Pashtunwali and Islam: The Conflict of Authority in the Traditional Pashtun Society

Abstract

This paper aims to analyse the root causes of the conflict of authority in the Pashtun tribal society in historical perspectives. The autonomous and independent Pashtun tribes traditionally follow the pashtunwali which is their social code of conduct and customary law to resolve their social and legal matters. It is observed that there is not a single form of pashtunwali; rather it is heterogeneous in its form and has a variety of manifestation in various Pashtun tribes. The Pashtun perception of Islam is deeply embedded in their social code of conduct: pashtunwali. My argument is that Pashtun’s experience of Islam is unique in many ways from the rest of their neighbouring regions. They had never been the part of any central rule, thus remained autonomous, away from the central commanding authority. Their socio-political system functioned through the tribal structure while their religious perception was deeply rooted in their culture through which they manifested their religious ideology. Thus, they enjoyed to practise religious precepts and rituals as part of their cultural norms. They were practising Muslims; but did not exercise Islam on judicial basis of the society. However, the desire of Afghan Pashtun rulers to establish a central government brought a significant change in the authority patterns of Afghan society. The Afghan rulers consolidated their power through the extensive use of religion which ultimately brought the religious class into the politics on both central and tribal levels. Since then, conflict of authority emerged extensively between central government, tribal chiefs and religious elites. Their conflict can be observed through the medium of Shari‘a and pashtunwali’s discourse. We have illustrated the norms of pashtunwali in order to understand the authority apparatus of the Pashtuns. In this context, it is matter of paramount importance to analyze that how Pashtuns experience Islam and how their religious and cultural ideologies and norms are harmonious and conflicting with each other. The present paper aims to analyse the relationship of pashtunwali and Islam in the traditional Pashtun society during the period of Afghan Confederacy (r. 1747-1880) prior to the foundation of National State of Afghanistan in 1880.