The Taliban have apparently been fighting for the institutionalization of the Muslim Sharia law, imposing extremist views on the population. These militants and religious fundamentalists forced ‘their ultraconservative brand of Islam in and around the Swat.’ In the process, they have also been ‘displacing centuries-old traditions,’ as claimed by the Pashtuns.

One of the aspects that have been victimized by the ‘Talibanization’ in Pakistan’s northwest is ethnic Pashtun culture. ‘Pashtun literature used to be full of romance and praise for the beauty of nature. Now it reflects the death and explosions that have filled the lives of Pakistanis.’

The very social fabric of the Pashtuns’ centuries-old culture has been frayed by the Taliban to near–destruction – Pashtun poetry, dancing, even community interaction centers.

‘The Pashtuns, an ethnic group concentrated in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan, live by a revered code of conduct called Pashtunwali. Society has traditionally centered around community centers called hujras, where assemblies of elders and community leaders called jirgas are an important part of the culture.’

Pashtun music has also been victimized, with music stores being attacked. “Music functions are integral parts of Pashtun marriage ceremonies, and even Islam allows the beating of tambourine in marriage functions, but all these things are rapidly becoming a tale of the past in face of Talibanization,” says Dr. Raj Wali Shah Khattak, former director of the Pashto Academy at the University of Peshawar.

According to Said Alam Mehsud, a leader of the Aman Tehreek, a peace movement recently launched in Peshawar, “This is an attempt to Arabize the Pashtun society by attacking their culture and their highly revered institutions.”

Image

Via The Christian Science Monitor