On Thursday 12 April 2018 the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS); launched its research paper entitled “Typology of Religious trends in Contemporary Herat”. 
Mr. Abdulkabir Salihi the author of the paper talked about the historical background and the present status of various Islamic schools, including the school of political Islam in Herat. Analyzing different characteristics of these sects, including their potential for disseminating extremism, he hoped that a new generation of intellectuals would rethink the principle of Islam as a peaceful and progressive religion. 
Two other speakers also spoke about the work of Mr. Salehi. 
Mr.Abdul Hafiz Mansour, Member of Parliament, emphasized on the significance of this research paper as saying that “such studies are helpful for progressive reform in religion and the promotion of wisdom in the society and also spoke about the different aspects of the research paper, 
Mr. Mohammad Moheq, Religious scholar, appreciated the study calling it a valuable work. He suggested that conducting research studies on typologies of various schools of thoughts is a must and scholars should work on it seriously. He praised Mr. Salehi for following a clear method in his research paper. 
The event was attended by civil society, academia, and media agencies. The event concluded with a Q&A session.