Pashtun Honor Code

It looked like a walk through Bethlehem. Mud houses, dirt floors, animals, save for the house in the middle made of marble. It is a classic hyper-conservative Peshawar village where dance and films are a big sin, yet violence and arrest are huge honors.  My friend had invited me out to her village for a gathering with all her cousins. They were the most conservative Muslims I’ve met as of yet. It’s a miracle she’s allowed to go to university as most of her relatives attested that it was a huge sin, yet after much convincing, her father finally relented. We did not do much besides sit around and talk as we couldn’t wander outside because there might be men (despite us being completely covered by the Afghan burqa, which covers even your eyes), and most forms of entertainment were considered a sin. Their only games were dressing up as a bride (pictured above) and some trick game involving bouncing a ball and picking up pieces of stones before catching it again.

When we went next door to visit the aunties and spend one night there, I could tell the classic village woman black magic was present. Village women are notorious for being involved in the mystical, dark spiritual side of Islam that centers around their inner jealousy and desire for some power of their own as they live under such oppression. The night we spent in the aunties’ house, I had a nightmare- I had never had a nightmare since I came to faith- in which a puppet possessed by all kinds of evil spirits was attacking me gruesomely, gnawing off parts of my arm and head, warning me not to preach the Injeel (gospel) saying they were attacking me for holding onto the gospel. When I woke up, it instantly reminded me of when the university management was playing fear tactics to discourage me since they knew they had no authority to harm me or get rid of me since I was backed by a higher power (the U.S. embassy). It reminded me of how, since the Lord is our banner, the spiritual forces of evil dominant in the Peshawar villages were playing fear tactics as they can neither harm me nor get rid of me since a higher authority backs me.
I wasn’t fazed, merely sorrowful, those villagers in darkness who were not open to anything I had to say about the gospel. Pray for the closed and locked down hearts in the spiritual strongholds of darkness to be flooded with the light of Christ. They didn’t want salvation; they were deep in darkness. Pray for the Lord to intercept them and save them from the path of destruction.

I wrote a comparative study in Pashto on Pakhtunwali (Pashtun honor code) and the gospel's message to fish for open hearts. Many traditions in Pakhtunwali are shockingly identical to the gospel. So, the research paper shows the gospel in the traditions and makes a bridge for those who think that being Pashtun means being Muslim to see that life under the teachings of Jesus fulfills their idea of an honorable Pashtun. Many of my classmates gladly received it, only one or two shying away at the mention of the gospel. Pray their hearts are opened as they read the verses in the light of their own culture.

Thank you all for praying!