Re: Pakistan - ideological crisis?
Is Pakistan facing an ideological crisis?
It is an important question, but I must ask first what do you mean to ask? What do you actually mean by Ideological crisis?
*All states have an ideology, even ones which are purely nation states like France or Germany. An ideological crisis means a crisis that threatens the ideological foundations of a country, i.e. what holds it together. *
Was the country meant to be Islamic and is Islam the key to holding together its diverse ethnic groups?
Do we as a nation have a consensus on the answers of the above questions? And do our diverse ethnic groups follow the same understanding of Islam? Are these diverse ethnic group willing to tolerate different understandings of Islam?
*There is of course diversity, and perhaps this is what prevents Islamisation. But the majority is Sunni Muslim and what the majority believes in usually prevails, as in Iran. *
*What ideological reasons do Pathans have to be in Pakistan rather than Afghanistan? Is it Islam? *
Is Islam any better in Afghanistan? Do Pakistani Pakhtoons as a nation want to be part of Afghanistan? Those Pakhtoons who want to be part of Afghanistan, is it because of their love of their religion or is it because of their pride in their ethnicity?
*Pakhtunwali seems naturally close to a social order based on full Islamic law. Pakhtun tribesmen and their leaders seem to want full Islamisation, both in Afghanistan and Pakistan. *
If so, can Pakistan afford to be secular and follow the kind of policies that Musharraf has followed (i.e. helping the Americans)?
Is Pakistan secular? Are there any rules which gives preference to non-Muslims over Muslims? Is it not allowed to follow Islam
*Hardly secular. But the half-way house between Islam and secularism hasn't yielded satisfactory results, has it? *