Afghans in Britain
Encyclopedia
Afghans in the United Kingdom are citizens or residents of the UK
whose ethnic origins are in Afghanistan
.
Most Afghans are in London
, particulary in the West and North. Areas with very high number of Afghans include: Wembley
, Hendon
, Kingsbury
, Edgware
and Southall
.
. The first Afghan immigrants to the British capital were students, businesspeople and Afghan government officials. It wasn't until years later that significant numbers came in the form of refugee
s. The first large wave of Afghan immigrants to the UK were political refugees fleeing the 1980s
communist regime and numerous others came in the early 1990s
escaping Mujahideen
. The number skyrocketed later that decade due to the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
. In 2003, the British government announced that they would begin enforced repatriation of failed asylum-seekers in April. This marked a break from the previous policy, observed continuously since 1978, of not returning any Afghans to their country of origin whether or not they were deemed to be economic migrants. At the time, roughly 700 Afghans applied for asylum in the United Kingdom each month, making them one of the largest group of asylum-seekers along with Iraq
is.
estimates that, by 2009, the Afghan-born population had risen to 56,000.
A number of unofficial population estimates have been made. Ethnologue
estimates that there are 75,000 native Northern Pashto speakers in the UK, although these may comprise persons of other nationalities as well as Afghans. The number of Pashtuns in the UK is estimated at 100,000 (the largest community of Pashtuns in the Western World) and the majority of Afghan Muslim
s in the UK are of Pashtun origin, although Pashtuns also originate in parts of Pakistan
. Other sources have put the Afghan population in London alone at 45,000 and 56,000. whilst the Afghan Association of London estimates that the population of Afghans in the whole UK stands at 70,000. The International Organization for Migration
conducted a mapping exercise in 2006, suggesting that the Afghan population of the UK was 20,000.
Between 1994 and 2006, around 36,000 Afghans claimed asylum in the UK. Many whose claims were refused have not returned to Afghanistan, although the International Organization for Migration
has helped some voluntarily return. 5,540 Afghan nationals were granted British citizenship in 2008, down from 10,555 in 2007.
; the majority are concentrated in the west London boroughs
. Harrow
alone has 10,000 Afghans. Outside of London, only Birmingham
has a population of Afghans in the thousands. According to the 2001 Census, the single largest Afghan community in the UK was West Southall
where 1,121 Afghan born people and many more of Afghan descent live. The locations with the least Afghans are Northern Ireland
and Wales
, which as sub divisions are estimated to have no greater than 100 Afghan residents each.
suggests that the majority are of Pashtun ancestry. Overall, there are thought to be up to 100,000 Pashtuns in the UK, forming the largest community of Pashtuns in the West, though not all are of Afghan origin.
There are language divisions between these different ethnic groups, as most Pashtuns
speak Pashto while Tajiks and Hazaras speak Dari
. Afghans in the UK are mainly Muslim, most of which are Sunni
although there is a significant number of Shi'a.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
whose ethnic origins are in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
Most Afghans are in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, particulary in the West and North. Areas with very high number of Afghans include: Wembley
Wembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
, Hendon
Hendon
Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...
, Kingsbury
Kingsbury
Kingsbury is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London. The name Kingsbury means "The King's Manor".-History:Kingsbury was historically a small parish in the Hundred of Gore and county of Middlesex. Until the nineteenth century it was largely rural with only scattered settlements....
, Edgware
Edgware
Edgware is an area in London, situated north-northwest of Charing Cross. It forms part of both the London Borough of Barnet and the London Borough of Harrow. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
and Southall
Southall
Southall is a large suburban district of west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Yeading, Hayes, Hanwell, Heston, Hounslow, Greenford and Northolt...
.
Historical migration
Afghans in the UK have existed since the 1970s1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
. The first Afghan immigrants to the British capital were students, businesspeople and Afghan government officials. It wasn't until years later that significant numbers came in the form of refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s. The first large wave of Afghan immigrants to the UK were political refugees fleeing the 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
communist regime and numerous others came in the early 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
escaping Mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
. The number skyrocketed later that decade due to the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Refugees of war and asylum policies
As stated earlier, one of the large flows of Afghans to the UK were refugees fleeing Afghanistan after the Taliban came to power. The country has been in a state of political unrest ever since. Despite the flow of immigrants and refugees remaining fairly stable over the new millennium period, the number of Afghans coming to the UK since the mid-2000s has completely eclipsed the recorded number of Afghans in the 2001 census, as more and more are fleeing the threat of violence and even death in their homeland during the War in AfghanistanWar in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
. In 2003, the British government announced that they would begin enforced repatriation of failed asylum-seekers in April. This marked a break from the previous policy, observed continuously since 1978, of not returning any Afghans to their country of origin whether or not they were deemed to be economic migrants. At the time, roughly 700 Afghans applied for asylum in the United Kingdom each month, making them one of the largest group of asylum-seekers along with Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
is.
Population size
The 2001 UK Census recorded 14,875 Afghan-born people residing in the UK. The Office for National StatisticsOffice for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
estimates that, by 2009, the Afghan-born population had risen to 56,000.
A number of unofficial population estimates have been made. Ethnologue
Ethnologue
Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
estimates that there are 75,000 native Northern Pashto speakers in the UK, although these may comprise persons of other nationalities as well as Afghans. The number of Pashtuns in the UK is estimated at 100,000 (the largest community of Pashtuns in the Western World) and the majority of Afghan Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s in the UK are of Pashtun origin, although Pashtuns also originate in parts of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Other sources have put the Afghan population in London alone at 45,000 and 56,000. whilst the Afghan Association of London estimates that the population of Afghans in the whole UK stands at 70,000. The International Organization for Migration
International Organization for Migration
The International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organization. It was initially established in 1951 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration to help resettle people displaced by World War II....
conducted a mapping exercise in 2006, suggesting that the Afghan population of the UK was 20,000.
Between 1994 and 2006, around 36,000 Afghans claimed asylum in the UK. Many whose claims were refused have not returned to Afghanistan, although the International Organization for Migration
International Organization for Migration
The International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organization. It was initially established in 1951 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration to help resettle people displaced by World War II....
has helped some voluntarily return. 5,540 Afghan nationals were granted British citizenship in 2008, down from 10,555 in 2007.
Population distribution
Around 73 per cent of all Afghans in the UK reside in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
; the majority are concentrated in the west London boroughs
West (London sub region)
The West is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow. The sub region was established in 2004 and was adjusted in 2008 to include Kensington and Chelsea. The west has a population of 1.6 million and...
. Harrow
London Borough of Harrow
The London Borough of Harrow is a London borough of north-west London. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and other London boroughs: Hillingdon to the west, Ealing to the south, Brent to the south-east and Barnet to the east.-History:...
alone has 10,000 Afghans. Outside of London, only Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
has a population of Afghans in the thousands. According to the 2001 Census, the single largest Afghan community in the UK was West Southall
Southall
Southall is a large suburban district of west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Yeading, Hayes, Hanwell, Heston, Hounslow, Greenford and Northolt...
where 1,121 Afghan born people and many more of Afghan descent live. The locations with the least Afghans are Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, which as sub divisions are estimated to have no greater than 100 Afghan residents each.
Ethnicity and religion
One study of Afghan Muslims in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
suggests that the majority are of Pashtun ancestry. Overall, there are thought to be up to 100,000 Pashtuns in the UK, forming the largest community of Pashtuns in the West, though not all are of Afghan origin.
There are language divisions between these different ethnic groups, as most Pashtuns
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
speak Pashto while Tajiks and Hazaras speak Dari
Dari (Eastern Persian)
Dari or Fārsī-ye Darī in historical terms refers to the Persian court language of the Sassanids. In contemporary usage, the term refers to the dialects of modern Persian language spoken in Afghanistan, and hence known as Afghan Persian in some Western sources. It is the term officially recognized...
. Afghans in the UK are mainly Muslim, most of which are Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
although there is a significant number of Shi'a.