Afghan Americans

For Pashtuns in the United States, see Pashtun Americans.
Afghan Americans
Total population

c. 97,865 (2014)[1]

estimate 200,000+[2]
Regions with significant populations
California, Northern Virginia, New York, Florida
Languages
American English, Dari (Afghan Persian), Pashto and other languages of Afghanistan[3]
Religion
Predominantly Islam
Minorities of Judaism[4]

Afghan Americans are Americans of Afghan descent or Americans who originated from Afghanistan. Afghan Americans may originate from any of the ethnic groups of Afghanistan.

History and population

Afghan Americans have a long history of immigrating to the United States, as they may have arrived as early as the 1920s.[5] Due to the political borders at that time period, some of these Afghan immigrants may have been ethnic Pashtuns from British India (present-day Pakistan and India) or Afghanistan.[5] Wallace Fard Muhammad, credited for being the founder of the Nation of Islam, may have been from Afghanistan. A World War I draft registration card for Wallie Dodd Fard from 1917 indicated he was living in Los Angeles, California, as an unmarried restaurant owner, and reported that he was born in Shinka, Afghanistan in 1893.[6] During the 1930s and 1940s, well-educated Afghans entered America.[5] Between 1953 and early 1970, at least 230 migrated into the United States.[5] Some of those who entered the US were students who won scholarships to study in American universities. After the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, around five million Afghan citizens were displaced, being forced to immigrate or seek refuge in other countries. These Afghan refugees mostly settled in neighboring Pakistan and Iran, and from there many made it to the European Union (EU), North America, Australia, and elsewhere in the world.

Those who were granted refugee status in the United States began to settle in California (mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles-Orange County area) and in the Northeastern United States, where large Muslim community centers keep them closely bonded. Fremont, California, is home to the largest population of Afghan Americans followed by Northern Virginia.[7] Smaller Afghan American communities also exist in the states of Texas, Illinois, Florida, Washington and elsewhere. In the city of Chicago, the 2000 census counted 556 Afghans, approximately half of them within the city.[8]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were approximately 65,972 Afghan-Americans living in the country in 2006. By 2014, this number grew to around 97,865.[1]

Culture

Further information: Culture of Afghanistan

Like all other immigrants living in the United States, Afghan Americans have gradually adopted the American way of life but some still value their traditional culture. They watch Afghan television stations, listen to Afghan music, and eat traditional Afghan food at home. They also value their oral tradition of story telling. The stories they usually tell are about Nasreddin, Afghan history, myths and religion.[5]

Afghan Americans celebrate August 19 as "Afghan Day". It is a commemoration of the Afghan Independence Day, which relates to August 1919, the date when Afghanistan became globally recognized after the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 was signed. Small festivals are held in cities that have Afghan communities, usually at the parks where black, red and green colored Afghan flags are spotted around cars.[9]

Ethnicity and religion

The Hazrati Abu Bakr Siddique in Flushing, Queens, New York City.

Afghan Americans are composed of the various ethnic groups that exist in Afghanistan, which include Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, and a number of others.

Most Afghan Americans are Muslim, the majority of whom follow Sunni Islam, with a sizable community of Persian speaking Shia Muslims, as well as others who follow Ismailism.

There is a community of Afghan Jews in New York City, numbering about 200 families in 2007.[4] In addition, a group of Afghan Americans in the Los Angeles area follow Christianity.[10] Hussain Andaryas is an Afghan Christian televangelist who belongs to the Hazara ethnic group.

There is also an unknown minority of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus.[11]

Economic status

Other than in Northern California, Northern Virginia and New York City, Afghan Americans are generally found residing near other middle class Asian Americans throughout the country. Smaller number may be found living in upper middle class neighborhoods among non-Asian Americans. Because most Afghan Americans were first admitted to the United States lawfully as refugees under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, the government provided assistance and selected their city of residence. Some decided to move to other cities that had Afghan communities but most remained in the cities where they first arrived. They gradually left the welfare system (public assistance) and eventually purchased their own homes. Some found suitable jobs while others decided to build or franchise small businesses.

Afghan immigrants that arrived to the United States before 1979 were well-educated.[5] In contrast, current immigrants have fled Afghanistan after it destabilized during the 1979 Soviet occupation as this group has had trouble coping with learning a new language.[5] Those who have pursued their education in America in the middle 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.[5] After the Soviet invasion, Afghanistan's education system worsened, causing many migrants in the late 20th century to place less emphasis on educational attainment.[5]

Some of the latest Afghan immigrants can be found as venders in Manhattan where they have replaced Greek Americans in the field.[12]

Smaller number of Afghans have entered the professions of medicine, law and engineering. Others became real estate agents and used car dealers while some found employment with the government.

Notable Afghan Americans

Zalmay Khalilzad presents George W. Bush an Afghan ballot from the 2004 presidential election in Afghanistan.
Mohammad Qayoumi, served as President of San Jose State University and California State University, East Bay.
Khaled Hosseini at the White House in 2007, with Bush and Laura Bush.

Politics, academia and literature

Business and finance

Sports

Media and art

Vida Zaher-Khadem and Baktash Zaher-Khadem worked on the movie FireDancer.

Afghan music singers

Beauty pageant contestants

Afghan royalty

Other

America's longest war

Further information: America's longest war
A U.S. soldier with an Afghan American interpreter in Jalalabad, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.

After the September 11 attacks 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 NYC fire fighters.[24] Since late 2001, after the start of America's longest war, many Afghan-Americans have worked alongside the United States Armed Forces as interpreters, contractors and journalists. A number of them were wounded or killed while on duty inside Afghanistan. Thousands of Afghans who worked as interpreters were admitted to the United States under the SIV visa program.[25]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "2014 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates: Afghan". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  2. ↑ "Afghans in USA" 200,000
  3. ↑ Jonathan H. X. Lee; Kathleen M. Nadeau (2011). Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife 1. ABC-CLIO. pp. 105–123. ISBN 978-0-313-35066-5. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "U.S.: Afghan Jews Keep Traditions Alive Far From Home". Nikola Krastev. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). June 19, 2007. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Tim Eigo (2006). "Afghan Americans". everyculture.com. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Ancestry.com database, Registration Location: Los Angeles County, California; Roll: 1530899; Draft Board: 17
  7. ↑ Matthew B. Stannard (August 21, 2009). "Fremont's Little Kabul eyes election with hope". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  8. ↑ Daniel Greene (2004). "Afghans". Encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Embassy Celebrates Independence Day". Afghan Embassy news letter. August 2006. Archived from the original on August 12, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Afghan Christian Fellowship, Los Angeles". afghanchurch.net. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  11. ↑ Facts On File, Incorporated (2003). Discover Countries - Afghanistan. Infobase Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4381-2242-7. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  12. ↑ Mirta Ojito (September 18, 1997). "The Face Behind the Bagel - Afghan Newcomers Use Coffee Carts to Succeed As Vendors of New York's Rush-Hour Breakfast". New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  13. ↑ "M. Ishaq Nadiri, Faculty of Department of Economics - NYU". Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "Nake M. Kamrany". Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "Nake M. Kamrany, Ph.D., J.D.". Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  16. ↑ "Rising Muslim American leader in D.C. speaks for his generation". Washington Post. November 11, 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  17. 1 2 "Blue Jays: Pitcher Hinshaw comes from exotic background: DiManno". thestar.com. February 21, 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "Ahmad Hatifie Bio - UC Davis Official Athletic Site". ucdavisaggies.com. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Authors". Fahim speaks. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  20. ↑ Aman Mojadidi, Special to CNN (January 27, 2013). "An 'Afghan redneck' creates art in a war zone". CNN. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Omar Akram". Last.fm. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Omar Akram". The GRAMMYs. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  23. ↑ Nicole Gordon. "The PokerNews Profile: Hevad Khan". pokernews.com. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  24. ↑ "BBC News - AMERICAS - Troubling times for Afghan-Americans". BBC.uk. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  25. ↑ http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/SIVs/Afghan%20SIV%20public%20report_Jan%202016.pdf

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