So if I understand correctly, Pashtuns converted from Judaism=>Buddhism=>Islam but racially speaking they are Arabs?
Could you elaborate on the laws. How different (Major ones) are Pashtun laws from Islamic laws that other Pakistanis may be following?
Racially speaking they are semetic people - descendants of ancient Israelites who migrated to the East.
I dont know much about Pashtun code of honour - but it is really harsh.
For example, to accuse someone of adultery you need 4 witnesses in Islam and even if you are accused you can be forgiven if you repent. In Pashtun law you dont need evidence and the punishment is stoned to death. Pashtun law has been interpreted to be Islamic law by many Westerners - the common misconception that Shariah law is very harsh, stems from the interpretation of Pashtun law being Islamic law. Even the Islamic laws in Pakistan are all heavily influenced by Pashtun law.
Let me quote this from wikipedia.
Pashtunwali - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
native Pashtun tribes, often described as fiercely independent people,
[9] have inhabited the
Pashtunistan region (eastern
Afghanistan and north western
Pakistan) since at least the 1st millennium BC.
[10][11][12] During that period, much of their mountainous territory has remained outside government rule or control. This is perhaps the main reason why
indigenous Pashtuns still follow Pashtunwali, which is a basic common law of the land or "code of life".
"Although it pre-dates Islam the two have become inseparable for many Pashtuns, even though in practice Pashtunwali codes often contradict the Qur’an. Such is the case with the Pashtun practice of dividing inheritances equally among sons, even though the Quran clearly states that women are to receive a share."
[13][
not in citation given]
Pashtunwali rules are accepted in Afghanistan and Pakistan (mainly in and around the
Pashtunistan region), and also in some Pashtun communities around the world. Some non-Pashtun Afghans and others have also adopted its
ideology or practices for their own benefit. Conversely, many urbanized Pashtuns tend to ignore the rules of Pashtunwali. Passed on from generation to generation, Pashtunwali guides both individual and communal conduct. Practiced by the majority of Pashtuns, it helps to promote
Pashtunization.
[4]
Ideal Pukhtun behaviour approximates the features Pukhtunwali, the code of the Pukhtuns, which includes the following traditional features: courage (tora), revenge (badal), hospitality (melmestia), generosity to a defeated...
[14]
— Maliha Zulfacar, 1999
Pashtuns embrace an ancient traditional,
spiritual, and
communal identity tied to a set of moral codes and rules of behaviour, as well as to a record of
history spanning some seventeen hundred years.
[15]
Pashtunwali promotes
self-respect,
independence,
justice,
hospitality,
love,
forgiveness,
revenge and
tolerance toward all (especially to strangers or guests).
[16] It is considered to be the personal responsibility of every Pashtun to discover and rediscover Pashtunwali's essence and meaning.
It is the way of the
Pathans. We have
melmestia, being a good host,
nanawatai, giving asylum, and
badal, vengeance. Pashtuns live by these things.
[17]
— Abdur, A character in Morgen's War
The Pathan tribes are always engaged in private or public war. Every man is a warrior, a politician and a theologian. Every large house is a real feudal fortress....Every family cultivates its vendetta; every clan, its feud.... Nothing is ever forgotten and very few debts are left unpaid.
Winston Churchill (My Early Life - Chapter 11: The Mahmund Valley)