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How did the Nuristani region receive its name?
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The region now known as Nuristan was historically called Kafiristan, which translates to "Land of the Kafir" (or "Land of the Infidels").12
In the 1890s, the Afghan emir Abdur Rahman Khan conquered the region and forcibly converted its inhabitants from their local polytheistic religion to Islam. Following this conversion, he renamed the territory Nuristan, which means "Land of the Enlightened" or "Land of Light".12