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Monday, August 20, 2012

Pashtuns of Afghanistan and Pakistan-The Lost Israeli Tribes

Nadene Goldfoot
Pakistan is made up of 172,800,000 people who are 97% Muslim of Sunni as the main sect with Shi'a and the main fiqh (Islamic law (fiqh) or how they follow the laws of Sharia being Hanafi.    Pakistan is an Islamic state.

Afghanistan has a smaller population of 28,395, 716 who are 99% Muslim with the same makeup but including the Jafari fiqh as well.  This is as of wikipedia's 2011 information.

The Pashtun Tribe found in Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of India claim to be of the Lost Tribes of Israel.  It is said that the exile was caused by the Assyrians in 732 BCE.    It was first thought that they were either killed or assimilated into the Assyrian populace.  Evidence is very powerful through cultural behaviors and found parchments saying that the Pashtuns could be them, coming mainly from the tribe of Ephraim..    Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and the second largest ethnic group in Pakistan.  There are over 40 million in the world with over 10 million in Afghanistan, and over 30 million in Pakistan.

"There are also discussions in the Talmud as to whether the Ten Lost Tribes will eventually be reunited with the Tribe of Judah, that is, with the Jewish people."

One of many interesting writers on the subject is Mirza Ghulam Ahmad,who is not considered a Muslim , nor is his so called sect a Muslim, but is said to be the  founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,  who wrote a book named Jesus in India where he argued that Afghans, Pashtuns and Pathans are descendants from the Tribes of Israel.  Another is Issachar Katzir, Afghanistan Jew living now in Israel who wrote the book, "Lost Tribes from Assyria" by A. Avihail and A. Brin, 1978, in Hebrew.  "This is an introduction to the world of the ' lost tribes' of those Jews who were taken into exile at the fall of the First Temple. Rabbi Avichail is the world's foremost expert on the whole subject of crypto- Jews and has traveled throughout the world seeking to identify such communities"  It's a very expensive book to buy.  Hopefully one day it will come out in English.

Evidently Jewish children of Afghanistani parents heard the stories about the 10 Tribes that were lost who still "kept Jewish customs and names,  who had preserved their forefathers' tradition, bearing arms and awaiting the day of redemption. "  The Pathans lived on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and called themselves the sons of Israel, even though they live as Muslims and are known for their physical strength.  They are tall, light-coloured and handsome, good soldiers, diligent, intelligent and are known as wonderful hosts.  Two million of them even live as beduins.  They look very much like the Jews.

One misconception people may have about the people of Afghanistan is that all the men belong to the Taliban terrorists.  This was not true in 2010 as one of the largest Pashun tribes, the Shinwari with 400,000 people  had declared war on the Taliban citing that they were robbing them and taking their sons to fight.  Their tribe is as large as our city of Portland, Oregon.

Update 7/26/15  The Taliban have killed 35,000 Pashtuns who are fighting against them.  (Resource-Pashtun contact in Pakistan).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiqh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Lost_Tribes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_Pashtun_descent_from_Israelites
http://www.dangoor.com/74069.html  A Must Read Excellent information
http://www.amazon.com/lost-tribes-Assyria-Eliyahu-Avichail/dp/B0007B0ENK/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345488584&sr=1-2&keywords=Lost+Tribe+From+Assyria
http://mydailyclarity.com/2010/01/pashtun-taliban-%E2%80%93-the-lost-tribe-of-israel/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/17/israel-lost-tribes-pashtun
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/world/asia/28tribe.html?pagewanted=all
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Muslim-majority_countries
Updated 3/15/14 on information about Mirza Ghulam

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