The Tehran EightRuttig, T. ''Islamists, Leftists – and a Void in the Center. Afghanistan's Political Parties and where they come from (1902–2006)''. "The first current was mainly represented in the 1980s by the Sunni Mujahedin tanzim based in Pakistan, the ‘Peshawar Seven’, and the Shia Mujahedin groups based in Iran, the ‘Tehran Eight’. The second current mainly consisted of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), with its two major factions Khalq and Parcham, and the ‘Maoist’ groups that emerged from the demokratik-e newin, or ‘new democracy’, commonly referred to as shola’i. For the third current, there are mainly Afghan Millat with at least three different factions on the Pashtun(ist) side and Settam-e Melli on the Tajik side, with some Uzbek and Turkmen elements, and currently Sazman-e Inqilabi-ye Zahmatkashan-e Afghanistan (SAZA), or ‘Revolutionary Organisation of Afghanistan’s Toilers’ and the new Hezb-e Kangara-ye Melli, or ‘National Congress Party’. There is no current Hazara equivalent to them since Hezb-e Wahdat has absorbed the Hazara demand for religious, political and judicial equality. /ref> was a political union of
Shi'a
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
**Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pash ...
Mujahideen
''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term t ...
Soviet–Afghan War
The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...
. They were supported by
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, hence the name Tehran Eight.
The Tehran Eight were predominantly active in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, and fought against the
PDPA PDPA can refer to:
*People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan – a communist party
* Personal Data Protection Act 2012 – a Singapore law governing the use and protection of personal data
*Professional Dart Players Association – a trade associ ...
government and the supporting
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
troops. It formed the second largest resistance force in the war, after the main Afghan mujahideen (also called the "Peshawar Seven"), which was a Sunni alliance.
The Tehran Eight was formed in December 1987 with the direct participation of the Iranian state, after years of inter-factional struggle in the Hazarajat. In 1989, they were united into one party,
Hezb-e Wahdat
Hezb-e Wahdat-e Islami Afghanistan ( prs, حزب وحدت اسلامی افغانستان, "the Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan"), shortened to Hezbe Wahdat (, "the Unity Party"), is an Afghan political party founded in 1989. Like most contem ...
The following Afghan organizations composed the Tehran Eight, all headquartered in Iran:
* Hezbollah Afghanistan – led by Qari Ahmad Ali Ghordarwazi
* Sazman-i Nasr (also known as Islamic Victory Organization of Afghanistan) – led by Muhammad Hussein Sadiqi, Abdul Ali Mazari and Shaykh Shafak.
* Corps of Islamic Revolution Guardians of Afghanistan – led by Sheikh Akbari, Mohsen Rezai and Sapahe Pasdaran.
* The Islamic Movement of Afghanistan movement – led by
Muhammad Asif Muhsini
Muhammad Asif Mohseni ( fa, آیتالله العظمی محمد آصف محسنی; 26 April 1935 – 5 August 2019) was an Afghan Twelver Shi'a Marja', widely considered to be the most powerful in Afghanistan.Mackey, Robert. "Afghan Husban ...
and Shaykh Sadeq Hashemi. IMOA, a member of the Tehran Eight, joined the
Hezb-e Wahdat
Hezb-e Wahdat-e Islami Afghanistan ( prs, حزب وحدت اسلامی افغانستان, "the Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan"), shortened to Hezbe Wahdat (, "the Unity Party"), is an Afghan political party founded in 1989. Like most contem ...
, which was intended as a united Shiite political front, but soon bolted out of it.
* Revolutionary Council of Islamic Unity of Afghanistan, also known as ''Shura'' party – led by Sayeed Ali Beheshti and Sayeed Djagran.
* Islamic Revolution Movement – led by Nasrullah Mansur.
* Union of Islamic Fighters – led by Mosbah Sade, a Hazara leader of Bamian.
* Raad ("Thunder") party – led by Shaykh Sayeed Abdul Jaffar Nadiri, Muhammad Hazai Sayeed Ismail Balkhee.
See Also
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Hazaras
The Hazaras ( fa, , Həzārə; haz, , Āzərə) are an ethnic group and the principal component of the population of Afghanistan, native to, and primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan and generally scat ...