Sayed Kayan or Sayed of Kayan is a position of leadership amongst the Ismaili community in Afghanistan. The Ismaili community in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
is led by a family of ''
Sayed
''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhammad' ...
''s (descendants of the Islamic prophet Mohammed) hailing from the village of Kayan.
Family History and Leadership
The family of Sayed Kayan has served as the representative of the Ismailia Iamam in Afghanistan for over last two centuries.
Among the notable figures to hold the title of Sayed Kayan:
* Sayed Nader Shah: Sayed Nader Shah Kayani was a well-known tribal elder, scholar and philosopher in Afghanistan. According to some reports, he has written over 50 religious books, some of them has officially been published and distributed including Payam-e-Shamal and Andarz Haye Payambar.
After his death, the title was passed on to his eldest son, Sayed Shah Naser Naderi.
* Sayed Shah Naser Naderi: He was first appointed to lead the Afghanistan Ismailis after the death of his father Sayed Kayan. After few months or years, he left Afghanistan and appointed his younger brother Sayed Mansoor Naderi to lead the Ismailis in Afghanistan.
* Sayed Mansoor Naderi: He played a significant role in leading Afghan Ismaili after his father Sayed Nader Shah Kayani, known as Sayed Kayan. He had over 12,000 armed forces in 1990s that was controlling several Northeastern provinces including Baghlan, Samangan, Kunduz and Parts of Balkh province of Afghanistan.
*
Sadat Mansoor Naderi
Sayed Sadat Mansoor Naderi ( prs, سید سعادت منصور نادری) (born 3 March 1977) is an entrepreneur and politician. He was Afghanistan's State Minister of Peace from 2020 to 2021 and Minister of Urban Development and Housing from 2 ...
: He is the son of Sayed Mansoor Naderi who has been educated in the west. He has lived and studied in the United Kingdom. In 2015, he was appointed as the Minister of Urban Development and Housing of Afghanistan by
Ashraf Ghani
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban.
Born in L ...
and in 2020 he was selected as the State Minister of Peace by both leaders in Afghanistan,
Abdullah Abdullah
Abdullah Abdullah ( Dari/ ps, عبدالله عبدالله, ; born as Abdullah on 5 September 1960) is an Afghan politician who led the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) from May 2020 until August 2021, when the Afghan government w ...
and
Ashraf Ghani
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban.
Born in L ...
.
*
Farkhunda Zahra Naderi
Farkhunda Zahra Naderi ( prs, فرخنده زهرا نادری) is an Afghan politician and women's right activist. She is a member of the Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) chaired by Abdullah Abdullah. Previously she ...
: She is the daughter of Sayed Mansoor Naderi who played a key role during the democracy era in Afghanistan. She was elected as member of parliament from Kabul in 2010 and then served as a senior advisor to
Ashraf Ghani
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban.
Born in L ...
in 2015. She received the N-Peace award in 2012 which was organized by the United Nations.
*
Sayed Jafar Naderi
Sayed Jafar Naderi (born 1965) is an ethnic Hazara- Ismaili who controlled Baghlan Province of Afghanistan during the early 1990s.Sayed Mansoor Naderi who is also known as the
Warlord of Kayan
A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
. He was the leading Ismaili commander in 1990s.
* Sayed Humayoon Naderi Sayed Naser's eldest son.
* Sayed Haroon Naderi the eldest grandson of Sayed Naser.
The Ismailis mostly live in different provinces of Afghanistan including Kabul, Parwan, Maidan Wardak, Bamyan, Baghlan, and Samangan, Balkh, Kunduz, Takhar, and Badakhshan.