This document provides background information on Islam, Afghanistan, and refugees. It discusses the origins and key beliefs of Islam. It describes Afghanistan's ethnic groups, history of invasions, and modern political eras including the Soviet invasion and rise of the Taliban. It defines what a refugee is according to the UN and discusses the large number of Afghan refugees in neighboring countries. It also briefly outlines Australia's refugee policies and debates around boat arrivals and mandatory detention.

1. Introduction to
The
Rugmaker of
Mazar-e-
Sharif
Najaf Mazari
&
Robert Hillman

2. Themes
 Hard work – Islam/Religion
 Conflict – Personal/Political
 Refugees/Hope
 Freedom/Survival

3. Islam
 Originated in Saudi Arabia in the 7th Century AD
 ISLAM - means surrender or submission to God (Allah is the
Arabic word for ‘the one true God and creator’)
 MUSLIM – a follower of Islam
 QU’RAN - The words of Allah as told to Muhammad by the
angel Gabriel, and written down by Muhammad’s followers.
Exists only in Arabic language.

4. 5 pillars of Islam
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
BELIEF (in ALLAH and his prophet MUHAMMAD)
PRAYER (five times a day)
ZAHAT (Giving charity)
FASTING (RAMADAN)
HAJJ – Pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to the Ka’ba, a black
monument said to have been built by Abraham and his son
Ishmael.
The Ka’ba in Mecca

5. Islam in Afghanistan
Islam is practiced by the vast majority of Afghans and governs
much of their personal, political, economic and legal lives.
Najaf’s home city Mazar-e-Sharif is
named after the blue mosque in the
centre of the city

6. Afghanistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia
bordered by six countries
 Pakistan
 Iran
 Turkmenistan
 Uzbekistan
 Tajikistan
 China

7. Ethnicity in AfghanistanAfghanistan has several ethnic
groups , the largest are the
Pashtun 42%
Tajik 27%
Hazara 9%
The official border of Afghanistan,
shown in red, has little in common
the boundaries of these ethnic
groups who speak more than 30
different languages

8. Because of its strategic location
Afghanistan has been invaded
numerous times throughout history

9. These invasions include
 330 BC - Alexander the Great (Greece)
 640 AD - Arab invasion which brings Islam
 1219 - Genghis Khan (Mongolia)
 1839- 1842 - Britain
 1878 – 1880 Britain
 1979 – 1989 - Soviet Union
 2001 – Present - US led coalition

10. Afghanistan has experienced turmoil almost constantly
throughout history...

11. Modern history
 The ‘Great Game’
 The Cold War
 Communism
 Soviet Invasion
 The Taliban

12. “The Great Game”
19th Century
 Rivalry between Britain and Russia for influence in
Central Asia and the Middle East
 The present day borders of Afghanistan were
established amidst this competition
“Save me from my friends”
Political cartoon from 1878 depicting the Afghan Emir
Caught between the British lion and the Russian bear

13. The Cold War
1945-1989
 Ideological rivalry between two superpowers USA
(capitalism) and the USSR (Communism)
 Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) – Nuclear
weapons prevented the superpowers from fighting
each other directly
 Instead the USA and USSR fought indirectly by
supporting friendly governments and destabilising
others
The Russian Bear and Uncle Sam seesaw
in their contest to gain the upper hand

14. Communism
1978-1992
 Communists seize power and introduce reforms which
are incompatible with traditional systems
 Communist atheism (belief there is no god) clashes
with Islamic values
 Afghan fighters begin resisting the communist
government

15. Soviet Invasion
1979-1989
 Soviet Union intervenes to prevent overthrow of Afghanistan’s
communist government
 United States begins secretly supplying and training Islamic
fighters (Mujahedeen) to fight the Soviets
 Afghan civilian casualties estimated at over one million people,
many more flee
 Soviet forces defeated by guerrilla tactics of Mujahedeen and
withdraw
Soviet aircrew in front of an
attack helicopter in Afghanistan
Afghan Mujahedeen with a US made
Stinger anti-aircraft missile launcher

16. The Taliban
1995-2001
 After the Soviet defeat there is a period of civil war from which
the fundamentalist Islamic Taliban emerge on top
 The Taliban institutes strict shari’a law
 Women have few rights, girls are forbidden to go to school
A member of the Taliban flogs a woman
in the street
The Taliban blows up the ancient Buddhist
statues of Bamiyan deemed to be false idol

17. US invasion
2001 -
 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States attributed to Osama Bin
Laden a Saudi hiding out in the mountains of Afghanistan
 US demands Taliban hand over Bin Laden, they refuse so the US
invades and overthrows them but is unable to capture Bin Laden
until 2011
 US launches operation “Enduring Freedom” to stabilise and
democratise Afghanistan before they withdraw but this proves to be
a difficult task

18. Previous President
 Previous President Hamid Karzai was considered corrupt and
unpopular with the people
 American and coalition forces including Australians were
entrenched in Afghanistan with no foreseeable way to withdraw
without the Taliban and/or Al Qaeda returning
President Hamid Karzai
Australian and Afghan soldiers waiting for
transport

19. Currently
President Ashraf Ghani
elected in September 2014
Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan’s new
president-elect, and his opponent,
Abdullah Abdullah, have joined
together in a national unity
government in which they will
share power.

20. What is a refugee?
The UN says "A person who owing to a well-founded fear of
being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality,
membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is
outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to
such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that
country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the
country of his former habitual residence as a result of such
events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to
it.”
United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees

21. Afghan refugees
The numbers of refugees has varied over time as the situation in
Afghanistan has evolved.
Currently 2.6 million Afghan refugees live in neighbouring
countries, including Pakistan (1.7 million) and Iran (over 900,000),
Other refugees have sought asylum in Europe, North America and
Australia

22. The UNHCR
United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees
The primary role of the UNHCR is to
safeguard the rights and well-being of
refugees. It strives to ensure that
everyone can find safe refuge in
another State, with the option to return
home voluntarily.
In 2007 the UNHCR estimated that
around the world there were more than
31.7 million refugees and people of
concern, in the period 2010-11
Australia’s Humanitarian Program is
set at 13,750 places.

23. Refugees in Australia
The Government says “the size of the refugee program is
influenced by a number of factors. “
 UNHCR assessments of the resettlement needs of refugees
overseas
 the views of individuals and organisations in Australia
 Australia's capacity to assist.
Peter Dutton MP was
sworn in as the
Minister for
Immigration and
Border Protection on
23 December 2014.
Immigration policy in Australia is a highly politicised issue with no easy solutio

24. Boat people
The overwhelming majority of around 4000 people who seek
Australia’s protection each year arrive by plane. Asylum seekers
arriving by boat constitute a very small proportion of the total and
have their claims considered on Christmas Island.
Plane Arrivals Boat Arrivals
2008–09 84% 16%
2009–10 53% 47%
2010–11 56% 44%

25. Mandatory detention
All people who enter Australia
without a valid visa are held in
detention facilities while their
claims are assessed, during this
time they undergo health,
identity and security checks.
This policy has been highly
contentious and several changes
were made under the
Rudd/Gillard governments. Najaf
arrived in Australia during the
Howard era. On the right is a
map of immigration detention
centres operating at that time.