| Publication |
2011.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article examines the interethnic politics in Pukhtunkhwa between the foreign "Wahhabis" (formerly known as the "Hindustani Fanatics" in India) and the local Pushtun tribesmen in the pre-9/11 era. It seeks to explain the inability of the early Wahhabis to coopt the Pushtuns with their Muslim "umma" narrative, as they sought to wage "jihad" against India and beyond from strongholds in Pukhtunkhwa. It highlights the persistence of the Wahhabis for almost two centuries in trying to "convert" the Pushtun to the sahih (correct) path of Islam (their version); the cultural roadblocks that ensured limited Wahhabi success in cleansing what they viewed as a jahiliyya society of mushriqun (deviant) Muslims who seemed to prefer their tribal identity over a religious one. It identifies the long-term repercussions of the Soviet's genocidal campaign (1979-1989) that led to the destruction of the traditional social fabric in Afghanistan's Pukhtunkhwa belt: the provision of an ideological opportunity for the Wahhabists to promote their Muwahiddun (unitarian) version of Islam through generous welfare and educational funding programs. It examines how the arrival of Arab "jihadis" in Peshawar, Pakistan in the 1980s marked the beginning of an indoctrination and co-option process that continues to this day, to the detriment of the Pushtuns' unique culture, language, and religious traditions/practices.
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