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Afghan Americans

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Afghan American
File:US Permanent Representative Briefs Correspondents in 2007.jpg
Zalmay Khalilzad • Ali Ahmad Jalali
AfghanistanUnited States
Regions with significant populations
West Coast, Northeast
Languages
American English, Persian (Dari), Pashto, Uzbek, and other languages in Afghanistan
Religion
Predominately Muslim, with a small number of Jews [1]

An Afghan (or Afghani, Afghanistani) American refers to an American with heritage or origins in Afghanistan. It also refers to someone who is born as U.S. citizen but to Afghan parents.

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.[4] Due to the political borders at that time period, some of these immigrants may have been Pashtuns from British India (present-day Pakistan) or Afghanistan.[4] During the 1930s and 1940s, well-educated Afghans entered America.[4] Between 1953 and early 1970, 230 migrated into the US.[4] Some of those who entered the United States were often students who won scholarships to study in American universities. After the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, many people from Afghanistan decided to leave their country to immigrate or seek refuge in other countries. These Afghan refugees settled in Pakistan, Iran, the European Union, North America, Australia, and else where in the world.

Those who made it to the United States began to settle in the New York City, California and Washington-Virginia areas, where large Muslim community centers keep them closely bonded. Smaller Afghan American communities can also be found in the States of Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, Washington and elsewhere. Some figures estimate that there are approximately 80,000 Afghan Americans in the United States but the actual number may be 200,000.[3]

Culture

Despite major cultural differences between the two nations, Afghans living in the United States are proud to call them selves Americans and are considered patriotic.[3] Many Afghan women in the United States wear similar clothes as Persian or Turkish Americans, and are allowed to work or study in colleges. Some Afghan American women even own businesses in the United States.

Some migrants from Afghanistan have attempted to not assimilate into American culture as they have valued their traditional culture even after several generations. Afghan Americans value their oral tradition of story telling. The stories they tell are about Nasreddin, history, myths and religion.[4]

Religious background

The overwhelming majority of Afghan Americans are Muslim and practice Sunni Islam. Others practice the Shia sect, and have their own separate Shia mosques. There is a small community of Afghan Jews in New York City, numbering about 12 000 or 200 families.[1]

Economics

Afghan Americans have a strong desire for higher education, in almost every family someone is attending a universities or college.

While the early Afghan immigrants were well-educated, the subsequent waves who entered the United States in the early 1980s have not been so. The reason for this is that the early immigrants arrived to USA specifically for education purposes. In contrast, the later immigrants have fled their native land after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, and this group has had some troubles coping with learning a new language. Those who have pursued their education in America in the middle of the 20th century and traveled back to Afghanistan have faced trouble attaining employment when returning back to the US since their education, often in medicine and engineering, is frequently viewed as outdated.[4]

Afghan Americans that do not seek higher education in America are experienced in running fine cuisine and fast food restaurants, in the same fashion as Italian or Greek Americans. Afghan restaurants that serve Afghan cuisine are very popular in the United States. The fast food Kennedy Fried Chicken chain of restaurants, which has outlets in many states and serves halal food, is owned by Afghan Americans.[5] Afghans usually employ Pakistani or Arab Americans in their restaurants. Some newly arriving Afghan immigrants start as vendors in New York City.[6]

The majority of Afghan Americans own businesses and live in quiet suburban areas in the United States.[3] It is rare to find a family of Afghan Americans that live in poverty.

Post 9/11

After 9/11, a mosque run by Afghan-Americans in Flushing, New York donated blood, held a vigil for World Trade Center deceased and funded a memorial for the fire fighters.[7]

Since late 2001, after the U.S. war in Afghanistan, a number of Afghan-Americans were hired to work for the U.S. government as translators.

Victims of hate crime

Afghan Americans, along with many other South Asians and Middle Easterners, have become victims of hate crime after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. A few weeks after September 11, an individual went on a shooting rampage in Mesa, Arizona, where he killed a Sikh from India and later shot at a Lebanese clerk followd by shooting at a window of a house owned by Afghan Americans.[8] Also during the same period, a few Afghan American teenagers residing in Virginia were attacked and called "terrorists".[9] In early 2002, an Afghan American male teenager was found dead in California with deadly acid discovered on his body.

In more recent acts, Alia Ansari, a mother of six children, was shot dead in California on October 20, 2006, an incident which the victim's family and local leaders deemed a hate crime.[10][11] While wearing Islamic garb, namely, the hijab, Ansari was gunned down in front of her children. The incident eventually led to local politicians to call November 13 "wear-the-hijab-day".[12]

Other Afghan Americans, like U.S. Air Force veteran Mustafa Aziz, have faced long delays in obtaining their US citizenship. The ACLU consequently filed a lawsuit and accused government officials of improperly delaying background checks and allowing applications to linger indefinitely.[13] In 2006, the ACLU claimed victory as Aziz ultimately received his citizenship.[14]

Notable and famous individuals

File:Khalilzad as Security Council President in May 2007.jpg
Zalmay Khalilzad, the highest ranking Afghan American and Muslim in the administration of George W. Bush.
Khaled Hosseini at the White House in 2007, with George and Laura Bush.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b NEW YORK, June 19, 2007 (RFE/RL), U.S.: Afghan Jews Keep Traditions Alive Far From Home
  2. ^ "US demographic census". Retrieved 2006-11-19. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b c d USA Today, 'Little Kabul' immigrants apprehensive, September 19, 2001.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Eigo, Tim. Countries and their Cultures. "Afghan Americans." 2006. July 6, 2007. [1]
  5. ^ The New York Times - KFC v. KFC
  6. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9402E1DC1038F93BA2575AC0A961958260
  7. ^ BBC. Troubling Times for Afghan Americans. 2001. July 6, 2007.[2]
  8. ^ Human Rights News. "Stop Hate Crimes Now." 2001. July 21, 2007. [3]
  9. ^ Idupuganti, Anura. Educators for Public Responsibility. "List of Publicly Reported U.S. Hate Crimes Against Arabs, Muslims, and other South Asians From September 11 Through September 26, 2001." 2001. July 21, 2007. [4]
  10. ^ NBC 11 News. "Assaults On Bay Area Muslims On Rise." 2007. July 21, 2007. [5]
  11. ^ San Francisco Chronicle. 2007. July 21, 2007. [6]
  12. ^ Stilwell, Cinnamon. "Alia Ansari Murder Leads to "Wear a Hijab/Turban Day." 2007. July 21, 2007. [7]
  13. ^ Lawyers and Settlements. "US Governments." 2007. July 21, 2007.[8]
  14. ^ American Civil Liberties Union. "ACLU/SC Wins Citizenship for Seven." 2006. July 21, 2007. [9]
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