Political and Social Consequences of the Presence of Salafis in Afghanistan

The emergence of Salafism and extremism in contemporary Afghan society is one of the major problems that has engulfed much of the community. This thought, among some of the Sunnis of Afghanistan, has created some sort of conflict and intellectual tension in the area of ideological and jurisprudential issues of the country and the Islamic community of Afghanistan. Salafi scholars regard Sufi sects, whose trends of thought are followed by the majority of Afghan Sunnis, as superstitious and heretical in religion, who have, through their impact on academic centers and tribal leaders, changed the minds of many students and followers of Maturidi school of thought and pushed them away from Maturidi rationalism. The emergence of religious and political groups and influential parties such as the Taliban and Afghan Arabs in political and social spheres is also a prominent consequence of this phenomenon. In this article I seek to examine this phenomenon and its political and social consequences.