jalalabad, and Lashkar Gah. Houses in rural Afghanistan are traditionally made out of mud, and have a series of rooms located around a private rectangular courtyard where women and children play, cook and socialize. Married sons share the same house as their parents in most cases, although they have separate quarters. Afghan houses contain a special room where

title: Hinduism in Afghanistan

text: stored. They stated that Buddhism was practiced in different parts between the Amu Darya (Oxus River) in the north and the Indus River. However, they did not mention much about Hinduism although Song Yun did state that the Hephthalite rulers did not recognize Buddhism but "preached pseudo gods and killed animals for their meat". The Chinese monks were followers of Buddhism, it is possible that they had no interest in writing about other religions. In addition, traveling in the Afghanistan region was too risky due to warlords and bandits. Before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan, the territory was a religious

title: All Religions are One

text: most editors tended to consider "All Religions are One" as later than "There is No Natural Religion". For example, in his 1905 book "The poetical works of William Blake; a new and verbatim text from the manuscript engraved and letterpress originals", John Sampson places "No Natural Religion" prior to "All Religions" in his 'Appendix to the Prophetic Books'. However, in 1971, Geoffrey Keynes argued that "All Religions are One" was the earlier of the two, based on what he saw as its "greater technical imperfection." In his 1978 book, "The Complete Graphic Works of William Blake", David Bindman initially disagreed

title: Blasphemy law in Afghanistan

text: released in December 2005 after his sentence was reduced on appeal. In August 2003, the Afghan Supreme Court upheld death sentences for journalists Sayeed Mahdawi and Ali Reza Payam. Afghan authorities accused the journalists of blasphemy for saying the Islam practiced in Afghanistan was reactionary, for criticizing the political use of the religion by conservative leaders, and for asking: "If Islam is the last and the most complete of the revealed religions, why are the Muslim countries lagging behind the modern world?" The journalists went into hiding before the sentences were pronounced. In 2003, two editors of the weekly "Aftab"

title: All Religions are One

text: and in the Bible itself." Also concentrating on the refutation of deism, Alicia Ostriker refers to the series as a "mockery of rationalism and an insistence on Man's potential infinitude." S. Foster Damon suggests that what Blake has done in "All Religions are One" is "dethroned reason from its ancient place as the supreme faculty of man, replacing it with the Imagination." Damon also argues that "Blake had completed his revolutionary theory of the nature of Man and proclaimed the unity of all true religions." Harold Bloom reaches much the same conclusion, suggesting that Blake is arguing for the "primacy

title: All Religions are One

text: Jacob Bryant, Paul Henri Mallet, and perhaps other founders of what has become the comparative study of religion, to argue for the existence of a universal and supra-rational 'Poetic Genius' that expresses itself through the shared (though ever various) forms of all religions." In relation to his later work, Northrop Frye sees "All Religions are One" and "There is No Natural Religion" as forming a fundamental statement of intent for Blake, a kind of pre-emptive outline of his future work, "a summarised statement of the doctrines of the engraved canon." Similarly, Eaves, Essick and Viscomi state that they "contain some

title: All Religions are One

text: of every individual", and so too are all religions, which are merely expressions of the Poetic Genius; "the Religions of all Nations are derived from each Nations different reception of the Poetic Genius which is everywhere call'd the Spirit of Prophecy," again emphasising the theological character of the Poetic Genius. Even the Bible originates with the Poetic Genius; "The Jewish & Christian Testaments are An original derivation from the Poetic Genius." Thus, as all Men are alike in their Poetic Genius, and as all religions originate with the Poetic Genius, so too must all religions be alike, thus all religions

title: Ancient history of Afghanistan

text: The land was inhabited by various tribes and ruled by many different kingdoms for the next two millenniums. Before the arrival of Islam in the 7th century, there were a number of religions practiced in ancient Afghanistan, including Zoroastrianism, Surya worship, Paganism, Hinduism and Buddhism. The Kaffirstan region, in the Hindu Kush, was not converted until the 19th century. Louis Dupree, the University of Pennsylvania, the Smithsonian Institution and others suggest that humans were living in Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities of the region were among the earliest in the world. Afghanistan seems in prehistory,

title: Blasphemy law in Afghanistan

text: Blasphemy law in Afghanistan Afghanistan uses Sharia as its justification for punishing blasphemy. The punishments are among the harshest in the world. Afghanistan uses its law against blasphemy to persecute religious minorities, dissenters, academics, and journalists. The Constitution of Afghanistan, ratified in January 2004, makes Islam the state religion. The President and the Vice-Presidents must be Muslim. The great majority of Afghanistan's citizens are Sunni who follow the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. Afghanistan's Penal Code of 1976 addresses "Crimes Against Religions" but leaves the issue of blasphemy to Sharia. Sharia permits the authorities to treat blasphemy as a capital crime.

title: All Religions are One

text: are one. David Bindman classifies "All Religions are One" as "a rather abstract dialogue with conventional theology," and in this sense, it is often interpreted as Blake's earliest engagement with deism and dualism. Similarly, Northrop Frye argues that Blake's theory that all religions are one is a "visionary tolerance" at odds with the "rational tolerance" of deism "which holds that all religions are equally an attempt to solve an insoluble mystery." Working along the same lines, Florence Sandler argues that in these texts Blake "set himself to the task of separating true religion from its perversions in his own age

title: All Religions are One

text: All Religions are One All Religions are One is a series of philosophical aphorisms by William Blake, written in 1788. Following on from his initial experiments with relief etching in the non-textual "The Approach of Doom" (1787), "All Religions are One" and "There is No Natural Religion" represent Blake's first successful attempt to combine image and text via relief etching, and are thus the earliest of his illuminated manuscripts. As such, they serve as a significant milestone in Blake's career; as Peter Ackroyd points out, "his newly invented form now changed the nature of his expression. It had enlarged his

title: Christianity in Afghanistan

text: confiscation of property. There are also Christian religious facilities at the foreign military bases, such as an Eastern Orthodox church at the Romanian base in Kandahar. Items and articles belonging to religions other than Islam, such as Bibles, crucifixes, statues, carvings, items with religious symbols, and others, are prohibited. Despite the legal restrictions, many sources claim that there is a secret underground church of Afghan Christians living in Afghanistan. The US state department has stated that estimates of the size of this group range from 500–8000 individuals. Estimates to the size of the Afghan Christian community in Afghanistan however are

title: All Religions are One

text: of Blake's most fundamental principles and reveal the foundation for later development in his thought and art." W.H. Stevenson calls them "a very early statement of fundamental opinions [Blake] held all his life." As an example of how Blake returned to the specific themes of "All Religions", in "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" (1790), he writes "the Poetic Genius was the first principle and all the others merely derivative" (12:22–24). All Religions are One All Religions are One is a series of philosophical aphorisms by William Blake, written in 1788. Following on from his initial experiments with relief etching

title: Traditional African religions

text: African people often combine the practice of their traditional belief with the practice of Abrahamic religions. The two Abrahamic religions are widespread across Africa, though mostly concentrated in different areas. They have replaced indigenous African religions, but are often adapted to African cultural contexts and belief systems. West and Central African religious practices generally manifest themselves in communal ceremonies or divinatory rites in which members of the community, overcome by "force" (or "ashe", "nyama", etc.), are excited to the point of going into meditative trance in response to rhythmic or driving drumming or singing. One religious ceremony practiced in Gabon

title: All Religions are One

text: analysing "All Religions are One" it is important to remember that the images are not necessarily literal depictions of the text; "the philosophical propositions [...] offer little visual imagery or even named objects. These qualities may have determined the relative independence of many of the designs from the accompanying text. The links are thematic and metaphoric, not direct and literal." The central concern in "All Religions are One" is the notion of the "Poetic Genius", which is roughly analogous to the imagination. Blake argues that the Poetic Genius is greater than all else and "is the true man." The Poetic

title: Temple of All Religions

text: religions including past religions that are no longer practiced. Temple of All Religions The Temple of All Religions (, ) or the Universal Temple () is a unique architectural complex in the Staroye Arakchino Microdistrict of Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia. It consists of several types of religious architecture including an Orthodox church, a mosque, and a synagogue, among others. It is currently under construction since 1992, started by local artist and philanthropist Ildar Khanov. The structure serves as a cultural center and a residence for Khanov and his assistants. Khanov is known for his efforts in the treatment of alcoholism, drug

title: All Religions are One

text: with Keynes, arguing that the imperfections in "All Religions" are not because of an earlier date of composition, but because of the increased complexity of the plates, with such complexity demonstrating Blake growing in confidence from the more rudimentary plates for "No Natural Religion". Most scholars however support Keynes, and "All Religions are One" precedes "There is No Natural Religion" in almost all modern anthologies of Blake's work; for example, Alicia Ostriker's "William Blake: The Complete Poems" (1977), David V. Erdman's 2nd edition of "The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake" (1982), Morris Eaves', Robert N. Essick's and Joseph

title: Hinduism in Afghanistan

text: Hinduism in Afghanistan Hinduism in Afghanistan is practiced by a tiny minority of Afghans, believed to be about 1,000 individuals who live mostly in Kabul and other major cities of the country. Before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan, the Afghan people were multi-religious. The majority were followers of Hinduism and Buddhism. Most Hindu temples were destroyed or converted into mosques by the 11th century. There is no reliable information on when Hinduism began in Afghanistan but historians suggest that the territory south of the Hindu Kush was culturally connected with the Indus Valley Civilization in ancient times. At the same

title: LGBT rights in Afghanistan

text: Social Democratic Party stated that it "favored an international effort to fight the AIDS-HIV pandemic, but that homosexuality and same-sex marriages are opposed by all great religions." No political party or interest group has expressed support for LGBT rights. Afghanistan law currently prohibits a political party, interest group or social club from advocating anything that is in opposition to Islamic morality. Absent a change in the law, it is unlikely that a political or social organization advocating LGBT rights will be permitted to exist and promote its viewpoints. Article 32 of the Afghanistan Press Law Edict (2002) prohibits publications from

title: Hinduism in Afghanistan

text: as "vulnerable groups" who got reservation, but not religious minorities as per the religious equality article in the constitution. Meeta Jaitley, late mother of Celina Jaitley was born in Kabul to a Hindu family. Hinduism in Afghanistan Hinduism in Afghanistan is practiced by a tiny minority of Afghans, believed to be about 1,000 individuals who live mostly in Kabul and other major cities of the country. Before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan, the Afghan people were multi-religious. The majority were followers of Hinduism and Buddhism. Most Hindu temples were destroyed or converted into mosques by the 11th century. There is

title: Indo-Greek religions

text: Indo-Greek religions The Indo-Greeks practiced numerous religions during the time they ruled in present-day northwestern India from the 2nd century BCE to the beginning of the 1st century CE. In addition to the worship of the Classical pantheon of the Greek deities found on their coins (e.g., Zeus, Herakles, Athena, Apollo), the Indo-Greeks were involved with local faiths, particularly with Buddhism, but also with Hinduism and Zoroastrianism. After the Greco-Bactrians militarily occupied parts of northern India from around 180 BCE, numerous instances of interaction between Greeks and Buddhism are recorded. Menander I, the "Saviour king", seems to have converted to

title: Linguistic variety in Mauritius

text: religions are spoken throughout the island. The four most developed religions are Hinduism, Islam, Catholicism and Buddhism. They are mostly practiced respectively by Hindus, Muslims, the "General Population" and Sino-Mauritians. At first, Mauritius was an empty island where little by little, people settled. As they did so, everyone came in with their culture, language and religious identity. This is what explains the multicultural status of island and the existence of so many worships in such a small territory. Each religion brought by each community is still practiced in the language spoken by this community or at least in the original

title: Pakistanis in Afghanistan

text: line between Afghanistan and what was then colonial British India, it divided the indigenous ethnic Pashtun and Baloch tribes. During the 1980s Soviet war, a large number of Pakistan-based Mujahideen forces began crossing the Pak-Afghan border into Afghanistan to fight the Soviets and the Soviet-backed Afghan government. After the death of Massoud and the removal of the Taliban regime of Afghanistan in late 2001 by US-led coalition forces, members of the Taliban regrouped and began a strong insurgency campaign inside Afghanistan. The insurgents are members of Afghan-based and Afghan-led militant groups such as the Afghan Taliban (including the Quetta Shura

title: Religion in Afghanistan

text: Islam amongst the locals. A large number of the inhabitants of the region of northern Afghanistan accepted Islam through Umayyad missionary efforts, particularly under the reigns of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (caliph from 723 to 733) and Umar ibn AbdulAziz (caliph from 717 to 720). During the reign of Al-Mu'tasim Islam was generally practiced amongst most inhabitants of the region and finally under Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari, Islam was by far, the predominant religion of Kabul along with other major cities of Afghanistan. Later, the Samanids propagated Islam deep into the heart of Central Asia, as the first complete translation of

title: Abrahamic religions

text: under the term Yazdânism are primarily practiced in relatively isolated communities, from Khurasan to Anatolia and parts of western Iran. The concept of Yazdânism has found a wide perception both within and beyond Kurdish nationalist discourses, but has been disputed by other recognized scholars of Iranian religions. Well established, however, are the "striking" and "unmistakable" similarities between the Yazidis and the Yaresan or "Ahl-e Haqq", some of which can be traced back to elements of an ancient faith that was probably dominant among Western Iranians and likened to practices of pre-Zoroastrian Mithraic religion. Mehrdad Izady defines the Yazdanism as an

title: Theories about religions

text: groups with a new novel theology, while sects are attempts to return mainstream religions to (what the sect views as) their original purity. Mainstream established groups are called denominations. The comments below about cult formation apply equally well to sect formation. There are four models of cult formation: the Psychopathological Model, the Entrepreneurial Model, the Social Model and the Normal Revelations model. Some religions are better described by one model than another, though all apply to differing degrees to all religions. Once a cult or sect has been founded, the next problem for the founder is to convert new members

title: World religions

text: reincarnation, because this is not typically regarded as a Christian doctrine, and yet there are Christians who profess a belief in reincarnation. A fourth criticism is that in choosing to focus attention on the "major" religions, it makes a value judgement as to what constitutes "major" and what does not. Many scholars of religion have resisted efforts to challenge the paradigm, and as of 2016 was reported as still being widespread in university introductory courses to the study of religion. Many instructors feel that explaining the critique of the world religions paradigm to undergraduate students would be difficult, as the

title: All Religions are One

text: "All Religions" prior to 1795 is unknown. However, the fact that it is not mentioned in his 'To the Public' address of October 1793, where he listed all of his extant manuscripts up to that time except "All Religions" and "No Natural Religion", would suggest he had not. Copy A is located in The Huntington Library, except Plate 2 (title page), which exists in two impressions. The copy of the title page which goes with Copy A is located in the Geoffrey Keynes Collection in the Fitzwilliam Museum. The title page from another copy (colour printed in brown ink), the

title: All Religions are One

text: independent strokes. And since the resulting dense matrix of lines provided better support for the inking dabber, italic permitted a shallower etch." Blake introduced italic script on plate a3 of "No Natural Religion", a script which he would use throughout the 1790s. Other evidence for an earlier dating of "All Religions" is that many of the individual letters themselves lean to the left, unlike in "No Natural Religion". This was a common problem in mirror writing, and its presence in "All Religions" but not "No Natural Religion" suggests Blake was only learning how to overcome it as he worked. When

title: World religions

text: abandonment. Critics have argued that the world religions paradigm is inappropriate because it takes the Protestant variant of Christianity as the model for what constitutes religion; that it is tied up with discourses of modernity, including modern power relations; that it encourages an uncritical understanding of religion; and that it makes a value judgement as to what religions should be considered "major". Others have argued that it remains useful in the classroom, so long as students are made aware that it is a socially constructed category. The scholars of religion Christopher R. Cotter and David G. Robertson described the "World

title: All Religions are One

text: Viscomi's "Blake's Illuminated Books, Volume 3: The Early Illuminated Books" (1993), even Bindman's own "The Complete Illuminated Books of William Blake" (2003), and W.H. Stevenson's 3rd edition of "Blake: The Complete Poems" (2007). Further evidence for Keynes hypothesis is discussed by Eaves, Essick and Viscomi, who, in counterpoint to Bindman, see the style of "No Natural Religion" as more confident than that of "All Religions". They especially cite the use of upright roman lettering in "All Religions" contrasted with the italic, cursive writing on several plates of "No Natural Religion"; "this style was easier to execute since it required fewer

title: All Religions are One

text: additional plates of which are unrecorded, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum. "All Religions are One" comprises ten plates, each of which is roughly 5.4 X 4 cm., with each paragraph on a separate plate, except Plate 10, which contains both Principal 7 and a short paragraph which functions as a conclusion to the series. In numerous cases, it seems as if the acid has eaten away too much of the relief, and Blake has had to go over sections with ink and wash, often touching the text and design outlines with pen. Several of the plates also bear

title: Catholic Church in Afghanistan

text: number of religious institutes in the country. Jesuit Refugee Services has recently opened a technical school in Herat for 500 students including 120 girls. There have been efforts made to start inter-religious dialogue, with the Islamist head of the Afghan Supreme Court. Mullah Fazul Shinwari attended the inauguration of the mission and expressed a desire to meet with the Pope. The Catholic community in Afghanistan is mainly made of foreigners, especially aid workers, and no Afghans are known to be currently part of the Church, mainly due to great social and legal pressure not to convert to non-Islamic religions. Some

title: All Religions are One

text: range; with relief etching, the words inscribed like those of God upon the tables of law, Blake could acquire a new role." In 1822, Blake completed a short two-page dramatic piece which would prove to be the last of his illuminated manuscripts, entitled "The Ghost of Abel A Revelation In the Visions of Jehovah Seen by William Blake". Inscribed in the colophon of this text is "W Blakes Original Stereotype was 1788". It is almost universally agreed amongst Blakean scholars, that the "Original Stereotype" to which he here refers was "All Religions are One" and/or "There is No Natural Religion".

title: All Religions are One

text: and execution rather than the usual divisions between invention and production embedded in eighteenth-century print technology, and its economic and social distinctions among authors, printers, artists and engravers. Like drawings and manuscripts, Blake's relief etchings were created by the direct and positive action of the author/artist's hand without intervening processes." Blake served as artist, engraver, printer "and" publisher. Although "All Religions are One" was etched in 1788, the only surviving copy (known as Copy A) was not printed until 1795; a large paper copy printed as part of a deluxe edition of Blake's collected illuminated manuscripts. Whether he had printed

title: Ross Kemp in Afghanistan

text: and after deployment allowed Kemp to realistically portray the effects of intensive close combat, where soldiers become fitter and appear to age markedly, weather-beaten, and become introspective with the so-called "thousand yard stare". The series was criticised for not dealing with the rights or wrongs of British policy in Afghanistan, however Kemp stated "we did not go to make a so-called traditional documentary, we tried to show was what the ordinary soldiers are facing" and "My documentary is about what it is like to be a British soldier in Afghanistan." While the series was not to be a political piece

title: Indo-Greek religions

text: is identified as the patron divinity of the city of Kapisa. The future Buddha Maitreya, usually represented seated on a throne Western-style, and venerated both in Mahayana and non-Mahayana Buddhism, is sometimes considered as influenced by Mithra. "Some scholars suggest he (Maitreya) was originally linked to the Iranian saviour-figure Mitra, and that his later importance for Buddhist as the future Buddha residing in the Tusita heaven, who will follow on from Sakyamuni Buddha, derives from this source." (Keown, Dictionary of Buddhism) Indo-Greek religions The Indo-Greeks practiced numerous religions during the time they ruled in present-day northwestern India from the 2nd

title: Economy of Afghanistan

text: that Afghanistan was nearing self-sufficiency in grain production. The availability of land suitable for grazing has traditionally made animal husbandry an important part of the economy. There are two main types of animal husbandry: sedentary, practiced by farmers who raise both animals and crops; and nomadic, practiced by animal herders known as Kuchis. Natural pastures cover some but are being overgrazed. The northern regions around Mazar-i-Sharif and Maymanah were the home range for about six million karakul sheep in the late 1990s. Most flocks move to the highlands in the summer to pastures in the north. Oxen are the primary

title: War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

text: salary increases, were commonly practiced in Europe and the Americas. Many Afghan refugees were not permitted to visit their family members for a decade or two. Studies have shown abnormally high mental health issues and suicide rates among Afghan refugees and their children living in the west. Since 1979 landmines, shells, bombs, and other unexploded ordnance have been left behind. In 2015 the NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was replaced by the U.S.-led "Resolute Support" The director of the Mine Action Coordination Centre for Afghanistan (MACCA). ISAF stressed it had never used landmines. War in Afghanistan (2001–present) The War

title: God in Abrahamic religions

text: being." God in Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are sometimes called Abrahamic religions because they all accept the tradition of a god, Yahweh, that revealed himself to the prophet Abraham. The theological traditions of all Abrahamic religions are thus to some extent influenced by the depiction of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible, and the historical development of monotheism in the history of Judaism. The Abrahamic God in this sense is the conception of God that remains a common attribute of all three traditions. God is conceived of as eternal, omnipotent, omniscient and as the creator of

title: God in Abrahamic religions

text: God in Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are sometimes called Abrahamic religions because they all accept the tradition of a god, Yahweh, that revealed himself to the prophet Abraham. The theological traditions of all Abrahamic religions are thus to some extent influenced by the depiction of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible, and the historical development of monotheism in the history of Judaism. The Abrahamic God in this sense is the conception of God that remains a common attribute of all three traditions. God is conceived of as eternal, omnipotent, omniscient and as the creator of the

title: Tourism in Afghanistan

text: tourist visas annually. In 2014, bookings for adventure trips were doubled in Afghanistan. The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) was a Bronze Age civilization (3300–1300 BC; mature period 2600–1900 BC) extending from what today is northwest Pakistan to northwest India and northeast Afghanistan. An Indus Valley site has been found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan. Apart from Shortughai tourists can visit Mundigak in southern Afghanistan which is another notable site. The museums collection had earlier been one of the most important in Central Asia, with over 100,000 items dating back several millennia. With the start of the

title: Indian religions

text: Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed as Dharmic faiths or religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent; namely Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. These religions are also all classified as Eastern religions. Although Indian religions are connected through the history of India, they constitute a wide range of religious communities, and are not confined to the Indian subcontinent. Evidence attesting to prehistoric religion in the Indian subcontinent derives from scattered Mesolithic rock paintings. The Harappan people of the Indus Valley Civilisation, which lasted from 3300 to 1300 BCE (mature period, 2600–1900 BCE), had an early urbanized

title: Religion in the Philippines

text: country. Philippine traditional religions are still practiced by an estimated 2% of the population, made up of many indigenous peoples, tribal groups, and people who have reverted into traditional religions from Catholic/Christian or Islamic religions. These religions are often syncretized with Christianity and Islam. Animism, folk religion, and shamanism remain present as undercurrents of mainstream religion, through the "albularyo", the "babaylan", and the "manghihilot". Buddhism is practiced by 2% of the populations by the Japanese-Filipino community, and together with Taoism and Chinese folk religion is also dominant in Chinese communities. There are smaller number of followers of Sikhs, Hinduism, and

title: Indian religions

text: of religion as embodied in Article 25 (1) of the Constitution, Governor Naval Kishore Sharma returned the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2006 citing the widespread protests by the Jains as well as Supreme Court's extrajudicial observation that Jainism is a "special religion formed on the basis of quintessence of Hindu religion by the Supreme Court". Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed as Dharmic faiths or religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent; namely Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. These religions are also all classified as Eastern religions. Although Indian religions are connected through the

title: Ghosts in Mesopotamian religions

text: Ghosts in Mesopotamian religions There are many references to ghosts in ancient Mesopotamian religion – the religions of Sumer, Babylon, Assyria and other early states in Mesopotamia. Traces of these beliefs survive in the later Abrahamic religions that came to dominate the region. The concept of ghosts or spirits in Mesopotamia is comparable to the shades of the deceased in the Underworld in the mythology of classical antiquity. The shades or spirits of the deceased were known as ' ( ) in Sumerian, which was borrowed as ' in Akkadian. The Sumerian word is analyzed as a compound of either

title: Tribal religions in India

text: Tribal religions in India About 104 million people in India are members of Scheduled Tribes, which accounts for 8.6 % of Indias population (according to the 2011 census). Many Indians belonging to these populations adhere to traditional Indian tribal religions, often syncretised with one or more of the major religious traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and/or Christianity and often under ongoing pressure of cultural assimilation. In keeping with the nature of Indian religion generally, these particular religions often involve traditions of ancestor worship or worship of spirits of natural features. Tribal beliefs persist as folk religion even among those converted

title: Christianity in Afghanistan

text: bishops of the Church of the East in northwest India, Afghanistan and Baluchistan, with laymen and clergy alike engaging in missionary activity. In 409, the Church of the East (also sometimes called the Nestorian Church) received state recognition from King Yazdegerd I (reigned 399–409), of the Iranian Sassanid Empire which ruled what is now Afghanistan from 224–579. In 424, Bishop Afrid of Sakastan, an area which covered southern Afghanistan including Zaranj and Kandahar, attended the Synod of Dadyeshu. This synod was one of the most important councils of the Church of the East and determined that there would be no

title: Religion in Bihar

text: Religion in Bihar The main religions in the Indian state of Bihar are Hinduism (practiced by 82.7% of the population) and Islam (16.9%). Other religions are practiced by small minorities. Places in Bihar have important historical and cultural associations with Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism along with Hinduism. Since Bihar was a part of Aryavart the oldest religion of Bihar was Vedic Hinduism. The majority of the people in Bihar adhere to Hinduism (82.7%), followed by Islam (16.9%). Hindu Pilgrimage sites in Bihar are as follows: Hinduism is the main religion of the state, being practiced by 82.7% of the total

title: World religions

text: critique would be too complex for many of them to understand. Its continued use has also been defended by the claim that it is what undergraduate students expect and that it mirrors what they will have been taught at school. Some scholars have argued for the rejection of the world religions paradigm altogether; Cotter and Robertson presented the argument that "the continued uncritical use of the WRP fosters a breeding ground for relativistic navel-gazing which has no place in the contemporary research university". Owen was of the view that "as long as it continues to employ the World Religions paradigm

title: Afghanistan

text: have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak (near Kandahar in the south of the country) may have been a colony of the nearby Indus Valley Civilization. More recent findings established that the Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up towards modern-day Afghanistan, making the ancient civilisation today part of Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. In more detail, it extended from what today is northwest Pakistan to northwest India and northeast Afghanistan. An Indus Valley site has been found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan. There are several smaller IVC colonies to be found in

title: What Are They Doing in Heaven?

text: in a wide variety of styles, including gospel and bluegrass; sometimes attributed to Phillips or to "anonymous" or to "traditional". What Are They Doing in Heaven? "What Are They Doing in Heaven?" is a Christian hymn written in 1901 by American Methodist minister Charles Albert Tindley. , it has become popular enough to have been included in 16 hymnals. The song has sometimes been recorded under the titles "What Are They Doing?" and "What Are They Doing in Heaven Today?". The question mark is often omitted. The song may also be known by its first line, "I am thinking of

title: What Are They Doing in Heaven?

text: What Are They Doing in Heaven? "What Are They Doing in Heaven?" is a Christian hymn written in 1901 by American Methodist minister Charles Albert Tindley. , it has become popular enough to have been included in 16 hymnals. The song has sometimes been recorded under the titles "What Are They Doing?" and "What Are They Doing in Heaven Today?". The question mark is often omitted. The song may also be known by its first line, "I am thinking of friends whom I used to know". The song consists of four verses and a refrain, each four lines long. In

title: Theories about religions

text: for consumers in a commercial economy. Theorists assert that a true religious economy is the result of religious pluralism, giving the population a wider variety of choices in religion. According to the theory, the more religions there are, the more likely the population is to be religious and hereby contradicting the secularization thesis. Theories about religions Sociological and anthropological theories about religion (or theories of religion) generally attempt to explain the origin and function of religion. These theories define what they present as universal characteristics of religious belief and practice. From presocratic times, ancient authors advanced prescientific theories about religion.

title: Abrahamic religions

text: Today the Abrahamic religions are one of the major divisions in comparative religion (along with Indian, Iranian, and East Asian religions). The major Abrahamic religions in chronological order of founding are Judaism in the 7th century BCE, Christianity in the 1st century CE, and Islam in the 7th century CE. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are the Abrahamic religions with the greatest numbers of adherents. Abrahamic religions with fewer adherents include the faiths descended from Yazdânism (the Yezidi, Yarsani faiths), Samaritanism, the Druze faith, Bábism, the Bahá'í Faith and Rastafari. , estimates classified 54% (3.6 billion people) of the world's population

title: 1915 in Afghanistan

text: nation. 1915 in Afghanistan The following lists events that happened during 1915 in Afghanistan. Afghanistan passes through the year peaceably and the relations of the country with the Indian government are most cordial. Afghanistan presents in these respects a marked contrast to its neighbour, Persia. Both Persia and Afghanistan are nominally sovereign states, but in practice the British Raj is the supreme protecting power in Afghanistan, whereas in Persia, the paramount power is Russia rather than United Kingdom. The difference between the conditions prevailing in the two countries indicates the success of the British in gaining the confidence of a

title: 1915 in Afghanistan

text: 1915 in Afghanistan The following lists events that happened during 1915 in Afghanistan. Afghanistan passes through the year peaceably and the relations of the country with the Indian government are most cordial. Afghanistan presents in these respects a marked contrast to its neighbour, Persia. Both Persia and Afghanistan are nominally sovereign states, but in practice the British Raj is the supreme protecting power in Afghanistan, whereas in Persia, the paramount power is Russia rather than United Kingdom. The difference between the conditions prevailing in the two countries indicates the success of the British in gaining the confidence of a weak

title: Communications in Afghanistan

text: users as of 2016. According to the Ministry of Communications, the following are some of the different ISPs operating in Afghanistan: There are over 106 television operators in Afghanistan and 320 television transmitters, many of which are based Kabul, while others are broadcast from other provinces. Selected foreign channels are also shown to the public in Afghanistan, but with the use of the internet, over 3,500 international TV channels may be accessed in Afghanistan. There are an estimated 150 FM radio operators throughout the country. Broadcasts are in Dari, Pashto, English, Uzbeki and a number of other languages. Radio listeners

title: Pakistanis in Afghanistan

text: prisoners in Afghanistan who are held for visa violation or petty crimes. Pakistanis in Afghanistan Pakistanis in Afghanistan are mostly refugees, but also include laborers, traders, businesspersons, and small number of diplomats. Because Pakistan and Afghanistan are neighbouring states with a loosely controlled border, and a distributed population of ethnic Pashtuns and Baloch people, there is constant flow of population between the two countries. Dynasties, such as those of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughals, as well as nomad people from the Indian subcontinent (including modern-day Pakistan) have been invading and coming to Afghanistan for the past many centuries. Before

title: Eastern religions

text: Eastern religions The Eastern religions are the religions that originated in East, South and Southeast Asia and thus have dissimilarities with Western religions. This includes the East Asian religions (Shintoism, Sindoism, Taoism and Confucianism), Indian religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism) as well as animistic indigenous religions. This East-West religious distinction, just as with the East-West culture distinction, and the implications that arise from it, is broad and not precise. Furthermore, the geographical distinction has less meaning in the current context of global transculturation. While many Western observers attempt to distinguish between Eastern philosophies and religions, this is a distinction

title: 1938 in Afghanistan

text: 1938 in Afghanistan The following lists events that happened during 1938 in Afghanistan. Afghanistan makes rapid strides towards western civilization. Roads are being laid out for motor traffic; industries, based originally on military requirements, are being developed; and education is spreading. There are three colleges in Kabul, and schools are being set up everywhere. Treaties of friendship are concluded with Liberia and with Brazil, and the treaty with Turkey is extended for ten years. On the other hand, on the proposal of the Soviet government, the Afghan consulates in Russia and the Soviet consulates in Afghanistan are closed. A number

title: War in Afghanistan order of battle, 2012

text: Force 101, and the Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan (CSTC-A). After the Stage IV transition of authority to ISAF, the status of the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade/Task Force Falcon, which handles all the helicopter combat aviation duties in Afghanistan, was uncertain, along with the exact status of Combined Task Force Sword, the engineer task force, and the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force. It was unclear exactly what units are assigned to OEF-Afghanistan, but the operation in 2012 was in charge of counter-terrorist operations, including pursuing al-Qaeda along Afghanistan’s inhospitable border region with Pakistan. War in Afghanistan order of

title: Russians in Afghanistan

text: businessmen with dual citizenship of Israel and Russia, who have established ventures in the food, transport, and tourism industries. As their Israeli passports are not valid in Afghanistan, they generally enter the country on their Russian passports instead. They are also occasionally harassed by the local security forces, who are generally aware that they are Israeli citizens but turn a blind eye in exchange for bribes. Russians in Afghanistan There are estimated to be 1,500 Russians living in Afghanistan. In the 1960s and 1970s, due to cooperation between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan, there were roughly 10,000 Russian expatriate engineers,

title: Religion in Asia

text: Religion in Asia Asia is the largest and most populous continent, with a wide variety of religions, and was the birthplace of many religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam, Jainism, Christianity, Judaism, Shintoism, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism. All major religious traditions are practiced in the region and new forms are constantly emerging. Asia is noted for its diversity of culture. Dharmic religions are the predominant and oldest religions of Asia. Most of Asia's population follows Indian religions. All Indian religions originated in South Asia. These religions all have the concepts of dharma, karma, and reincarnation. Hinduism is the second

title: Theories about religions

text: the compensation is what controls the choice, or in other words the choices which the "rational actors" make are "rational in the sense that they are centered on the satisfaction of wants". It has been observed that social or political movements that fail to achieve their goals will often transform into religions. As it becomes clear that the goals of the movement will not be achieved by natural means (at least within their lifetimes), members of the movement will look to the supernatural to achieve what cannot be achieved naturally. The new religious beliefs are compensators for the failure to

title: Poverty in Afghanistan

text: Poverty in Afghanistan Afghanistan is one amongst the poorest countries in the world. In Afghanistan, poverty is widespread in rural and urban areas. However, it has been estimated that poverty in Afghanistan is mainly concentrated in rural areas. It has been estimated that four out of five poor people live in rural areas. In these rural areas, families without enough access to adequate nutrition see many infants and children become stunted, malnourished, and die each year. The regions in Afghanistan where almost half of the inhabitants are poor are the East, Northeast, and West-Central regions. According to the Afghan government's

title: Punjabis in Afghanistan

text: been efforts to teach Punjabi to the younger generation, as it is also the language of Sikh religious texts. The Afghan government opened two Punjabi schools in Kabul and Jalalabad, facilitating the Sikh community. Punjabis in Afghanistan Punjabis in Afghanistan are residents of Afghanistan who are of Punjabi ancestry. There is historically a small Punjabi community in the country, mainly consisting of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus. Punjab lies to the east of the Pashtun region and has shared borders with Afghanistan at various points in history. For several centuries, dynasties centered in modern Afghanistan expanded towards Punjab, such as the

title: Punjabis in Afghanistan

text: Punjabis in Afghanistan Punjabis in Afghanistan are residents of Afghanistan who are of Punjabi ancestry. There is historically a small Punjabi community in the country, mainly consisting of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus. Punjab lies to the east of the Pashtun region and has shared borders with Afghanistan at various points in history. For several centuries, dynasties centered in modern Afghanistan expanded towards Punjab, such as the Kushans, Kidarites, Hephthalites, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Khaljis and Durranis. Other kingdoms common to both regions include the Indo-Scythians, Indo-Parthians and Kabul Shahis. In his 1857 review of J.W. Kaye's "The Afghan War", Friedrich Engels describes

title: Sport in Afghanistan

text: is also another larger gymnasium under construction in Kabul. Currently, there is only the Olympic Committee Gymnasium, which is constantly used by teams of different sports. The following are some of the major stadiums in Afghanistan: Sport in Afghanistan Sport in Afghanistan is managed by the Afghan Sports Federation. Cricket and association football are the two most popular sports in Afghanistan. The traditional and the national sport of Afghanistan is Buzkashi. The Afghan Sports Federation promotes cricket, association football, basketball, volleyball, golf, handball, boxing, taekwondo, weightlifting, bodybuilding, track and field, skating, bowling, snooker, chess, and other sports in the country.

title: 1985 in Afghanistan

text: board. The government blames the guerrillas for the incident. 1985 in Afghanistan The following lists events that happened during 1985 in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is locked in military stalemate throughout the year, with neither the Muslim insurgents nor the Soviet-backed government troops mounting any decisive military offensive, though there are numerous operations and clashes. The insurgents appear better equipped than previously, with antiaircraft weapons in particular, in their efforts to counter government forces, who are aided by an estimated 115,000 Soviet soldiers. Afghanistan remains completely dependent on Moscow. Afghanistan produces 31% of the world's opium, according to the UN Office for

title: 1985 in Afghanistan

text: 1985 in Afghanistan The following lists events that happened during 1985 in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is locked in military stalemate throughout the year, with neither the Muslim insurgents nor the Soviet-backed government troops mounting any decisive military offensive, though there are numerous operations and clashes. The insurgents appear better equipped than previously, with antiaircraft weapons in particular, in their efforts to counter government forces, who are aided by an estimated 115,000 Soviet soldiers. Afghanistan remains completely dependent on Moscow. Afghanistan produces 31% of the world's opium, according to the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention. Soviet-Afghan troops launch an

title: 1964 in Afghanistan

text: vocational schools are created with the funds. 1964 in Afghanistan The following lists events that happened during 1964 in Afghanistan. Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan, president of Pakistan, visits Kabul briefly where he meets with King Mohammad Zahir. For the first time in several years relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are relatively amicable following the decision of the government of Afghanistan to deal with the Pakhtunistan dispute only through diplomatic negotiations and to carry on normal relations with Pakistan in other respects. Afghanistan does not, however, join the Istanbul Pact drawn up in July between Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey to

title: Reconstruction in Afghanistan

text: Reconstruction in Afghanistan After more than two decades of conflict, the Reconstruction of Afghanistan has begun, though it continues to be hampered by continuing conflict. The reconstruction process of Afghanistan began in 2002. There are more than 14,000 reconstruction projects under way in Afghanistan, such as the Kajaki and the Salma Dam. Many of these projects are being supervised by the Provincial Reconstruction Teams. The World Bank contribution is the multilateral Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), which was set up in 2002. It is financed by 24 international donor countries and has spent more than $1.37 billion as of 2007.

title: Pakistanis in Afghanistan

text: Pakistanis in Afghanistan Pakistanis in Afghanistan are mostly refugees, but also include laborers, traders, businesspersons, and small number of diplomats. Because Pakistan and Afghanistan are neighbouring states with a loosely controlled border, and a distributed population of ethnic Pashtuns and Baloch people, there is constant flow of population between the two countries. Dynasties, such as those of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughals, as well as nomad people from the Indian subcontinent (including modern-day Pakistan) have been invading and coming to Afghanistan for the past many centuries. Before the mid-19th century, Afghanistan and the entire present-day Pakistan were part of

title: All Religions are One

text: is No Natural Religion". The plates were sold from the Linnell estate on 15 March 1918 to Henry E. Huntington. Plate 2 was acquired by George A. Smith in 1853. It may have subsequently been owned by William Muir, but was ultimately sold at Sotheby's by Sir Hickman Bacon on 21 July 1953, to Geoffrey Keynes, who donated it to the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1982. After the original 1795 printing, the text of "All Religions" was not published again until 1893, in "The Works of William Blake, Poetic, Symbolic and Critical", edited by W.B. Yeats and E.J. Ellis. Until 1971,

title: 2001 in Afghanistan

text: The article quoted a senior American military official, who stated: U.S. and Northern Alliance forces are aided by so-called Eastern Alliance of ethnic Pashtuns in driving the Taliban from control of all areas of Afghanistan. U.S. attacks target al-Qaeda strongholds in Tora Bora near the Pakistan border. Many al-Qaeda are taken prisoner by U.S, Pakistan and the new UN-approved interim government of Afghanistan. UN peacekeepers move into Afghanistan. 2001 in Afghanistan The following lists events that happened during 2001 in Afghanistan. Taliban deputy interior minister, and "highest ranking Taliban defector to date". According to Peterson this defector described the American

title: All Religions are One

text: to engrave the frontispiece. Blake became so enamoured of Lavater's work that on the inside cover of his own copy of the book, he inscribed both his name and Lavater's, and drew a heart encompassing them. Blake also extensively annotated his own copy of "Aphorisms", and a number of critics have noted parallels between the Lavater annotations and Blake's own aphorisms in both "All Religions" and "No Natural Religion". S. Foster Damon specifically points to Lavater's first two aphorisms as having a strong influence on Blake; To these points Blake has annotated "This is true Christian philosophy far above all

title: Pakistanis in Afghanistan

text: the refugees were Pakistanis while the rest were Afghans who had settled in Pakistan during the last 20 or so years. More Pakistani refugees went to Afghanistan after the 2010 Pakistan floods. As of 2015, around 221,432 Pakistanis are found living in Afghanistan. Most of them are in Khost Province and Paktika Province. There are also a small number of Pakistani Baloch migrants, mainly concentrated in the southern parts of Afghanistan like Nimruz. Pakistani expatriates have been involved in the rebuilding and reconstruction of Afghanistan and have made contributions towards the Afghan economy. By 2006, there were about 60,000 Pakistanis

title: What Are We Doin' in Love

text: stage. What Are We Doin' in Love "What Are We Doin' in Love" is a song written by Randy Goodrum and recorded by American country music artist Dottie West with the uncredited vocals of Kenny Rogers. It was released in March 1981 as the second single from the album "Wild West". "What Are We Doin' in Love" was the duo's third and final number one on the country chart. Since 1978, West and Rogers had been together as a duet partnership. Rogers revived the career of Dottie West when their song "Every Time Fools Collide" became a hit in 1978.

title: What Are We Doin' in Love

text: What Are We Doin' in Love "What Are We Doin' in Love" is a song written by Randy Goodrum and recorded by American country music artist Dottie West with the uncredited vocals of Kenny Rogers. It was released in March 1981 as the second single from the album "Wild West". "What Are We Doin' in Love" was the duo's third and final number one on the country chart. Since 1978, West and Rogers had been together as a duet partnership. Rogers revived the career of Dottie West when their song "Every Time Fools Collide" became a hit in 1978. They

title: Pre-Islamic scripts in Afghanistan

text: large "Uma Maheshvara" from "Tepe Skandar", north of Kabul. The Śāradā inscriptions all seem to date to the 8th century CE. Between 750 and 1000 A.D., the Shahi's issued silver coins to provide currency for eastern Afghanistan and Gandhara. Most of the coins have an obverse legend in either Spalpati Deva or Samanta Deva, which are Śāradā scripts. In what was Gandhara (Eastern Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan), scholars have found a large quantity of Buddhist scrolls, written in the Gandhari language (a dialect of Sanskrit) with the Kharosthi script. Gandhari most likely was the daily language of the Kushans after

title: Western religions

text: the Western world paganism is becoming increasingly popular. There remains a minority of the order of 5% of the population in the Western world which adheres to non-Western religions, mostly due to recent immigration, but to some extent also due to proselytization, notably conversion to various sects of Buddhism and Hinduism in the context of the New Age movement in the later part of the 20th century. Western religions Western religions refers to religions that originated within Western culture, and are thus historically, culturally, and theologically distinct from the Eastern religions. The term Abrahamic religions (Islam, Eastern Christianity and Judaism)

title: World religions

text: Religions Paradigm" as "a particular way of thinking about religions which organizes them into a set of discrete traditions with a supposedly 'global' import." It typically consists of the "Big Five" religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. As noted by Cotter and Robertson, the "Big Five" religions are often listed in an "Abrahamocentric order" which places the largest three Abrahamic religions—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—before the non-Abrahamic religions Hinduism and Buddhism. The category is sometimes also extended to include other religious groups, namely Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, and the Bahá'í Faith. The inclusion of Judaism in the Big Five raises some issues;

title: Education in Afghanistan

text: Education in Afghanistan Education in Afghanistan includes K–12 and higher education, which is greatly supervised by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghanistan is going through a nationwide rebuilding process and, despite setbacks, institutions are established across the country. By 2013 there were 10.5 million students attending schools in Afghanistan, a country with a population of around 27.5 million people. One of the oldest schools in Afghanistan is the Habibia High School in Kabul, which was built by King Habibullah Khan in 1903 to educate students from the nation's elite class. In the 1920s,

title: Indians in Afghanistan

text: Indians in Afghanistan There is a small community of Indians in Afghanistan who are Afghans of Indian origin as well as Indian construction and aid workers involved in rebuilding and humanitarian assistance efforts. India is often described as acting as a soft power in Afghanistan. Having committed a $2.3 billion aid program, India is one of the largest donors to Afghanistan, investing in the economy, humanitarian aid, education, development, construction and electrical projects. According to "Foreign Policy" among Afghans there is a positive perception of India's role in the reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. Indian nationals in Afghanistan have become the

title: Sport in Afghanistan

text: Sport in Afghanistan Sport in Afghanistan is managed by the Afghan Sports Federation. Cricket and association football are the two most popular sports in Afghanistan. The traditional and the national sport of Afghanistan is Buzkashi. The Afghan Sports Federation promotes cricket, association football, basketball, volleyball, golf, handball, boxing, taekwondo, weightlifting, bodybuilding, track and field, skating, bowling, snooker, chess, and other sports in the country. The Afghanistan national cricket team's win over Namibia in Krugersdorp earned them official One Day International status in April 2009. The Afghanistan Cricket Board is Afghanistan's representative at the International Cricket Council and was an associate

title: Religion in Benin

text: most adherents of the traditional Yoruba religious group are in the south, while other African Traditional Religion beliefs are followed in the north. Muslims are represented most heavily in the north and southeast. Christians are prevalent in the south, particularly in Cotonou, the economic capital. It is not unusual for members of the same family to practice Christianity, Islam, African Traditional Religion, or a combination of all of these. Among the most practiced African Traditional Religions in Benin is the Vodun system of belief which originated in this area of Africa. Other African Traditional Religions are practiced in the Atakora

title: Taxation in Afghanistan

text: were required to pay 10% on annual income over about $3,500 and 20% on income over about $27,000. No matter what kind of legal form the company has, all of them are required to pay a corporate tax of 20 percent. That, you can find in the 4th article of the Afghan Income Tax law. In 2014 the parliament of Afghanistan worked close to International Monetary Fund to raise the domestic revenues and therefor added a value-added tax (VAT) of 5 percent. Although, the existing law doesn’t include all goods and services (hotels are affected for example) but the government

title: Constitution of Afghanistan

text: with members serving for three years. The Constitution describes Islam as its sacred law and the most commonly practiced faith throughout Afghanistan's vast country. Followers of other religions are "free to exercise their faith and perform their religious rites" within the limits of the law. There is no mention of freedom of thought, and apostasy from Islam is punishable by death. Citizens are guaranteed the right to life and liberty, to privacy, of peaceful assembly, from torture and of expression and speech. If accused of a crime, citizens hold the right to be informed of the charges, to representation by

title: Telephone numbers in Afghanistan

text: AWCC Roshan (TDC) Etisalat Afghanistan MTN Afghanistan Salaam Afghan Telecom (CMDA) Wasl Telephone numbers in Afghanistan Area codes in Afghanistan are two digits long. It is common to write phone numbers as (0xx) yyy-yyyy, where xx is the area code. The 0 prefix is for long-distance dialing from within the country. International callers should dial +93 xx yyyyyyy. Area codes for common cities are: There are six mobile phone companies currently operating in Afghanistan. Mobile phone numbers are written as (0xx yyy-yyyy), where xx is the code. The 0 prefix is for dialing from within the country. International callers should

title: Invasions of Afghanistan

text: or satrap. These ancient satrapies included: Aria (Herat); Arachosia (Kandahar, Lashkar Gah, Bamiyan and Quetta); Bactriana (Balkh); Sattagydia (Ghazni); and Gandhara (Kabul, Jalalabad, Peshawar). Alexander the Great invaded what is today Afghanistan in 330 BC as part of war against Persia. Comprising the easternmost satrapies of Persia, Afghanistan provided some challenging battles in his conquest of the remaining lands of Persia. Renamed Bactria, and settled with his Ionian veterans, Alexander began his invasion of India from what is now Jalalabad, attacking the Indus River basin through the Khyber Pass. Several cities in Afghanistan are named for Alexander, including Alexandria Arachosia,

title: Health in Afghanistan

text: Health in Afghanistan Health in Afghanistan is unsatisfactory but slowly improving. The Ministry of Public Health oversees all matters concerning the health of Afghanistan's population. According to the Human Development Index, Afghanistan is the 15th least developed country in the world. Its average life expectancy at birth is reported at around 60 years. The country's maternal mortality rate is 396 deaths/100,000 live births and its infant mortality rate is 66 to 112.8 deaths in every 1,000 live births. There are over 100 government-run and private or internationally-administered hospitals in Afghanistan. The most advanced medical treatments are available in Kabul. The