Jamayat-E-Islami (also rendered as
Jamiat-e-Islami,
Jamiati Islami) (
Persian: جمعیت اسلامی افغانستان), is a Muslim political party in
Afghanistan. Jamiat-e Islami means "Islamic society" in the
Persian and is also known as just
Jamiat for short. The majority of the party, the oldest Muslim political party in Afghanistan, are ethnic
Tajiks of northern and western Afghanistan. It has a
communitarian ideology based on
Islamic law but is also considered moderately progressive. During the
Soviet war in Afghanistan and the following
civil war in Afghanistan, Jamiat-e Islami was one of the most powerful of the
mujahideen groups. Former President of Afghanistan
Burhanuddin Rabbani led the party from 1968 to 2011.