Washington, DC – Since relocating to the United States in 2014, I, like many Hazaras—a minority ethnic group in Afghanistan with experiences akin to the Jewish Holocaust—have not only attended the anniversary of Martyr Abdul Ali Mazari, known as “Baba Mazari” or “Father Mazari” within the Hazara community, but I also actively participated in Hazara community. Abdul Ali Mazari was a political leader of Hazara and the founder of the Hezb-e Wahdat party. He sought a peaceful negotiation with the Taliban to find a solution to the fate of the Hazaras, but he was captured, tortured, and murdered by the Taliban in 1995. Hazara people believe that Baba Mazari was the one who brought all Hazaras under one banner of unity and integration.
Participating in the anniversary of Martyr Baba Mazari every year has allowed participants and the audience to discuss and share Hazara values. Engaging in the anniversary of Martyr Baba Mazari has deepened my understanding of the Hazara people and motivated me to raise my voice for misconceptions, such as the false claim that Hazaras are committed to the Iranian government. Despite the facts, the majority of Hazara are Shia Muslims, similar to Iran’s religion, both speak Persian with different dialects, and thousands of Hazara are residents of Iran due to the war and persecution in Afghanistan. However, these factors do not imply a tight connection between Hazaras and the Iranian government. Hazaras are peaceful people who have lived for centuries in central Afghanistan and are known as the protectors of the Buddhas of Bamiyan—two colossal 6th-century Buddhist statues in the Bamiyan Valley. Despite a long history of persecution, no human rights organizations or powerful countries have acted to protect this vulnerable group in Afghanistan.
The persecution of Hazaras traces back to Abdur Rahman Khan, a dictator king of Afghanistan from 1880-1901, who declared a “Holy War” on Hazaras by justifying his order by calling Hazara as infidels. Sixty percent of the Hazara population faced genocide, with survivors sold as slaves and concubines. Additionally, Abdur Rahman evicted 400,000 Hazara families from their fertile ancestral lands, redistributing them to Afghan (Pashtun) tribes and nomads. Confiscating Hazara land and property, these regions made up approximately 75 percent of the historic Hazarajat. The second major persecution occurred during the Afshar genocide in 1993 when Pashtun leader Abdul Reb Rasul Sayaf killed hundreds of Hazaras and destroyed thousands of homes. The third significant genocide happened in Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998 when the Taliban killed over 2,000 Hazaras and perpetrated a massacre of Shia Hazara members after capturing the city.
The Hazara genocide continues to this day. They were targeted by multiple terrorist groups in Afghanistan facing bombing in schools, hospitals, and mosques. Besides genocide, discrimination in political representatives and barriers in education were other persecutions that Hazaras were struggling with in Afghanistan. Today, Hazaras continue to face discrimination and violence in both Afghanistan and Iran. One might wonder why Hazaras face such treatment in Iran, given their shared language and religion with the Iranians. Based on my own experience as a Hazara who lived in Iran for eighteen years, I can attest that Hazaras do not align with the Iranian regime. Hazaras do not promote or support violence in any Muslim or non-Muslim countries involved in civil or international wars because Hazara believes that defending any country at war is considered complicity in the crime, which is inhumane.
I do not deny that some Hazaras participated in the Syrian war as part of the Fatemiyoun Division, an Iranian-led Shia militia, but they often had no other option. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) recruited many Hazaras from Iran’s large Afghan refugee population, usually offering financial incentives and legal residency or coercing them with threats of arrest and deportation of their family members. The participation of Hazaras in the Syrian war has had significant impacts on our community, both in Iran and Afghanistan and has contributed to the broader narrative of transnational Shia militancy.
Iranian regime used Hazara’s refugees by force as a tool by sending them to wars in other countries to gain power and achieve their political goals. So, those who lost their lives in the Syrian or Palestinian war were not considered martyrs for defending Islam, but rather martyrs for a piece of bread to ensure their family’s survival. These are not my words, but the words of my relative who lost their only son, leaving behind a wife and two young kids.
The Hazara people have faced ongoing genocide in Afghanistan over the past two centuries due to their religious beliefs and ethnicity. Hazaras are victims of violence. They are often wrongly accused of supporting the Iranian regime. The reality is that Hazaras are not supporters of, nor committed to, the Iranian regime; they are another forgotten ethnicity in this world who are denied justice, they are simply survivors. The narrative that Hazaras are committed to the Iranian regime is a misconception that needs to be dispelled. The truth is that the Hazaras are a resilient and peaceful people who have endured centuries of persecution and continue to champion non-violence in their fight for survival and dignity.
Zeba Mohammad Arif
Zeba Mohammad Arif is the Co-founder and President of the Hazara Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in the United States dedicated to advocating for human rights and raising awareness of the Hazara genocide. She is also a social studies teacher at Charles J. Colgan Sr. High School in Virginia.
Zeba earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in secondary education from Northeastern Illinois University. Passionate about justice, she actively works to recognize and bring awareness to forgotten genocides, emphasizing their historical significance. As an activist, she is committed to combating discrimination and advocating for the rights of women and marginalized communities.
