Islam and Pakistan: Post-Colonial Era
Naafey Sardar
15020567
POL 3212: RRR; Islamic Movements since 1800
Ali Usman Qasmi
Islam & Pakistan: Post-Colonial Era Soon after the inception of Pakistan as an independent country in 1947, the revival of squabbles between the religious and the secular led to a sharp cleavage between State and Religion. In other words, the dispute was essentially between the modernizing educated elite and the Islamist groups which includethe Ulema as well. First, we need to know what we mean by ‘modernizing educated elite and Ulema’. Terms such as material and secular were attributed to the modernizing elite while all that was holy and spiritual was characterized to the Ulema. The various modern Islamic scholars are also a part of the ‘modernizing elite’. This paper shall deal with the conflict between the Islamist groups and the modernizing elite throughout the course of Pakistan’s history. We shall also discuss why the educated elite lost out ground to the Ulema: as a consequent of which their influence declined and the religious ideals held by the Ulema became more predominant. The Ulema also changed the mentality of the people from a secular mindset to a conservative one. Light shall also be shed upon the role played by the democratic and military regimes in all the cold war politics between the two groups. This paper is divided into two parts. The first part discusses the religious ideals held by the power elite from the time period of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and to General Ayub Khan. The second part deals with the Islamic policies adopted during the intensely Islamized regimes of Bhutto and Zia. Lastly, we shall examine the regime of Musharraf so that we can get a clear picture regarding the present dynamics of conflict between the two groups and draw out a conclusion. The tendency of Pakistan’s establishment (i.e. Army, state institutions) to incline more towards Islam and its forces with the aim of weakening progressive politics was quite evident from the start. The
15020567
POL 3212: RRR; Islamic Movements since 1800
Ali Usman Qasmi
Islam & Pakistan: Post-Colonial Era Soon after the inception of Pakistan as an independent country in 1947, the revival of squabbles between the religious and the secular led to a sharp cleavage between State and Religion. In other words, the dispute was essentially between the modernizing educated elite and the Islamist groups which includethe Ulema as well. First, we need to know what we mean by ‘modernizing educated elite and Ulema’. Terms such as material and secular were attributed to the modernizing elite while all that was holy and spiritual was characterized to the Ulema. The various modern Islamic scholars are also a part of the ‘modernizing elite’. This paper shall deal with the conflict between the Islamist groups and the modernizing elite throughout the course of Pakistan’s history. We shall also discuss why the educated elite lost out ground to the Ulema: as a consequent of which their influence declined and the religious ideals held by the Ulema became more predominant. The Ulema also changed the mentality of the people from a secular mindset to a conservative one. Light shall also be shed upon the role played by the democratic and military regimes in all the cold war politics between the two groups. This paper is divided into two parts. The first part discusses the religious ideals held by the power elite from the time period of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and to General Ayub Khan. The second part deals with the Islamic policies adopted during the intensely Islamized regimes of Bhutto and Zia. Lastly, we shall examine the regime of Musharraf so that we can get a clear picture regarding the present dynamics of conflict between the two groups and draw out a conclusion. The tendency of Pakistan’s establishment (i.e. Army, state institutions) to incline more towards Islam and its forces with the aim of weakening progressive politics was quite evident from the start. The
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