Farsiwan
The
Parsiwan, or simply
Parsi (Persian), are found mainly in western
Afghanistan and are generally distinguished from the
Tajiks by their adherence to
Shia Islam as opposed to the Sunni sect favored by the Tajiks. Unlike the
Hazaras who are also Shia, the Farsiwan do not show any significant traces of
Turkic-
Mongol ancestry. In essence, they are basically identical to the
Persians of
Iran due to their various similarities. The only distinction is that the Farsiwan sometimes speak a dialect more akin to the
Dari-dialect of the
Persian language as opposed to standard
Parsi-dialect, but this is not always the case.