Afghan British

Afghan British people, also Afghanistani Britons or British Afghans are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whos ethnic origins lie fully or partially in the Middle Eastern nation of Afghanistan.

History
First Immigrants
Wars and Refugees
Various wars in Afghanistan have lead to thousands of refugees and assylum seekers coming to the UK.

Stansted Hijacking
On 6 February 2000 an Ariana Afghan Airlines Boeing 727 with 156 people on board was hijacked by Afghans and flown to Stansted Airport. After a four-day stand-off the hostages on board were safely freed and the incident ended peacefully. It later emerged that the motive behind the hijack was to gain asylum in the UK, sparking debate about immigration into the country (it was even orchestrated jointly by the hijackers, their families and some passengers). A large number of passengers on board the plane also applied for asylum. In July 2004, it was reported that a number of hijackers had won their bid for asylum in the UK, their convictions for hijacking having been quashed for misdirection of the jury in 2003.

Prior to 9/11 and Discrimination
Demographics
Population
According to the 2001 UK Census, there were 14,875 Afghan born people reciding in the UK, with The Guardian estimating the number of ethnic Afghans in the UK regardless of birth place at over 40,000. However in 2006 there were estimated to be over 200,000 ethnic Afghans in total in the UK (also known as Pashtuns, who also have a strong presence in North Western Pakistan), within this there were an estimated 75,000 native Northern Pashto speakers.

Population Spread
The Afghan British population is likely to be one of the most compact ethnic minority groups in the UK, with around 73% of all Afghan British people residing in London, with the majority concentrated in the Western Boroughs. Outside of London, only Birmingham has a population of Afghans in its thousands. Accdording 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 Afghans residents each.

Ethnicity
Afghanistan is home to many ethnicities, and this is reflected in the Afghan British population, which is estimated to be 42% Pashtun, 27% Tajik, 9% Hazara, 9% Uzbek, 4% Aimak, 3% Turkmen, 2% Baloch and 4% Other.

Religion
Over 99% of Afghan British people are Muslim (with around 85% Sunni Muslim and 14% Shi'a Muslim), the remaining 1% is made up Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Roman Catholics and Jews. See also: Islam in the United Kingdom.

Afghan British Relations
Afghanistan and the UK have a long and complex history, up until 1919, Afghanistan was under British rule, however unlike most former British colonies, Afghanistan is not a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The UK has proved a popular destination for Afghan assylum seekers from the country's various war, some of which were actually between Afghanistan and the United Kingdom. See also: Anglo-Afghan Wars.

Notable individuals
* Aamir Mehmond, Cricketer
* Faryadi Sarwar Zardad, Former warlord

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