The Making of Shi'a Resistance in Afghanistan: Historical Roots, Communist Rule, and Soviet Occupation, 1978–1989

Author

• Sayed Sajjad Hojet, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

5-1-2026

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

History

First Advisor

Yilmaz, Hale

Abstract

This thesis examines Shi'a political mobilization in Afghanistan from the 1978 Saur Revolution through the Soviet occupation, ending in 1989. It argues that Shi'a resistance was not simply a religious reaction to Marxist rule but a complex movement shaped by long-term marginalization, influenced by rival political ideas, and connected to cross-border networks in Iran. It traces how persecution under Amir Abdurrahman Khan created a system of political exclusion that shaped Shi'a collective identity before the communist takeover, and how ideologies such Marxism and Political Islam further politicized Shi'a youth in the mid-twentieth century. The PDPA's coercive policies after 1978 helped strengthen parties such as Shura-ye Ittifaq and Harakat-e Islami. The 1979 Iranian Revolution, particularly the doctrine of Wilayat al-Faqih contributed to the fragmentation of Shi'a resistance through rival Iranian-backed factions. By examining all major Shi'a movements, this study challenges the dominant accounts that focus the Sunni Mujahideen experience and provides a more complete account of Afghan opposition to communist rule and Soviet occupation.