What Religion Is Hassan In The Kite Runner?

Hassan is a loyal and protective servant to the Amir. He is illiterate and cannot read the Koran. Hassan is a Shia Muslim, from Afghanistan. He serves as the household servant to Assef, who is a Sunni Muslim, and Hassan believes that the Sunnis are bad people and are not true Muslims. He has been able to keep this concealed from Assef up until chapter 21 where Amir confronts him about it. The Amir, despite being a Sunni, takes great care of Hassan, who is a Hazara. This shows that the Amir may be different than his father but he still cares for the Hazara people. In chapter 16 when Hassan’s mother dies in the hospital, his father wants him to bury her however Hassan refuses because he believes that a non-Muslim should do it. He asks the Amir if they can do it together and he agrees. This shows how close they have gotten even though they were two different religions with two different beliefs.