Thursday, October 18, 2007

LECTURE- Afghanistan's Nuristan Region, Boston University, Oct. 15

Distrib. by: Central-Eurasia-L - Announcement List for Central Eurasian Studies


LECTURE- Afghanistan's Nuristan Region, Boston University, Oct. 15

Posted by: Michael Carroll <mcarroll@bu.edu>

[This announcement was delayed due to Central-Eurasia-L's technical
problems. --CEL]

The American Institute of Afghanistan Studies is pleased to present
Dr. Richard Strand and Dr. David Katz for a presentation titled,
"Afghanistan's Nuristan Region in Strategic and Ethnographic Context."
This seminar will take place on Monday, October 15 at 4PM in Room 310
of the Boston University George Sherman Union (775 Commonwealth Ave.)

Afghanistan's Nuristan Region in Strategic and Ethnographic Context
A Lecture by Dr. Richard Strand and Dr. David J. Katz
October 15, 2007 - 4 P.M.
GSU - Room 310
775 Commonwealth Ave.

The region called Nuristan is one in a chain of ethnic refuge areas
that line the mountains of the Indian Plate collision zone from
Afghanistan to Southeast Asia. Nuristan lies in the Hindu Kush
mountains of northeastern Afghanistan, spanning the basins of the
Alingar, Pech, Landai Sin, and Kunar rivers. It is the homeland of a
unique group of Indo-European-speaking tribal peoples, now called
Nuristanis, who fled and resisted Islam as it spread eastward. In
1895-96 the Nuristanis were finally conquered by the Afghan armies of
Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, and the people were obliged to abandon their
ancient religious beliefs in favor of Islam.

Nuristanis are today such devout Muslims that they were the first
citizens of Afghanistan to successfully revolt against the communist
overthrow of their government in 1978. Their success inspired others
throughout the country to rise up against the Soviets. Today Nuristan
remains a key region in a strategic and ethnographic context.


Michael Carroll
Center Administrator
American Institute of Afghanistan Studies
745 Commonwealth Ave. Rm. 639
Boston, MA 02215
mcarroll@bu.edu

American Institute of Afghanistan Studies
E-mail: aias@bu.edu
http://www.bu.edu/aias
617-358-4649
Fax: 617-358-4650

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