ISLAM & PAKISTAN: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

This article talks about the current religious, political and social practices, worldviews of different scholars on these practices and my personal understanding of these worldviews with a special focus on Islam and Pakistan. It is considered that Islam is a religion that promotes authoritarianism, patriarchy and moralistic views, but I argue against such allegations on the basis of Quran and its scholars. At the same time, this article is an attempt to develop a critique of unjust socio-religious practices in the name of Islam, a misleading education system and raising question that why Islam was being misinterpreted or interpreted differently by specific schools of thought. These misinterpretations can be observed in the issues of gender inequality, forced marriages, corporal punishment, discriminating minorities, victimizing other groups who have different religious opinion and introduction of brutal laws like Hudood Ordinance. This article is also a critical review of political decisions made by the politicians throughout the history of Pakistan by using Islam for political gains.