Re: Also Pakistan …
hmmmmmm… make up your mind. I just cited Saudi Arabia because you believe it is absence of bars and prevalence of mosques that is causing violence in Pakistan. You don’t have violence in Saudi, because you know you’ll go directly to jail and don’t know when you might get released if you are naughty. That can also go with a not-so-depressed society. North Korea has no mosques, but ahem… Burma is 5% Muslim, but very corrupt. Mosques are just symptoms of disease. I agree with you that religiosity has been a terrible tool in Pakistan, but it is just that… a tool.
Yes, the society was more law abiding in 50s and 60s, at least that’s what I have heard and read. You could actually get into trouble for selling substandard chilli powder or riding bicycle without tail light. Religion has been a tool used by ruling elite to grab power and continue enjoying absolute power. When is the last time you heard about an influential businessman, general, politician, bureaucrat or landlord who was actually convicted of a crime and SERVED his sentence?
Google Ayub Afridi to get a context of what I am trying to say and compare that to someone bringing in a few grams of heroin into Saudi. Also Google ‘golden crescent’ to know how this “religiosity” is financed. We used religiosity as a tool because it was the need of the day and the generals knew they were above law and no one can touch them.