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Susan Assam 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 Salamis groups which include Llama as well. First, we need to know what we mean by ‘modernizing educated elite and Llama’.
Terms such as material and secular were attributed to the modernizing elite while all hat was holy and spiritual was characterized to the Llama. The various modern Islamic scholars are also a part of the ‘modernizing elite’. This paper shall deal with the conflict between the Salamis groups and the modernizing elite throughout the course of Pakistanis history. We shall also discuss why the educated elite lost out ground to the Llama: as a consequent of which their influence declined and the religious ideals held by the Llama became more predominant.
The Llama 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 Ail Zinnia and to General Baby Khan. The second part deals with the Islamic policies adopted during the intensely Islamabad regimes of Bout and Aziza.
Lastly, we shall examine the regime of Mustard 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 Pakistanis 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 Baby administration engaged in actively targeting the Jam-e-lilacs at first. However, at times they would seek support from the Jam when Baby Khan faced confrontation from the left (Door 5).
The so-called socialist and secular Bout further contributed to this trend and set the stage for General Aziza-LU-Hash’s efforts to Islamic Pakistan. General Aziza tried to do so by reaching out to the Arab World for support. Sis’s priority was to pacify the increasingly militant Salamis groups and not strengthen his working class base (Door 6). It is important to identify the bone of contention between both these classes. After all, both groups subscribed whole heartedly to Islam and wanted to build a better Pakistan.
Despite these similarities, both of them were unable to work in harmony with each other. The Llama thought that only they possessed the essential and required knowledge of Islam; hence they were the true guardians of the religion. They thought that everything the modernizing elite did was UN-lilacs which is why the elites were geared as impious and apostates. Their concept of state was extremely different limited scope for elections, women’s rights, parliamentary power and minority rights in a state.
Llama rejected the concept of Muslim nationalism and claimed that no such concept ever existed. The Llama have operated in the form of pressure groups. They have at various occasions forced the government to Islamic the state and mix religion with the state affairs. On the other hand, the modernized educated elite regarded the Llama as relics of the past. They saw Islam as a binding and progressive force and also believed in Muslim nationalism.
They interpreted Islam in various degrees which were within the discursive framework of Western notions of rationality and enlightenment (Assam 1208). According to them, the state was supposed to be very modern where minority rights, democracy, sovereignty of the parliament and flexibility of Islamic laws could be propagated as the guiding principles (Assam 1197). We shall first discuss the period of the formative years. Soon after independence, the Llamas’ intentions were to reinstate their ascendancy and reassert their right to lead the community.
The prestige of Llama had been badly damaged since the independence movement of Pakistan, ironically, was guided by the enlightened, modernizing elite under the leadership of a man who supposedly was secular and under the influence of western education (Mad & Grumman 228). Quad’s in his famous address on 1 lath August, 1947 clearly stated that religion and state were separate from each other. He was of the view that religion would be the personal faith of an individual and the state would have nothing to do with it. These words sparked a lot of controversy as Chuddar Muhammad Ail was forced to censor this part of the speech.
The Llama were not pleased and reacted to this statement. The first formal step to transform the country into an ideological Islamic state was taken by the first Prime Minister Alicia Ail Khan in 1949. He presented the Objectives’ Resolution in the constituent assembly. This resolution was supposed to lay out the salient principles of a future Pakistani constitution. It stated that social rights such as democracy, freedom, equality and social Justice were to be provided as ‘enunciated by Islam’. This opened the door for dispute as it was not known to the people that what Islam required of a state.
One of its clause stated, “Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in the individual and collective spheres in accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Holy Quern and Saunas” (Hazing 16). The modernized elite expressed serious concerns about committing the new state to “ordering their lives in accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam” (Hazing 17). Ever since Zinnia passed away, the Llama and Salamis parties had started to become more influential. This became obvious at the occasion of the anti-Aimed movement in 1953.
In 1953, a series of Medias riots took place in Lahore. The Chief Minister of Punjab, Mutual Atlanta, used his links e had with Salamis groups to start an agitation against them Medias. The army eventually had to step in to control the situation by declaring martial law in Lahore. This event highlighted various issues that have dogged Pakistan ever since its inception. First was the use of Islam and Salamis groups by the state apparatus for political purposes and second was the extended influence of Salamis groups. In wake of these attacks a commission was formed under Justice Minor.
Its purpose was to report made one thing clear; it was very difficult for the Llama to agree on a single thing. The Llama were asked that who according to them was a Muslim. None of the Llama were able to agree on a single answer. They had very extremist views about everything. Their concept of an Islamic state was also very different. According to Llama such as Mullah Manhood, there was limited scope for elections, women’s rights and a sovereign parliament (Rum). Pakistan did not officially acquire the status of an Islamic state before the constitution of 1956.
There were two reasons behind the usage of the religious designation in the constitutional name. The modernized elite thought that Pakistan was a country with multiple identities. Since religion was the sole thing common among the people who were ethnically and linguistically different from each other, therefore it could be used as a binding and progressive force. A lot of followers of Manhood gave credit to him for naming Pakistan an Islamic Republic. He also played an important role in monopolizing theologians to favor an Islamic constitution. Baby Khan’s rule is an ideal example of Pakistani modernized power elite’s calculated policies.
Not only was he successful in inculcating a self-conceived vision of modernistic and rationalistic Islam but he was also able to contain the influence of the Llama to quite an extent (Assam 1225). The administration of General Baby indulged in the rhetoric of Islam. However he was not serious about fully implementing the Islamic blueprint (Cohen 168). The people were quick to accept Baby Khan’s modernized and secular policies. The modernized elite were also on the rise during his regime. The Llama were very critical of the association of the modernized elite with the Baby regime.
They raised several concerns about the ‘secular agenda’ of the regime. Bayou’s regime was constantly engaged in a conflict with the Left. Various writers and poets, the most famous of them being Habit Julia, openly wrote irreverent poetry against the regime. Baby not only had to face opposition from the Left but from the Right as well. The Right comprised of parties like the Jam-e-lilacs which was headed by Mullah Manhood. It is interesting to know that the significant motivation behind the 1958 coup involved the desire to undermine the growing influence of the Llama and Salamis parties (Door 94).
The secular establishment was fearful of the concessions provided to the religious lobby in the 1956 constitution. They were forced to take an action as they old not afford the religious lobby to further assert its dominance. The secular establishment thought that the “progress of the country depended upon the purging of Islam from the political process” (Door 94). However, they were of the view that the politicians were unfit for such a Job and that only military rule could ensure secularism; which is why the army stepped in. General Bayou’s administration took a hard line against the Llama.
However, there were also occasions when Baby would side with the Right wing Salamis parties like Jam-e-lilacs with the intention to undermine the growing political influence of the Left. In the 1962 constitution, political parties were allowed to re-operate on the basis that they cohere to ‘Islamic ideology. Thus, making the Right wing parties the only players of the political game as the Left wing parties were disqualified for being ‘UN-lilacs’. Modernized scholars such as Gullah Named Perez and Dry. Faze-our Raman rose to prominence during this era.
Gullah was a severe critic of the right and especially the Salamis parties as their agents. He also criticized the Jam in the political magazine ‘Toll-e-LULAS’ for hijacking Islam. Gullah Named wanted to convince the power elite that he was the ole scholar whose ideas could be essentially engaged in establishing an Islamic state on the lines of Islamic modernism (Assam 1216). Dry. Faze too, was a modern Islamic scholar who was appointed as the head of the Central Institute of Islamic Research by Baby Khan. The Llama were very critical of Faze and Goulash’s association with the Baby regime.
They raised several concerns about the ‘secular agenda’ of the regime after the appointment of Faze as the head of the Call. Baby Khan was able to contain the influence of the Llama by taking various measures; one example being the promulgation of the West Pakistan Was Properties Ordinance 1959) in 1962. This gave the government the power to control and manage all properties dedicated to religious purposes. Since the Quaff Department was responsible for training Llamas, nationalizing it meant that Llama were now subject to state patronage (Assam 1228).
In this way he was able to contain the influence of the Llama. There was a complete reverse of trend in the sass’s. Pakistan moved from a modernist basis to a religious basis. This primarily was possible because of the Islamic measures taken by Bout and General Aziza. The Llama emerged as a vital force in the state apparatus during this time period and started operating as erasure groups. We shall discuss how the Salamis parties and more specifically the Jam-e-lilacs rose to prominence in this period. Let us first take into account the proceedings of the Bout era.
The idea of an Islamic Pakistan was seized upon by Mr.. Bout (Cohen 169). He advanced the idea of ‘Islamic Socialism’. It was a more spiritual form of socialism in which principles of social and economic equality were believed to be compatible with the Quern and Saunas. Bout used Islam to gain support of the Llama since all of them had opposed Baby and his subsequent predecessor Yah for being UN-lilacs and for bearing close ties with the theorized elite. Bout put Pakistan at the service of Islam by taking various measures such as banning alcohol, gambling and making Friday a holiday.
Further concessions were made to Islam in the 1973 constitution. The Llama pressurized Bout to declare the Medias as non-Muslims. This step damaged the secular fabric of the society making the Salamis parties stronger. Despite all these Islamic measures, Bout still wasn’t able to appease the Right as opposition to him drew from them. The Jam and Jamie-llama-I-Pakistan exploited these grievances of the Right. The decisive moment came in the elections of 1977 when Bout rigged the lolls. This proved to be the catalyst behind the anti-Bout movement.
It is important to highlight the role played by the Llama and Salamis parties in this movement. The CUP and Jam were responsible for providing the organizational base. Their madras’s and mosques were the key units (Stayed 23). There was chaos all around. These circumstances paved the path for ‘Operation Fairly in which the military took over for the third time. General Aziza implemented his Islamic policies and undermined what was left of secularism and socialism in Pakistan. He used Islam to gain to legitimate his rule.
General Sis’s Colonization went beyond banning alcohol and gambling as Islam managed to penetrate within state institutions in his rule. Under him the influence of the Llama and Salamis parties was institutionalized and Aziza was able to transform the basis of our society by imposing the Ninja-e-Mustang (Islamic System). Aziza declared secularism, socialism and democracy to be UN-lilacs. The Llama got the taste of power as they were inserted into the state institutions at all levels. Aziza also promulgated the Hood Ordinance which was the first set of Islamic law.
The Zinc Ordinance and blasphemy laws were also introduced by him. Coined by Chief Executive General Mustard, the concept of enlightened moderation was introduced at the start of the new millennium. As opposed to interpreting Islam in a fundamental manner; enlightened moderation implied that one should practice Islam moderately. It also meant that a lot of weighting was to be given to rationality. Basically enlightened moderation was a theory against extremism. Mustard had introduced almost the same concepts Baby Khan had, previously in the ass’s.
Like Baby Khan, Mustard too had his reasons to introduce this concept. Since he was a military dictator, the world looked down upon him. He wanted legitimacy. By implementing such policies he wanted to portray to the West that he was a liberal. However, one difference separates the both: one succeeded while the other failed to make an impact on the Pakistani society. It is important to identify the reason behind this failure. If Baby could be successful in the implementation of his modernized and secular policies, what was the reason behind Mustard’s failure and why did he have to face so much opposition?
One of the main reasons was that the mindset of people had changed over the years. They were no longer willing to accept any further transition in their mindsets. In the Baby era people were willing to accept change. They held secular values and were willing to follow the policies introduced by Khan. It is evident from facts and figures that such polices ultimately did bore fruit. However, we see a complete reverse after that: Aziza and Buttons regime. Salamis groups by then had become more prominent as their Llama leaders managed to rally support and extend the area of influence.
Nothing was now possible without their consent. And since the Llama and the right wing were not open to concepts such as enlightened moderation, it was not possible for Mustard to exert his influence. The 962 constitution clause of political parties adhering to the Islamic ideology was the start of the power consolidation of the Llama. Their influence and power was further amalgamated by the extreme Islamic measures taken by Bout and Aziza. What happened in the regimes of Baby, Bout and Aziza is a far cry now!
We need to look into the present so we can come to a conclusion that which one out of the Llama or the modernized elite was able to leave an impression on our society to date. The Llama now have a voice and recognition. Any legislation that needs to be carried out requires the Llama’s nod of approval. For example, the 17th Amendment in Mustard’s era would not have been possible without the Llama. The Llama are now politically stronger than ever. The influence of the modernized elite is no more and they seem to have lost ground to the Llama.