Afghan-American
| Total population | |
|---|---|
|
96,089 (2015) Estimate 200,000+ (2001) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| California, Northern Virginia, New York, Florida | |
| Languages | |
| American English, Dari (Afghan Persian), Pashto and other languages of Afghanistan | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Islam minorities of Atheism, and Judaism |
Afghan Americans are Americans of Afghan descent or Americans who originated from Afghanistan. Afghan Americans may originate from any of the ethnic groups of Afghanistan.
Afghan Americans have a long history of immigrating to the United States, as they may have arrived as early as the 1920s. Due to the political borders at that time period, some of these Afghan immigrants may have been ethnic Pashtuns from British India (present-day Pakistan and India) or Afghanistan.Wallace Fard Muhammad, credited for being the founder of the Nation of Islam, may have been from Afghanistan. A World War I draft registration card for Wallie Dodd Fard from 1917 indicated he was living in Los Angeles, California, as an unmarried restaurant owner, and reported that he was born in Shinka, Afghanistan in 1893. During the 1930s and 1940s, well-educated Afghans entered America. Between 1953 and early 1970, at least 230 migrated into the United States. Some of those who entered the US were students who won scholarships to study in American universities. After the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, around five million Afghan citizens were displaced, being forced to immigrate or seek refuge in other countries. These Afghan refugees mostly settled in neighboring Pakistan and Iran, and from there many made it to the European Union (EU), North America, Australia, and elsewhere in the world.
Those who were granted refugee status in the United States began to settle in California (mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles-Orange County area) and in the Northeastern United States, where large Muslim community centers keep them closely bonded. Fremont, California, is home to the largest population of Afghan Americans followed by Northern Virginia. Smaller Afghan American communities also exist in the states of Texas, Illinois, Florida, Washington and elsewhere. In the city of Chicago, the 2000 census counted 556 Afghans, approximately half of them within the city.
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