Mullah between modernity and tradition
Intro: This New York Times article is being reproduced here because in passing it makes two very important points: 1. Deobandis in the subcontinent have always been allies of Gandhi. 2. India’s favorite myth of having more Muslims than Pakistan is a lie. AKKALKUWA, India — On opposite sides of a dusty road, thousands of Muslim students in this remote farming town are preparing for very different futures. On one side, inside a traditional Islamic seminary, teenage boys … Read entire article »
Filed under: Islamism, secularism
Jinnah, Indian Constituent Assembly and Secular State
This text shows that Jinnah’s 11th August speech was quoted by Indian legislators as well when framing a secular constitution for India. http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1662687/ Therefore it is up to to us to create a secular State. It would no be wrong for me to quote Mr. Jinnah in this connection, whatever, he might have said before Partition. He said: My idea is to have a secular State here. Somebody asked : Religious or secular ? He said: Hindus and Muslim are alike to me. They must have equal opportunities. I am trying to make a common nation for both of us. Why should our Muslim friends who owe allegiance to Mr. Jinnah and whom they revere as I do, think differently in this matter ? I am not prepared to call a single individual … Read entire article »
Filed under: Religion, secularism
Nations within a Nation – The Search for a Pakistani Nation – 2
By Adnan Syed “Indeed, world is ruled by little else but ideas.” — John Maynard Keynes The Two Nation Theory and Inequality in the New State of Pakistan The two nation theory was primarily based on distinctive majority-two-nations within United India. The distinction was cultural as well as religious, where both of these characteristics freely overlapped each other. Given the dominance of religion within the edifice of the Muslim nation, it was inevitable that religion will form a large part in the new nation state that was carved due to the Muslim nation identity. And given a strong tradition of political Islam within the Muslim body, it was inevitable that the very political Islam will find its way through the vague contours of the shifting idea of an Indian Muslim nation … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Egalitarian Pakistan, History, Identity, Islam, Islamism, Pak Tea House, Pakistan, Religion, Rights, secular Pakistan, secularism
Death of Pakistani Secularism Much Exaggerated
By Juan Cole There has been a lot of hand-wringing about religious extremism in Pakistan in the wake of the assassination of Punjab governor Salman Taseer. On Sunday the fundamentalist religious parties held a rally some 40,000 strong in the southern port city of Karachi against repealing Pakistan’s blasphemy law, as the Pakistan People’s Party MP Sherry Rahman proposes. It would be foolish to deny that Pakistan has a problem with religious extremism. But outsiders do not actually understand the country very well and have no sense of scale, so it is hard for them to judge the significance of these events. Here I want to offer five ironies of religious extremism in that country, in an attempt to signal that the story is more complicated and requires more nuance than you … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan, secular Pakistan, secularism
Why are some Secular Pakistanis Afraid to be Identified as Such
By Feroz Khan Pakistanis are not ashamed of being secular but they are afraid of being seen as secular. The reason lies in the question of who made the mullah strong and powerful in Pakistan? It was the so-called western educated Pakistanis, who in hopes of retaining their hold on power repeatedly appeased the religious right. The failure of secularism in Pakistan is the faliure of its liberals, educated classes to define what secularism stands for and this failure paved the way for the religious right’s assendency to power. From Objectives Resolution in 1949 to Z. A. Bhutto constitutionally declaring the Ahmedis as non-Muslims to Pervaiz Musharraf supporting the MMA into power, it was the educated, westernized, liberal Pakistanis who have historically helped the religious right into making Pakistan a theocratic state. … Read entire article »
Filed under: secular Pakistan, secularism, Society
Jinnah And Jefferson : Dreams From Two Founding Fathers
Originally published by Washington Post on the independence day of the US and Jefferson’s death anniversary, we reproduce the same article on our Independence Day. By Akbar Ahmed Sunday, July 4, 2010 “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship. . . . We are starting in the days when there is no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another, no discrimination … Read entire article »
Filed under: History, Jinnah, secular Pakistan, secularism, USA
Under-reporting of non-Muslim Pakistanis – a major problem
Sardarji patrol- I almost got ticketed by him on Multan Road the other day for driving and taking his picture while driving. By Yasser Latif Hamdani According to our official census Non-Muslims make up 3% of the Pakistani population. In Punjab the number of Hindus is reported less than 20,000. Sikhs are fewer than 10,000 – this too according to the official census. Christians are said to be the second largest religious group in Pakistan with … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan, secular Pakistan, secularism
Can an Islamic State be Secular?
Amaar Ahmad has written another thought-provoking and bold post for PTH. His argument and approach needs to be taken seriously if we have to overcome our current predicament and survive as a country. Raza Rumi It can be argued that the minimum definition of a secular state is one that permits all its citizens to freely practice, profess and propagate their religion (or the lack thereof) and it does not enact laws which discriminates in worldly affairs between citizens on the basis of their faith. Can an Islamic state offer a constitution and an environment which meets this description of secularism? If you seek an affirmative answer using the orthodox version of Islam as represented by our conservative politico-religious groups then you are going to be disappointed. But if you analyze … Read entire article »
Filed under: culture, Islam, Pakistan, secular Pakistan, secularism
Fear and silence
By Mohsin Hamid Dawn, 27 Jun, 2010 Why are Ahmadis persecuted so ferociously in Pakistan? A victim of attack on Jinnah Hospital, Lahore The reason can’t be that their large numbers pose some sort of ‘threat from within’. After all, Ahmadis are a relatively small minority in Pakistan. They make up somewhere between 0.25 per cent (according to the last census) and 2.5 per cent (according to the Economist) of our population. Nor can the reason be that Ahmadis … Read entire article »
Filed under: Citizens, Constitution, human rights, Islamism, minorities, Pakistan, Religion, Rights, secularism, state, Terrorism, violence
Religious Liberalism – Our Greatest Hope?
A.A Khalid has sent us his exclusive post for PTH. It is quite gratifying to note that PTH is becoming a hub for many of us who want things to improve without using the violent means and indiscriminate jihadist agenda. Raza Rumi Is religious liberalism an oxymoron, or is it something long established? More to the point is there something known as Islamic Liberalism, or Liberal Islam? Surprisingly, there is indeed something, a discourse known as Liberal Islam. And contrary to popular perception it is not a contradiction in terms. Charles Kurzman a Professor in Sociology who deals with Islamic movements asserts there is a tradition with specifically Islamic context known as Liberal Islam (pdf file) . What’s more Liberal Islam is not monolithic it has multiple schools and traditions each … Read entire article »
Filed under: Islam, Religion, secular Pakistan, secularism, Society
Rethinking Islam
This is an old article written in the relatively immediate aftermath of 9/11. As someone observed on a Pakistani TV talkshow a year or so ago, jurists and theorists like Abu Hanifa, al-Shafi’i etc. would be shocked to know that people in the 21st century were still taking their interpretations as law - indeed, ‘Divine’ law. They would have been surprised enough to see that their views had not been updated, renewed and replaced within a century or two. The speaker claimed, given such freezing of thought, the shocking ideology that we saw glimpses of in Sufi Muhammad’s public address last year ought not to surprise us. In fact, Sufi Muhmmad types are ‘neo-Kharajites’ - they can be likened to the original kharijites in some essential traits at least - who may or may not … Read entire article »
Filed under: Al Qaeda, culture, History, Islam, Islamism, Law, Religion, secularism, state, Taliban
The Niqab Debate, 2: Picking on Muslim Women Smacks of Hypocrisy
As part of the Niqab series, we reproduce here an article by Haroon Siddiqui, the Editor Emeritus at the Canadian newspaper, Toronto Star. Haroon is an Indo-Canadian journalist who has been associated with Toronto Star for almost three decades. Toronto Star is widely regarded as a left leaning Canadian newspaper. Haroon is a member of the Order of Canada for advocating “fairness and equality of opportunity” at home and “a broader role for Canada in the global village”. Haroon has also come under criticism for being “Toronto Star’s resident Islamist”, and justifying Islamic extremist atrocities as nothing but a payback for US foreign policies. Quebec, the French majority province in Canada, is the first North American battleground for the Niqab battle. After a woman refused to remove her Niqab in French … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Pakistan, Religion, Rights, secularism, Women
The Niqab Debate, 1: Beyond the Veil
Over the next few days, we will run various articles that debate the arguments for and against the niqab legislation that is underway in European countries. Niqab, or full face and body covering introduces a conundrum in Western societies, and we suspect this issue will not be limited to only the Western societies in the near future. While religious considerations must be respected in secular democracies, there come instances when the religious argument runs afoul of the society safety and welfare of its members. We must remember that the argument is between extreme interpretations of religion that runs against the law of the land. There have been reports of Jehovah’s Witness members refusing modern medical treatment. The Western Governments took clear stand against the fact that extremely sick people were not … Read entire article »
Filed under: culture, Democracy, human rights, Pakistan, Religion, Rights, secularism, violence, Women
Rahul Gandhi or Narendra Modi?
In four years, standby to greet Prime Minister Narendra Modi By Jawed Naqvi | Crosspost from Dawn, 29 Mar, 2010 A big race, probably the biggest that India is mandated to hold, was kicked off last week. It could usher Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi as prime minister in 2014 when elections are due, if not before. And since Modi has the unqualified support of major industrialists who know the art, shall we say, of financing parties, lobbying for MPs, and influencing key policies, there is little reason to doubt who the corporate media would be backing when push comes to shove. Gandhi, with his limited experience of NGOs in Amethi and Rae Bareli might find himself as the back-up. He is untested. Modi, on the other hand, has shown his worth to those … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, India, Politics, secularism
Pakistan’s Jinnah
By Ayesha Siddiqa Dawn, 19 Feb, 2010 Some time ago, I had a chance to read veteran columnist Ardeshir Cowasjee’s article ‘Bring back Jinnah’s Pakistan’ in which he talked about the founding father’s liberal vision for the country. Mr Cowasjee’s argument was that the state envisioned by Mohammad Ali Jinnah would have been governed by a different set of social norms than the one in place today. I would like to inform the respectable writer that while he is searching for Jinnah’s Pakistan, we might be threatened with the eventuality of losing Pakistan’s Jinnah. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Jinnah, Pakistan, Partition, Religion, secularism
PTH biweekly Cartoon
Picture of the Week
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Sunrise at the Arabian Sea, Charna Island
24 Dec 2011
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