ABSTRACT
To analyse the political use of Islam in Afghanistan from 1880 till today, it is first necessary to give a sketch of the political and religious situation in the country during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The ethnically heterogeneous popUlation and the delicate balance between tribes and state were two important aspects but, in turn, both the political and religious situations in the country during the nineteenth century were strongly affected by the country's international (Le. geopolitical) position as a buffer state between the colonial empires of Tsarist Russia and British India.
