1. Historical Overview

Afghanistan is a Sunni Islamic state whose indigenous population mixed with Iranian, Arab, and Mongol conquerors. Western Afghanistan is part of the province of Khurasan. In Hebrew gaonic sources, it described as a penal colony to which convicts were exiled. The large Jewish settlement in Khurasan exasperated Caliph ʿUmar II (r. 717–720), who wanted to limit the construction of synagogues. T…