A Sociological Analysis of the Afghan Hazaras' Experience of ‎Ethnic Prejudice and Discrimination Based on the Thought of Ibn Khaldun and Al-Farabi

Document Type : The Quarterly Jornal

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Governance, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran (Corresponding Author).‎

2 PhD in Social Knowledge of Muslims, Department of Social Studies, Complex of Islamic Human ‎Sciences, Al-Mustafa International University, Qom, Iran.‎

10.22081/jiss.2026.74104.2205

Abstract

Ethnic prejudice and discrimination against the Hazaras of Afghanistan over the past two centuries has been a dynamic process that has evolved from overt forms of violence into more complex formulations. Utilizing a genealogical-sociological approach, this article addresses the core question of how ethnic prejudice (Asabiyyah), as a superiorist attitude and belief, has laid the groundwork for mechanisms of discrimination, and how these mechanisms have transformed from a logic of macro-exclusion during the state-building era of the late 19th century into institutional exclusion, and subsequently into a scattered network of everyday mechanisms that we term the "micro-physics of discrimination." The theoretical framework of the article is a synthesis of Ibn Khaldun's theory of Asabiyyah, Al-Farabi's concept of justice, Honneth's recognition theory, Giddens' structuration theory, and Bourdieu's concepts of symbolic violence, which critically addresses the instrumentalization of religion through a Quranic perspective. Data were collected using the documentary analysis method applied to historical texts, academic research, and human rights reports. The findings reveal the transformation of prejudice and discrimination across three distinct stages: during the reign of Abdur Rahman Khan (1880–1901), ethnic-religious prejudice led to ethnic cleansing and land confiscation, crushing the Hazara Asabiyyah; in the mid-20th century, discrimination became institutionalized within laws, education, and social discourse; and from the 1990s onward, it precipitated into everyday language, schools, the labor market, and public spaces. Conversely, collective agency has initiated the reclamation of recognition through the politicization of identity, the enhancement of cultural capital, and positive self-representation. The theoretical contribution of this article lies in conceptualizing the micro-physics of discrimination, synthesizing Islamic thought with contemporary sociology, and demonstrating the duality of structure and agency.

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References

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Islam and Social Studies
Volume 13, Issue 51 - Serial Number 51
ExecutiveExpert
January 2025
Pages 159-186

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History

  • Receive Date: 28 January 2026
  • Revise Date: 01 May 2026
  • Accept Date: 03 February 2026

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