I think it would -
**Religion is the driving force behind the country, the people, the laws, the values, the morals, the society, everything. Everything in Pakistan has some sort of religious basis - not necessarily true Islam but their version of Islam.
**Religion is not something you want to tackle head on, cause guess what people are sensitive about it. There is a lot of work that needs to be done before we can have separation of church and state in Pakistan. Educating people about personal freedoms ( it’s a concept that baffle many in Pakistan ) would be a first. There’d have to be classes on civics and social responsibility ( the Islamic Studies class does not count ). Just changing a law wouldn’t do much, when you’re not giving people an alternative.
People have no faith in logic and reason because nobody ever showed them how to used them. I’m not talking about the Pakistani on this forum, the people here are privileged. I’m talking about the majority, people who went to crappy schools ( through no fault of their own ) where they were taught a crappy curriculum.
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If you eliminate Islam - you also eliminate a reason for people to openly persecute someone else. Yes, it will happen because no country is perfect, not even the US. But it wouldn’t happen the way it is now.
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Can it be done? Not in the next the 20 years it can’t.
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This is what I mean. I do know some people that are Christian Pakistanis…but they don’t have the freedom to wear their culture on their sleeve the way we Muslims do. Because Pakistan is still very much prejudiced against non-Muslims.**
They can over in the cities. Being open about your lack of religion would be a lot more dangerous, but then again it not the laws that scare me, it’s the people.
**I am an American. My Pakistani heritage makes me no less American. My faith makes me no less American. In fact, my life here is representative of the fact that this is America…land of the free. The area I live in…practically every single suburb has a mosque of its own.
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But you can’t blast the Azaan so that the people over in the next town can hear you. A Pakistani wouldn’t call that freedom. You say you can wear your culture on your sleeve. When? On the weekends? Eid? I’m pretty sure my coworkers workers would appreciate me wearing my culture to work everyday. The Pakistani Christians don’t wear their culture all the time, probably cause they don’t want to be in the limelight all the time.
**Is it possible for churches to be built in that manner in Pakistan? No. Because its a Muslim country where only Islam will be allowed to flourish. I have my loyalty here because this country has given me sukoon, safety and allowed me to be me. Why are non-Muslim Pakistanis not allowed to have the same loyalties to Pakistan? Here, I can go to a mosque and if I choose to, I can go to a church. No one will bat an eye at me. But would that be possible in Pakistan? Would I be able to live a life as anything else besides a Muslim in Pakistan carefree? No. **
I don’t think anyone is safe in Pakistan. Heck I fled that place despite being a male ( the male privilege ) and Sunni ( the religious majority ). You’re comparing a first world country to a third world country, not really fair.
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This is why I have always felt Pakistan was not meant to be a Muslim country. There should be no imposing religious influences in public places. None. It just doesn’t work based on the principle it was created on - freedom for those persecuted for their faith.
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Doesn’t matter what it was meant to be. What matters is it’s state right now and where we can go from their. What are some realistic solutions?
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Take out Islam and you’ll have yourself some Pakistanis…they could be purple, green, pink…but they’d all be Pakistanis.**