Word: islamic
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...Birth of a Nation As empires fell to the nation state in the early 20th century, Muhammad Iqbal, a Sufi poet and philosopher, saw an opportunity in the coming independence of India to put into practice his theories of modern Islamic governance. He proposed an Islamic nation carved from the Muslim-majority provinces of northwest and northeast India. "The movement for the formation of Pakistan was not based on religious extremism or emotionalism," says former Supreme Court judge Javid Iqbal, Iqbal's son. "It was to be a modern state, adhering to modern interpretations of Islam, particularly of Islamic laws...
...Pakistan seceded in a brutal civil war that saw hundreds of thousands dead. Religion, which Iqbal theorized should have no place in government, was an easy source of political legitimacy for leaders struggling to hold what was left of the fractious country together. The success of Ayatullah Khomeini's Islamic revolution in neighboring Iran eight years later launched a revival of conservative Islam, including in Pakistan. Elements of Shari'a were implemented. Iqbal's son calls it the revenge of the orthodoxy. "They were saying, 'You used Islam to carve out a state. Alright, we will make it Islamic.' That...
...conventionalists gained the upper hand after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979. Tens of thousands of Pakistanis charged across the border to aid their brothers in defending Islam, and Muslims around the world cheered the success of the mujahedin. The religious groups that backed jihad were given political prominence, and their coffers swelled with contributions and fees earned for training and supplying jihadis. The moderate religious groups who refused to sanction killing, even in the defense of Islam, were punished with political purgatory, from which they have yet to emerge...
...Shari'a Dilemma Once unleashed, it is nearly impossible to put the genie of militant Islam back in the bottle. Even Pakistan's moderate Muslims are caught in the middle. Islam has never been decoupled from Shari'a, and though few Pakistanis see the Taliban period in neighboring Afghanistan, in which women were stoned for adultery and thieves faced the amputation of hands, as the ideal Islamic state, they feel conflicted about throwing it out entirely. "Hardly any Muslim will say, No, I do not want Shari'a," says Najam Sethi, a top Pakistani newspaper editor. "To say that would...
...dialogue with militants in the restive tribal areas along the border. That approach could work, but it requires the Pakistani people to take a firm position on who takes control of their religion. The extremists have already shown that they are willing to die defending their brand of Islam. Now it is up to the moderates to respond. It's going to be a long war. How it ends may depend on whose faith is stronger...