The Pakistan-Afghan Borderland: Pashtun Tribes Descending into Extremism

In this major study of Pashtun tribal hybridization shifting toward Salafism Islam, Dr. Idris argues that central to the understanding of the current militancy and extremism in Pakistan and Afghanistan is the recognition of the methods utilized as the Salafists made inroads into Pashtun society along with the impact of Salafists on the tribal, social, political, religious, cultural, and even the daily lives of the Pashtuns. This study utilizes a series of case studies from a small village in the Pashtun border region to demonstrate that the Pashtun tribes in the Pakistan-Afghanistan borderland are in the process of shifting toward Salafism as their traditional Hanafi Sufism beliefs are discarded. The author argues that this shift has been undermining the traditional tribal and religious structure to create much of the instability that fuels conflict in the region.

"The borderlands between Afghanistan and Pakistan where the Pashtun tribes live remain one of the most volatile places in the world. Nothing is more important, therefore, than to understand the dynamic in that society between religious and tribal leadership. Khan Idris' book could not be more timely as it focuses on precisely this area and this problem. It is a book that must be read by everyone wanting peace and stability for the peoples of that region."
- Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, School of International Service, American University

"An authentic, penetrating view of the gravitation of a traditional Pashtun tribe towards an intolerant branch of Islam, Salafism. This study greatly aids our appreciation of an on-going religious, social, and political transformation in the borderlands that carries the potential to spread to the rest of Pakistan and radically alter its regional and international posture."
- Marvin Weinbaum, Middle East Institute, Washington, DC