Islamic Fundamentalism in Pakistan
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Any discussion of Islamic fundamentalism in today's Pakistan must be seen within a more general context typical of many modern Muslim states trying to develop their independent political, social and economic structures within the guidelines left to them on one hand by the traditional tenets of the Islamic faith and on the other hand by the much more recent legacy of Western colonialism. What is, or rather, what should be, in the final analysis, a modern Muslim state? Nowhere in the Muslim world would a policy which tries to imitate blindly the Western model be successful. On the other hand, an equally blind attempt at returning to a supposedly pure pre-colonial Islamic system would find a host of resistances within society--and would create no few enemies abroad. Pakistan is considered by all standards a moderate Muslim state, and its present leader tries very hard to confirm this public image. "Pakistan is the archetype of [Muslims'] progressive tomorrow--of economic liberalization and commitment to human rights and democracy in an open Islamic society," Prime Minister Benadir Bhutto said in a speech at the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University in Washington D.C., on the occasion of her recent trip to the United States (Kempster, 1995, p. A8). It is important to understand what Bhutto means by this declaration, why she utters it and whether, or at least how far, it corresponds to the truth. But, in order to answer these questions, one ne
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r a period in which the country's economy suffered profound dislocation, was their simultaneous resignations in the summer of 1993.
In the following elections for the national and provincial assemblies in October 1993, Nawaz tried to return to office, this time discarding the coalition which carried him to victory in 1990 and relying on the Pakistan Muslim League only. Bhutto was reinstated as prime minister through a new coalition led by her Pakistan People's Party.
Although many former ministers as well as political luminaries, notably among the parties supporting an Islamic polity, lost their bid for seats in the National Assembly, and although voters appeared to prefer secular candidates over those representing fundamentalist and more conservative views and programs, the actual number of people voting preferred the PML (41 percent) over the PPP (38 percent) (Ziring, 1993, p. 1180). In other words, by coming again to power Bhutto had to admit to a strong opposition, and, when she addressed the National Assembly on her return to office, she noted that she genuinely desired to work with friends and foes alike in trying to solve the country's multidimensional problems. And one of these problems is exactly the challenge offer
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Some common words found in the essay are:
National Assembly, Zia's Islamic, Mohammed Zia, Pakistan Islamic, Muslim Muslim, Sharif Bhutto, Kempster Dahlburg, Pakistan Regardless, Pakistani Politics, Egypt's Mubarak, ziring 1993, prime minister, national assembly, islamic law, los angeles times, dahlburg 1995, angeles times, coming power, nawaz sharif, appleby 1992, muslim world, stage pakistani politics, mohajir national movement, angeles times pp, marty appleby 1992,
Approximate Word count = 2302
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)
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