Who gets to be a Muslim in Pakistan?
If Muhammad Ali Jinnah were alive today only half of Pakistan would consider him a Muslim. The ethnic, sectarian, and tribal fault lines have reached such depths that the nation once founded to be the homeland of Muslims is now bickering over who gets to be called a Muslim.
The latest poll by the US-based Pew Research Center has exposed the depth of sectarian fault lines where only one in every two Sunni Muslims in Pakistan accepts Shias as Muslims. While many believed that such extreme sectarian views were held only by the fanatics lying at the margin, the Pew Center’s findings reveal that such intolerant and extremist views are in fact mainstream in Pakistan. Even Jinnah, a Shia Muslim and the founder of Pakistan, today would not have escaped the sectarian extremism in Pakistan.
Based on a comprehensive survey comprising face-to-face interviews with 38,000 Muslims in 39 countries and territories, the Pew Research Center paints a picture of the diverse religious beliefs amongst Muslims. The sectarian strife varies a great deal from Azerbaijan where 90 per cent of Sunnis believe Shias are Muslims to Kosovo where only 20 per cent hold the same view. In Arab countries where Shias account for fewer than 5 per cent of the population (e.g., Jordon, Egypt, and Morocco) the majority believes that Shias are not Muslims. On the other hand Arab countries with significant Shia populations, i.e., Iraq and Lebanon, show signs of sectarian harmony where overwhelming majority of Sunnis accept Shias as Muslims.
The same survey could not be conducted in India, Iran, and Saudi Arabia because of security concerns for the enumerators.
Source: Pew Research Centre, 2012.
The seeds of sectarian and religious extremism sown by the late General Zia-ul-Haq’s regime are now bearing fruit in Pakistan making it an extremist anomaly even in the region. In the neighbouring Afghanistan, where successive wars have destroyed the physical infrastructure and the social fabric, sectarianism is much more contained than in Pakistan. Eight-three per cent of Sunnis in Afghanistan, contrary to only 50 per cent in Pakistan, accept Shias as Muslims. Even in Bangladesh, which split before General Zia’s regime took control, 77 per cent of Sunnis believe Shias are Muslims. Similarly, 40 per cent of Sunnis in Bangladesh and only 7 per cent in Pakistan accept Ahmadis as Muslims. The stark differences between Bangladesh and Pakistan are indicative of the sustained growth of religious intolerance in Pakistan.
Many in Pakistan would question the motives behind the Pew survey while others might question the robustness of results derived from a survey of few thousand respondents. Some would argue that such surveys by western organisations are intended to further exacerbate sectarian strife in Pakistan. Others would contend that results based on surveys are not credible.
It is rather odd to see such lame arguments being repeated every time new evidence is brought to bear on sectarian violence in Pakistan. It is more than convenient for those who benefit from the status quo to discredit reports by others while at the same time they do nothing else to verify these findings. It is extremely disappointing to realise that even after several thousand deaths in sectarian violence, independent studies of it, causes and motives do not originate within Pakistan.
Many in Pakistan mistakenly believe that survey-based research is not credible and maintain that unless the entire population is polled, the results would not be credible. For them findings derived from Gallup polls and Pew surveys are dubious at best. Again, this exposes the poor state of social science education in Pakistan. Across the globe most, if not all, economic and social policy is based on findings derived from data captured in surveys. Multi-billion dollar businesses rely on samples of 1,500 to 3,000 respondents to conduct market research and devise business strategies. Even census in most countries is not based on the entire population.
The confusion about basic research methodology exists even amongst university educated Pakistanis because they were not exposed to the fundamentals of research methods. However, this does not prevent them from using their ignorance to ignore the uncomfortable truth about the moral decay that now confronts Pakistan in its most violent manifestation.
As Pakistanis at home and abroad celebrate the Independence Day, they must ask themselves if they would like to live in Jinnah’s Pakistan or the Taliban’s Pakistan. In Jinnah’s Pakistan there is no room for sectarian bigotry or violence. In Taliban’s Pakistan violence will be the norm. In Jinnah’s Pakistan, “… you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship… You may belong to any religion or caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the State.”*
* Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s address to the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947.
Murtaza Haider, Ph.D. is the Associate Dean of research and graduate programs at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University in Toronto. He can be reached by email at murtaza.haider@ryerson.ca
The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.
Politically motivated surveys often are intended to create misunderstanding and widen differences to draw conclusions that suits their political objectives. Sectarian divide is exaggerated and only a handful of fanatics incited by vested interests indulge in sectarian attacks. Over 90% Pakistani believe in Pakistan ideology as enunciated by the founding fathers of Pakistan. Ask any Aalim of any sect of Muslim and he will tell you who is trying to incite ethnic and sectarian hatred.
Better to select Humanity from these.Should not be divided into sects?
Well, I understand that there is a BIG divide among sunnis as well. I gre up in Karachi in 70s and never felt the need to explain to anyone if I was Shia or Sunni or Sindhi or Panjabi or anything like that. We were all Pakistanis.
Because of this Shia Sunnia divide (let alone the injustices to my brothers and sisters who belong to other reliogions in Pakistan), I am ashamed to be a Pakistani and shamed to be a Muslim. I really hope one day I will stop reading these Pakistani newspapers as they are making me beginning to hate my beloved country….
who has forced u to be living in pakistan
you are more than welcome to leave it.
We carry out ralies for Kashmir, Palestine, Chechnia anf Burmese Muslims. What about our treatment towards our minorities?
I will like to question this survey for its aim and premise of, what was the aim of such a research, it does not specify the parameters or how Shia are defined or the time frame without that told to the readers, it clearly is sharing of mere data. Several flaws in the write up are clear, such as," Arab countries like Iran, why was Middle East not used ?. For security reasons it could not be conducted in Iran, Saudia Arabia and India, since when India joined such a club of freedom of research.Please be careful in sharing such jarring information for I fear it will disconnect and alienate the two communities even further.
It was a matter of time. That Sunnis and Shias got into this unfortunate situation. But it's there fault. Everone stood silent when Christians and ahmadies were being slaughtered. Where we're these people.?
Who authorised one Muslim to say the other is NOT? Did Allah gave them the authority or did the Prophet Muhammed?
I believe neither one of them.
in all the way sunni and shia are different, MY PROPHET HAZRAT MUHAMMAD S.W SAID ONLY ONE GROUP WHICH GO TO JANNAT THEY ARE AA.LE-SUNNAT-WAL JAMAT ,
The questions is not who is worthy of heaven, the question is, who gave any group the right to slaughter someone for their belief, whether those beliefs are wrong or right in some other groups perception.
Pakistan will prosper if she can keep religion at bay.
It was a matter of time. That Sunnis and Shias got into this unfortunate situation. But it's there fault , when the others like ahmadies, Christians were being persecuted, where were these Sunnis and Shias. They were silent and keeping there mouth shut. It's amazing I see all these comments about no sect according to Holy Quran, but in pakistan there are all these murders of innocent people.
Yes there is no doubt that the problem has been there from the very outset. Nothing was done then and nothing is being done now. However there is more awareness and people are speaking out from all corners. This is something we didn’t have before.
Firstly coming from where it is. It has to be a lie. Secondly, it is the minority of fanatic, uneducated, bigoted Mullahs who spread hatred among Muslims. It is also the same mullahs who declare others liable to murder against all the teachings of the Holy Quran and The Holy Prophet. I am sure there are sects in Islam who believe in non-violence.
Mr.Murtaza! i have read all these comments but all the comentors have disagree that shias are not muslims.I think that this is itself a servy and 100 % participants have given answer as NO. thanks
I read in a very wise tale that if a king allows a pinch of salt be taken without a price for his use his servants will put thousands of animals to spit in his name if he takes an apple his servants will uproot whole gardens. The start of evil in the world is small but the seed grows rapidly. The blame of all the sectarian rife in our society is laid at the feet of Zia ul Haq but what we all seem to forget is that the seed was sowed by our most democratic of leaders (so called) Zulfiqar Ali bhuto who was warned about this outcome. After that it was just a matter of time before a despotic leader emerged.
I think that the author of the Objective Resolution was the ONLY real Muslim in Pakistan.
"We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another." – Jonathan Swift. So please keep hating and killing each other with the help of petro-dollars !
please show statistics of how much Sunnis and Shias killed in last ten years of terrorism.
I am definately sure it would be 99% Sunnis.
99% civilans killed by Taliban were Sunnis not Shias.
Yes that is correct. But whats your point? We are not just protesting the killings of Shia but of all innocent.
This article is an EPIC FAIL!
Firstly, Allah (SWT) forbids Muslims to divide into sects in The Holy Quran in the following verses: 6:159 and 30:31-32
Finally, Hon'ble Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Rahmatullah Allhai) did not associate himself to any sect, and just called himself Muslim!
Yeah and he drank and loved Western attire. Which by the definition of the fundamentalists already throws him in the “burn in hell” category no matter what he called himself. The point is, who gives a shit about what he was. Whats important is that he gave you a homeland and a place to worship freely and not get persecuted. Not a place where you persecute others.
God bless Pakistan and Pakistanis! Hard to see a bright future for the country in such turmoil, the flaw and the crux is at the bottom, the foundation which was terribly wrong and is now dreadful for its citizens.