Religion, Politics and Governance in Pakistan [pdf], Lahore University of Management Science // Religions and Development Research Programme, 2009
EXCERPT: "This report presents the findings of a study of Islam in Paksitan that aimed at understanding and evaluating the relationships between Muslim organizations and activity in the formulation of development policy. The question at the heart of the inquiry is whether religion can play the role of a driver for change in terms of pro-poor policy and practice. The study analyses the nature and direction of the latent force and dynamism of the Islamic establishment, especially in its organizational setting, both in government and in opposition. It shows that the state in Pakistan has typically pursued a policy of exploiting the functional uses of Islam as a source of legitimacy in the absence of, or in combination with, a mass mandate. In so doing, it has played on the turf of Islamic groups by seeking to control the production and spread of the religious message, co-opting the ulema and managing religious affairs, ranging from levying Islamic taxes to the management of shrines, policies towards madrasas and a role in sectarian conflict."
Read the full article [pdf].
Related articles:
Do we need more religion? [op-ed], The News International, 25 April 2009
Islamic stronghold goes secular, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 February 2008
Related reports:
Awaiting a breakthrough: Cyclical issues of governance in Pakistan [pdf], Pakistan Security Research Unit, 8 August 2007
Related posts:
Pakistan likely to become more Islamist, anti-US: Report, 12 January 2010
Battered Pakistan turns to clerics, 8 December 2009
2009 Department of State report on religious freedoms in Pakistan, 16 November 2009
