Online
Date
24 March 2026
Time
17:30 Kabul time, 19:00 Bishkek time
This conversation explores Nowruz as a window into questions of identity, faith, and community in Afghanistan. Drawing on historical and ethnographic research, it examines how Nowruz, the Persian New Year, has brought together diverse ethnic and regional communities around shared ritual practices at important Islamic sites, blending pre-Islamic and Islamic traditions.
The discussion challenges common assumptions about Afghan society as deeply divided along ethnic and sectarian lines. It considers why cross-ethnic alliances have endured, why secessionist movements have not taken root, and why radical or ethnically exclusive political projects have struggled to gain lasting legitimacy. At its core, the conversation asks: who defines national identity in Afghanistan: the state or its communities?
About Speaker
Dr Omar Sharifi is a Senior Research Fellow and Kabul Director of the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies and Assistant Professor of Social Sciences at the American University of Afghanistan.
He is also an Asia Society Fellow and a member of the Afghan 21 Young Leaders Forum. Originally trained in medicine at Kabul Medical Institute, he later shifted to anthropology, earning a Fulbright-funded MA from Columbia University and a PhD in Anthropology from Boston University.
He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, in 2025. His research focuses on nationalism, identity, and the relationship between religion and state in Afghanistan.
Moderator: Dr Lutfi Rahimi, Director of Afghanistan Research Initiative, University of Central Asia
Format: Online
Language: English