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Israelite Origins of Pathan/Pashtun Tribes

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Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

Synonyms

Afghan claimants of Israelite descent; Traditions of Israelite descent among the Afghans

Definition

Tradition of descent from the lost tribes of Israel among the Pashtuns/Pakhtuns/Pathans and their response to the academic efforts to study the tradition and the efforts of Jewish organizations to reach out to them.

Introduction

Traditions of Israelite descent among certain tribes of the Pathans or Pashtuns or Pakhtuns make a section of their population one of the four such Muslim groups in South Asia that have traced their descent from the ten lost tribes of Israel. However, a rapid erosion of the tradition seems to be taking place as reflected in the ignorance of it in the new generation of Pathans, particularly in their diaspora. Although the Pathan tradition of Israelite descent finds mention in a number of texts, written by Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scholars alike, from the tenth century to the present day, they often tend to look at any academic effort to confirm the...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of History and Civilization, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, UP, India

    Navras Jaat Aafreedi

Authors
  1. Navras Jaat Aafreedi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Navras Jaat Aafreedi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pomona College Religious Studies, Claremont, CA, USA

    Zayn R. Kassam

  2. Rollins College Jewish Studies Program, Winter Park, FL, USA

    Yudit Kornberg Greenberg

  3. World Zoroastrian Organization, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Jehan Bagli

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Aafreedi, N.J. (2018). Israelite Origins of Pathan/Pashtun Tribes. In: Kassam, Z.R., Greenberg, Y.K., Bagli, J. (eds) Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1267-3_913

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