Jamiat Islami

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Jamiat-e-Islami, is an Islamist political party in Afghanistan along the line of the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt. It is also known as just Jamiat. It means "Islamic society" and is the oldest Islamic political party in Afghanistan. It had a wide base of support amongst various ethnic groups in Afghanistan, though now that support has been reduced. It is often perceived to be based on a single ethnic group of Tajiks, but this is not the case. In fact, its major commander Mullah Naqeeb in Kandahar is a Pashtoon. Mullah Naqeeb was disarmed by the Taliban, at the time he commanded a 2500 strong force. Jamiat joined the UIFSA also referred to as Northern Alliance opposed to the Taliban led by Burhanuddin Rabbani. Jamiat is known as the largest political party in the democratically elected parliament of Afghanistan. The party leadership and followers have made many political mistakes in the past which have led to several downfalls and defeats, but nevertheless it is still a strong force in the Afghan politics.

Jamiat has had continued support from the people and refugees of Afghanistan, even during the hard times of Pakistani-backed Taliban control of much of Afghanistan. Jamiat is a moderate progressive party that has potential to make some positive changes to the Afghan community.