Qawm Explained

Qawm is a basic social unit of Afghanistan that is based on kinship, residence, or occupation.^[1] It is sometimes translated as "tribe", but the qawm relationship may cross tribal or even ethnic boundaries.

The protean word qawm is of Arabic origin, and is used in Afghanistan to refer to any form of solidarity. Afghans identify themselves by qawm, rather than by tribe or nationality. Qawm identity has added to the challenge of creating a national identity in Afghanistan. A qawm is typically governed by a jirga or shura (a council or assembly of elder males).

Islamic background of the term

According to Youshaa Patel, in the Muslim world Qawm is a heterogeneous term denoting network of social relationships representing a people, nation, community or group. It is one of Arabic terms used to collectively refer to Muslims alongside umma, milla, dīn, qabīla, jamāʿa, and shaʿb.^[2] In the Quran, it often has ethno-national, moral, and religious connotations, such as in the "qawm of Noah," "corrupt qawm," and "qawm of unbelievers."

See also

• Ethnic groups in Afghanistan

Further reading

• Goodson, Larry. Afghanistan's Endless War. University of Washington Press, 2001.
• Rubin, Barnett R. "The Fragmentation of Afghanistan". Yale University Press, 1995 (Second Edition in 2002)
• Canfield, Robert Leroy. Faction and Conversion in a Plural Society: Religious Alignments in the Hindu Kush. United States, University of Michigan Press, 1973.
• Simulating Social Complexity: A Handbook. Germany, Springer International Publishing, 2017.
• Abdelhalim, Julten. Indian Muslims and Citizenship: Spaces for Jihād in Everyday Life. United Kingdom, Taylor & Francis, 2015.
• Belmekki, Belkacem. Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan and the Muslim Cause in British India. Germany, De Gruyter, 2020.
• Sevea, Iqbal Singh. The Political Philosophy of Muhammad Iqbal: Islam and Nationalism in Late Colonial India. United Kingdom, Cambridge University Press, 2012.
• Scales. The Fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba: Berbers and Andalusis in Conflict. Netherlands, Brill, 2024.
• Beyond Sovereignty: Britain, Empire and Transnationalism, C.1880-1950. United Kingdom, Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2007.
• Key Concepts in Modern Indian Studies. India, NYU Press, 2015.
• Jalajel, David Solomon. Women and Leadership in Islamic Law: A Critical Analysis of Classical Legal Texts. United Kingdom, Taylor & Francis, 2016.
• Fletcher, Richard A.. The Quest for El Cid. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 1991.
• Zemmin, Florian. Modernity in Islamic Tradition: The Concept of ‘Society’ in the Journal Al-Manar (Cairo, 1898–1940). Germany, De Gruyter, 2018.
• Between Europe and Islam: Shaping Modernity in a Transcultural Space. Austria, Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes, 2000.

External links

• Ethnicity and Tribe in Afghanistan
• Afghan social structure

Notes and References

1. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IBS/is_1_28/ai_82351490 www.findarticles.com
2. Patel . Youshaa . 2018 . "Whoever Imitates a People Becomes One of Them": A Hadith and its Interpreters . Islamic Law and Society . 25 . 4 . 366 . 10.1163/15685195-00254A01 . 0928-9380 . 26571305 . ..Another polyvalent term, qawm signifies a set of social relationships – a people, nation, or community, and even more fundamentally, a collectivity or group. It is one of many Arabic terms that refer to Muslims in collective terms, including umma, milla, dīn, qabīla, jamāʿa, and shaʿb. In the Quran, qawm often has overlapping ethno-national, moral, and religious undertones, as in the “qawm of Noah”, “corrupt qawm,” and “qawm of unbelievers.” ...