Editing Afghanistan (section)

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in Afghanistan}}
[[File:Mazar-e sharif - Steve Evans.jpg|thumb|[[Blue Mosque (Mazar-i-Sharif)|Blue Mosque]] in [[Mazar-i-Sharif]] is the largest mosque in Afghanistan.]]

The CIA estimated in 2009 that 99.7% of the Afghan population was Muslim<ref name="Factbook"/> and most are thought to adhere to the [[Sunni]] [[Hanafi]] school.<ref name="The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA)">{{cite web|url=https://swedishcommittee.org/afghanistan/religion|title=Religion in Afghanistan|website=The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA)}}</ref> According to [[Pew Research Center]], as much as 90% are of the Sunni denomination, 7% [[Shia]] and 3% [[Non-denominational Muslim|non-denominational]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-1-religious-affiliation/#identity|title=Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation|date=9 August 2012|work=The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity|publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]'s Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=22 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226113158/http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-1-religious-affiliation/#identity|archive-date=26 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[CIA]] Factbook variously estimates up to 89.7% Sunni or up to 15% Shia.<ref name="Factbook"/>

Afghan [[Sikhism in Afghanistan|Sikhs]] and [[Hinduism in Afghanistan|Hindus]] are also found in certain major cities (namely Kabul, Jalalabad, Ghazni, Kandahar)<ref>{{cite news |last=Majumder |first=Sanjoy |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3138282.stm |title=Sikhs struggle in Afghanistan |publisher=BBC News |date=25 September 2003 |access-date=19 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222132753/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3138282.stm |archive-date=22 February 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Lavina Melwani |url=http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1994/4/1994-4-02.shtml |title=Hindus Abandon Afghanistan |work=Hinduism Today |access-date=19 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070111080626/http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1994/4/1994-4-02.shtml |archive-date=11 January 2007}}</ref> accompanied by gurdwaras and mandirs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://english.religion.info/2005/08/25/afghanistan-sikhs-rebuilding-gurdwaras/ |title=Afghanistan: Sikhs rebuilding gurdwaras |date=25 August 2005 |website=Religioscope}}</ref> According to [[Deutsche Welle]] in September 2021, 250 remain in the country after 67 were evacuated to India.<ref>{{cite news |last=Chabba |first=Seerat |title=Afghanistan: What does Taliban rule mean for Sikhs and Hindus? |url=https://www.dw.com/en/afghanistan-what-does-taliban-rule-mean-for-sikhs-and-hindus/a-59122249 |access-date=25 October 2021 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=8 September 2021}}</ref>

There was a small [[History of the Jews in Afghanistan|Jewish community in Afghanistan]], living mainly in Herat and Kabul. Over the years, this small community was forced to leave due to decades of warfare and religious persecution. By the end of the twentieth century, nearly the entire community had emigrated to Israel and the United States, with one known exception, Herat-born [[Zablon Simintov]]. He remained for years, being the caretaker of the only remaining Afghan synagogue. He left the country for the US after the second Taliban takeover. A woman who left shortly after him has since been identified as the likely last Jew in Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39702-2005Jan26.html |title=Afghan Jew Becomes Country's One and Only |author=N.C. Aizenman |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=27 January 2005 |access-date=19 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516090806/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39702-2005Jan26.html |archive-date=16 May 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/last-jew-afghanistan-en-route-us-report |title=Last Jew in Afghanistan en route to US: report |work=The New Arab |date=7 September 2021 |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=Ben Zion Gad |title='Last Jew in Afghanistan' loses title to hidden Jewish family |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/not-the-last-jew-in-afghanistan-after-all-683879 |access-date=7 February 2023 |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=1 December 2021}}</ref>

[[Afghan Christians]], who number 500–8,000, practice their faith secretly due to intense societal opposition, and there are no public churches.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gebauer |first1=Matthias |date=20 March 2006 |title=Christians in Afghanistan: A Community of Faith and Fear |work=[[Der Spiegel]] |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,408781,00.html |url-status=live |access-date=25 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127030841/http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,408781,00.html |archive-date=27 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=((USSD Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor))| year=2009 |title=International Religious Freedom Report 2009 |url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127362.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130031916/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127362.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 November 2009 |access-date=6 March 2010}}</ref>