Beyond Borders - Colonial Encounters & Challenges of Religious Minorities between Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Iran (19th–Early 20th Centuries)

This conference examines the history of non-Muslim communities in Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It explores how shifting political contexts affected and transformed these communities, and how they interacted across religious boundaries within predominantly Muslim societies. In particular, it investigates the social, economic, and cross-border practices of Jews, Armenians, Hindus, and Sikhs in local, regional, and global contexts, offering a more nuanced understanding of pluralism in modern Central Asian, Afghan, and Iranian history.