Sharization or Islamization ( ur, اسلامی حکمرانی) has a long history in Pakistan since the 1950s, but it became the primary policy, or "centerpiece" of the government of
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law i ...
, the ruler of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
from 1977 until his death in 1988. Zia has also been called "the person most responsible for turning Pakistan into a global center for
political Islam
Political Islam is any interpretation of Islam as a source of political identity and action. It can refer to a wide range of individuals and/or groups who advocate the formation of state and society according to their understanding of Islamic pri ...
."
The
Pakistan movement
The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the pe ...
had gained the country independence from the
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
as a Muslim-majority state. At the time of its founding, the
Dominion of Pakistan
Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of I ...
had no official state religion prior to 1956, when the constitution had declared it the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Despite this, no religious laws had yet been adopted for government and judicial protocols and civil governance, until the mid 1970s with the coming of General Muhammed Zia Ul-Haq in a military coup also known as
Operation Fair Play
Operation Fair Play was the code name for the 5 July 1977 coup by Pakistan Chief of Army Staff General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, overthrowing the government of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The coup itself was bloodless, and was preceded by ...
which deposed the Prime Minister
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...
.
Zia-ul-Haq committed himself to enforcing his interpretation of ''Nizam-e-Mustafa'' ("Rule of the prophet"
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
), i.e. to establish an Islamic state and enforce ''
sharia
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
'' law.
Zia established separate Shariat judicial courts and court benches to judge legal cases using Islamic doctrine.
New criminal offenses (of adultery, fornication, and types of blasphemy), and new punishments (of whipping, amputation, and stoning to death), were added to Pakistani law.
Interest
In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distinct ...
payments for bank accounts were replaced by "profit and loss" payments. ''
Zakat
Zakat ( ar, زكاة; , "that which purifies", also Zakat al-mal , "zakat on wealth", or Zakah) is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam as a religious obligation, and by Quranic ranking, is ne ...
'' charitable donations became a 2.5% annual tax. School textbooks and libraries were overhauled to remove un-Islamic material.
Offices, schools, and factories were required to offer praying space.
Zia bolstered the influence of the ''
ulama
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
'' (Islamic clergy) and the Islamic parties, whilst conservative scholars became fixtures on television. Tens of thousands of activists from the
Jamaat-e-Islami
Jamaat-e-Islami ( ur, ) () is an Islamic movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamic theologian and socio-political philosopher, Syed Abul Ala Maududi.van der Veer P. and Munshi S. (eds.''Media, War, and Terrorism: Responses fro ...
party were appointed to government posts to ensure the continuation of his agenda after his passing. Conservative ''ulama'' were added to the
Council of Islamic Ideology
Council of Islamic Ideology (CII; ( ur, ) is a constitutional body of Pakistan, responsible for giving legal advice on Islamic issues to the government and the Parliament.
This body was founded in 1962 under the government of Ayub Khan.
Func ...
.
In 1984 a
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
gave Zia and the
Islamization
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...
program 97.7% approval in official results. However, there have been protests against the laws and their enforcement during and after Zia's reign. Women's and human rights groups opposed incarceration of rape victims under ''
hadd
''Hudud'' (Arabic: ''Ḥudūd'', also transliterated ''hadud'', ''hudood''; plural of ''hadd'', ) is an Arabic word meaning "borders, boundaries, limits". In the religion of Islam it refers to punishments that under Islamic law ( sharīʿah) ar ...
'' punishments, new laws that valued women's testimony (Law of Evidence) and blood money compensation (''
diyat
''Diya'' ( ar, دية; plural ''diyāt'', ar, ديات) in Islamic law, is the financial compensation paid to the victim or heirs of a victim in the cases of murder, bodily harm or property damage by mistake. It is an alternative punishment to ' ...
'') at half that of a man. Religious minorities and human rights groups opposed the "vaguely worded"
Blasphemy Law
A blasphemy law is a law prohibiting blasphemy, which is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. According to Pew Research Center, abou ...
and the "malicious abuse and arbitrary enforcement" of it.
Possible motivations for the Islamisation programme included Zia's personal piety (most accounts agree that he came from a religious family), desire to gain political allies, to "fulfill Pakistan's ''raison d'etre''" as a Muslim state, and/or the political need to legitimise what was seen by some Pakistanis as his "repressive, un-representative martial law regime".
How much success Zia had strengthening Pakistan's national cohesion with state-sponsored Islamisation is disputed.
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
-
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
religious riots broke out over differences in Islamic jurisprudence (''
fiqh
''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh.
The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...
'') – in particular, over how ''Zakat'' donations would be distributed.
There were also differences among Sunni Muslims.
The
Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal
The Muttahida Majlis–e–Amal (MMA; Urdu: , "United Council of Action") is a political alliance consisting of conservative, Islamist, religious, and far-right parties of Pakistan. Naeem Siddiqui (the founder of Tehreek e Islami) proposed s ...
(MMA), a coalition of Islamist political parties in Pakistan, calls for the increased Islamization of the government and society, specifically taking an anti-Hindu stance. The MMA leads the opposition in the national assembly, held a majority in the NWFP Provincial Assembly, and was part of the ruling coalition in Balochistan. However, some members of the MMA made efforts to eliminate their rhetoric against Hindus.International Religious Freedom Report 2006 Published by the US Department of State
Background and history
Pakistan was founded on the basis of securing a sovereign homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent to live in self-determination.
The idea of Pakistan had received overwhelming popular support among British Indian Muslims, especially those in the
Presidencies and provinces of British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
Muslim League Muslim League may refer to:
Political parties Subcontinent
; British India
*All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan.
**Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...
leadership,
ulama
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
(Islamic clergy) and
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...
had articulated their vision of Pakistan in terms of an
Islamic state
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
. Jinnah had developed a close association with the ''ulama''. When Jinnah died, Islamic scholar
Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani
Shabbir Ahmad Usmani (11 October 188713 December 1949) was an Islamic scholar who supported the Pakistan Movement in the 1940s. He was a religious scholar, writer, orator, politician, and expert in Tafsir and Hadith.
Born in 1887 in Bijnor, Us ...
described Jinnah as the greatest Muslim after the Mughal Emperor
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
and also compared Jinnah's death to the
Prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
's passing. Usmani asked Pakistanis to remember Jinnah's message of Unity, Faith and Discipline and work to fulfil his dream:
to create a solid bloc of all Muslim states from Karachi to Ankara, from Pakistan to Morocco. He innahwanted to see the Muslims of the world united under the banner of Islam as an effective check against the aggressive designs of their enemies.
The first formal step taken to transform Pakistan into an ideological Islamic state was in March 1949 when the country's first Prime Minister,
Liaquat Ali Khan
Liaquat Ali Khan ( ur, ; 1 October 1895 – 16 October 1951), also referred to in Pakistan as ''Quaid-e-Millat'' () or ''Shaheed-e-Millat'' ( ur, lit=Martyr of the Nation, label=none, ), was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer, political theoris ...
, introduced the
Objectives Resolution
The Objectives Resolution ( ur, ) was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on March 12, 1949. Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, had presented it in the assembly on March 7, 1949. Out of 75 members of ...
in the Constituent Assembly. The Objectives Resolution declared that sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to
God Almighty
El Shaddai ( ''ʾĒl Šadday''; ) or just Shaddai is one of the names of the God of Israel. ''El Shaddai'' is conventionally translated into English as ''God Almighty'' (''Deus Omnipotens'' in Latin, الله عز وجل Allāh 'azzawajal in Ara ...
. The president of the Muslim League,
Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman
Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman ( ur, چودھری خلیق الزمان) (25 December 1889 — 18 May 1973) was a Pakistani politician and Muslim figurehead during British India. He was one of the top leaders of the All India Muslim League.
Early life ...
, announced that Pakistan would bring together all Muslim countries into Islamistan-a pan-Islamic entity. Khaliquzzaman believed that Pakistan was only a Muslim state and was not yet an Islamic state, but that it could certainly become an Islamic state after bringing all believers of Islam into a single political unit. Keith Callard, one of the earliest scholars on Pakistani politics, observed that Pakistanis believed in the essential unity of purpose and outlook in the Muslim world:
Pakistan was founded to advance the cause of Muslims. Other Muslims might have been expected to be sympathetic, even enthusiastic. But this assumed that other Muslim states would take the same view of the relation between religion and nationality.
However, Pakistan's pan-Islamist sentiments were not shared by other Muslim governments at the time. Nationalism in other parts of the Muslim world was based on ethnicity, language and culture. Although Muslim governments were unsympathetic with Pakistan's pan-Islamic aspirations, Islamists from all over the world were drawn to Pakistan. Figures such as the Grand Mufti of Palestine, Al-Haj Amin al-Husseini, and leaders of Islamist political movements, such as the
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...
, became frequent visitors to the country. After
General Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law i ...
took power in a military coup,
Hizb ut-Tahrir
Hizb ut-Tahrir (Arabicحزب التحرير (Translation: Party of Liberation) is an international, political organization which describes its ideology as Islam, and its aim the re-establishment of the Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) to resume Isl ...
(an Islamist group calling for the establishment of a Caliphate) expanded its organisational network and activities in Pakistan. Its founder,
Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani
Muhammad Taqi al-Din bin Ibrahim bin Mustafa bin Isma'il bin Yusuf al-Nabhani (1914 – December 11, 1977) was an Islamic scholar from Jerusalem who founded the Islamist political party Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Biography
Al-Nabhani was born in 1909 in a ...
, would maintain regular correspondence with Abul A’la Maududi, the founder of
Jamaat-e-Islami
Jamaat-e-Islami ( ur, ) () is an Islamic movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamic theologian and socio-political philosopher, Syed Abul Ala Maududi.van der Veer P. and Munshi S. (eds.''Media, War, and Terrorism: Responses fro ...
(JI), and he also urged Dr Israr Ahmed to continue his work in Pakistan for the establishment of a global caliphate.
Social scientist Nasim Ahmad Jawed conducted a survey in 1969 in pre-divided Pakistan on the type of national identity that was used by educated professional people. He found that over 60% of people in
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
(modern day
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
) professed to have a
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
national identity. However, in
West Pakistan
West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was d ...
(current day Pakistan) the same figure professed to have an Islamic and not a secular identity. Furthermore, the same figure in East Pakistan defined their identity in terms of their ethnicity and not Islam. But it was the opposite in West Pakistan where Islam was stated to be more important than ethnicity.
After Pakistan's first ever general elections the 1973 Constitution was created by an elected Parliament. The
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic and
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
as the state religion. It also stated that all laws would have to be brought into accordance with the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
and
Sunnah
In Islam, , also spelled ( ar, سنة), are the traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time evidently saw and followed and passed ...
and that no law repugnant to such injunctions could be enacted. The 1973 Constitution also created certain institutions such as the
Federal Shariat Court
The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) is a constitutional court of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which has the power to examine and determine whether the laws of the country comply with Sharia law. The court was established in 1980 during the gov ...
and the
Council of Islamic Ideology
Council of Islamic Ideology (CII; ( ur, ) is a constitutional body of Pakistan, responsible for giving legal advice on Islamic issues to the government and the Parliament.
This body was founded in 1962 under the government of Ayub Khan.
Func ...
to channel the interpretation and application of Islam.
On 5 July 1977, General Zia-ul-Haq led a
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
. In the year or two before Zia-ul-Haq's coup, his predecessor, leftist Prime Minister
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...
, had faced vigorous opposition which was united under the revivalist banner of ''Nizam-e-Mustafa'' ("Rule of the prophet"). According to supporters of the movement, establishing an Islamic state based on ''sharia'' law would mean a return to the justice and success of the early days of Islam when the Islamic prophet Muhammad ruled the Muslims. In an effort to stem the tide of street Islamisation, Bhutto had also called for it and banned the drinking and selling of wine by Muslims, nightclubs and horse racing.
On coming to power, Zia went much further than Bhutto, committing himself to enforcing ''Nizam-e-Mustafa'', i.e. ''sharia'' law. Most accounts confirm that Zia came from a religious family and religion played an important part in molding his personality. His father worked as a civilian official in army headquarters and was known as ''Maulvi'' Akbar Ali due to his religious devotion. Zia joined the army before partition and occasionally offended his British superiors with his refusal to give up religious and cultural traditions. Zia attributed his personal resistance to the lifestyle of the British Indian cavalry to his faith in ''God and his teachings.''
In his first televised speech to the country as head of state he declared that
Pakistan which was created in the name of Islam will continue to survive only if it sticks to Islam. That is why I consider the introduction of nIslamic system as an essential prerequisite for the country.
While in the past, "many a ruler did what they pleased in the name of Islam," he would not.
Unlike in Iran, Islamisation in Pakistan was politically conservative, working against, not with
leftist
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
forces and ideas. Zia had little sympathy with Bhutto or his
populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
,
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
philosophy—captured in the slogan, " ''Food, clothing, and shelter''".
General Zia explained in an interview in 1979 given to British journalist Ian Stephens:
While Zia initiated the Islamisation programme, he came under attack from conservative Sunni forces who considered his process too slow. He distanced himself from some of the ulama in 1980,
and in 1983 religious opponents spread the rumour that Zia was an
Ahmadi
Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
. Zia was "forced to deny this allegation publicly and denounce the Ahmadis as ''kafirs'' (infidels)".
In 1984 a
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
was held on Zia, the
Islamization
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...
program, and giving him a five-year presidential term. Official results reported 97.7 in favor and voter participation of 60%. Independent observers questioned whether 30% of eligible voters had voted.
Opposition to state-sponsored Islamisation or aspects of it came from several quarters. Religious riots broke out in 1983 and 1984. Sectarian divisions between
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
s and
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
worsened over the issue of the 1979 ''
Zakat
Zakat ( ar, زكاة; , "that which purifies", also Zakat al-mal , "zakat on wealth", or Zakah) is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam as a religious obligation, and by Quranic ranking, is ne ...
'' ordinance, but differences in ''
fiqh
''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh.
The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...
'' jurisprudence also arose in marriage and divorce, inheritance and wills and imposition of hadd punishments.
Among Sunni Muslims, there were disputes between
Deobandi
Deobandi is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam, adhering to the Hanafi school of law,
formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name derives,
by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, R ...
s and
Barelvi
The Barelvi movement ( ur, بَریلوِی, , ), also known as Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaah (People of the Prophet's Way and the Community) is a Sunni revivalist movement following the Hanafi and Shafi'i school of jurisprudence, with strong Suf ...
s. Zia favored Deobandi doctrine and the Sufi pirs of
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
(who were Barelvi) joined the anti-Zia
Movement for the Restoration of Democracy
The Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) ( ur, اتحاد برائے بحالی جمہوریت), was a historically left-wing populism and massive socialist political alliance formed to oppose and end the military government of Presid ...
.
Hudood Ordinance
One of the first and most controversial Islamisation measures was the replacement of parts of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) with the 1979 "
Hudood Ordinance
The Hudood Ordinances (Urdu ; also Romanized Hadood, Hadud, Hudud; singular form is ''Hadh'' or ''hadd'') are laws in Pakistan that were enacted in 1979 as part of then military ruler Zia-ul-Haq's "Islamisation" process. It replaced parts of the ...
." (Hudood meaning limits or restrictions, as in limits of acceptable behavior in Islamic law.) The Ordinance added new criminal offenses of
adultery
Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
and
fornication
Fornication is generally consensual sexual intercourse between two people not married to each other. When one or more of the partners having consensual sexual intercourse is married to another person, it is called adultery. Nonetheless, John ...
to Pakistani law, and new punishments of
whipping
Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on an ...
,
amputation
Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indi ...
, and stoning to death.
For theft or robbery, the PPC punishments of imprisonment or fine, or both, were replaced by amputation of the right hand of the offender for theft, and amputation of the right hand and left foot for robbery.
For ''
Zina
''Zināʾ'' () or ''zinā'' ( or ) is an Islamic legal term referring to unlawful sexual intercourse. According to traditional jurisprudence, ''zina'' can include adultery, fornication, prostitution, rape, sodomy, incest, and bestiality. ...
'' (extramarital sex) the provisions relating to adultery were replaced by the Ordinance with punishments of flogged 100 lashes for those unmarried offenders and stoning to death for married offenders.
All these ''Hudood'' punishments were the maximum punishments, dependent on ''Hudd'' proof—four Muslim men of good repute testifying as witness to the crime—being met. In practice, as of 2014, the Hudd requirement has not yet been met and no offender has been stoned or had limbs amputated by the Pakistani judicial system. The less strict ''tazir'' standards—where the punishment was some combination of imprisonment, fines and/or floggingKennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.42—was applied and many offenders have been publicly flogged.
More worrisome for human rights and women's rights advocates, some lawyers and politicians, was the incarceration of thousands of rape victims on charges of ''zina''.
Mixing the Pakistan penal code with Islamic laws was difficult because of the difference in the underlying logic of the two legal systems.
Prohibition Order
"Drinking of wine" (and all other alcoholic drinks) was not a crime under the original Pakistan Penal Code, but in 1977, the drinking and selling of wine by Muslims was banned in Pakistan, punishable by imprisonment of six months or a fine of Rs. 5000/-, or both. Under Zia's Prohibition Order, this punishment was replaced by one of whipping of eighty stripes, (citing an ''
Ijma
''Ijmāʿ'' ( ar, إجماع , " consensus") is an Arabic term referring to the consensus or agreement of the Islamic community on a point of Islamic law. Sunni Muslims regard ''ijmā as one of the secondary sources of Sharia law, after the Qur ...
'' (consensus opinion) of the Companions of Muhammad since the period of the Second Caliph
Umar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
). Non-Muslims were excepted if they obtained a license to drink and/or manufacture alcoholic beverages from the Government.
Adultery (Zina) Ordinance
The most controversial of the ordinances was the ''
Zina
''Zināʾ'' () or ''zinā'' ( or ) is an Islamic legal term referring to unlawful sexual intercourse. According to traditional jurisprudence, ''zina'' can include adultery, fornication, prostitution, rape, sodomy, incest, and bestiality. ...
'' Ordinance, by which the Pakistan Penal Code provisions relating to adultery were replaced. Women and men found guilty were to be flogged a hundred stripes apiece if unmarried, and stoned to death if married. Uncorroborated testimony by women was inadmissible in hudood crimes, so in cases of rape, victims were sometimes charged with fornication and jailed and their rapists were freed because the women could not comply with the Islamic Hadd requirements of four reputable Muslim males testifying to the crime. Girls as young as twelve were also sometimes jailed and prosecuted for having extra-marital intercourse because the ordinance abolished Pakistan's statutory rape law.
According to legal scholar Martin Lau,
While it was easy to file a case against a woman accusing her of adultery, the Zina Ordinance made it very difficult for a woman to obtain bail pending trial. Worse, in actual practice, the vast majority of accused women were found guilty by the trial court only to be acquitted on appeal to the Federal Shariat Court. By then they had spent many years in jail, were ostracized by their families, and had become social outcasts.
In 1979, before the ordinances went into effect there were 70 women held in Pakistani prisons. By 1988, there were 6000. Critics complained that the law had become a way for "vengeful husbands and parents" to punish their wives or daughters for disobedience, but that "whenever even small changes" were proposed, religious groups and political parties staged "large scale demonstrations" in opposition.
Pakistani women's and human rights groups protested the law, and international media gave it publicity. Supporters defended the Ordinances' punishments as ordained by God and the law as the victim of "extremely unjust propaganda" in the media.
The first conviction and sentence of stoning to death, in September 1981, was overturned under national and international pressure. A conviction for adultery of a 13-year-old blind girl, (Safia Bibi), who alleged rape by her employer and his son, was reversed and the conviction was set aside on appeal after bitter public criticism.
Another conviction for zina and sentence of stoning to death in early 1988 sparked more public outrage and led to a retrial and acquittal by the Federal Sharia Court.
Attention to the problematic nature of the Ordinance and suggestions for revising it were given by a number of government appointed commissions and a televised several weeks-long-televised debate on the subject. In 2006, parts of the law were extensively revised by the
Women's Protection Bill
The Women's Protection Bill (Urdu: تحفظِ نسواں بل) which was passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan on 15 November 2006 is an attempt to amend the heavily criticised 1979 Hudood Ordinance laws which govern the punishment for rape ...
.
Sharia courts and constitutional amendments
In 1978 Zia established "Shariat Appellate Benches", "grafted" on to Pakistan's four High Courts.
The benches were tasked with judging legal cases using the teachings of the Quran and the Sunnah and examining the country's laws to determine whether they complied with ''sharia'' law, and bring them into alignment if they did not.
A Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court was created to be the final authority in ''Sharia'' cases.)
In announcing the establishment of Shariat Benches, Zia described their jurisdiction:
"Every citizen will have the right to present any law enforced by the government before the 'Sharia Bench' and obtain its verdict whether the law is wholly or partly Islamic or un-Islamic."
However, some very important laws were exempt from being struck down as un-Islamic.
The Ninth Amendment to the Pakistan Constitution, added by Zia's government, stated that "the Injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah shall be the supreme law and source of guidance for legislation", but qualified that in Article 203-B by omitting from the rule: the constitution, "Muslim Personal Law, any law relating to the procedure of any Court or tribunal", and "until the expiration of ten years from the commencement of this Chapter, any fiscal law or any law relating to the levy and collection of taxes and fees or banking or insurance practice and procedure ..." Thus the constitution and major parts of Pakistan's laws were exempt from Sharia jurisdiction. Further, the Shariat Benches did not always follow Zia's policy, and early on declared ''rajm'', or stoning, to be un-Islamic. Zia-ul-Haq reconstituted the court, which then ruled ''rajm'' Islamic.
In 1980 the Shariat Appellate Benches were disbanded and replaced by a
Federal Shariat Court
The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) is a constitutional court of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which has the power to examine and determine whether the laws of the country comply with Sharia law. The court was established in 1980 during the gov ...
(FSC). Its establishment was less than clean and simple, as between 1980 and 1985, "provisions relating to the FSC's operation were modified 28 times, through the mechanism of 12 separate presidential ordinances and were incorporated into the Constitution in 14 subsections covering 11 pages of text."Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.35 It has eight judges appointed by the president, "selected for the most part from judges of the high courts".Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.35-6
The judges of the superior courts appointed by General Zia tended to be "Islamic moderates" rather than "Islamic activists" favoring a rapid advance of Islamisation.Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996
In the lower district courts, there is "considerable variation in the enforcement and interpretation of the Hudood laws", with "much more enthusiasm" for implementation of them in the
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
and urban
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
(formerly
NWFP
NWFP may refer to:
*North-West Frontier Province, a province of British India, and later, Pakistan
*Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP o ...
) than in other regions.
Blasphemy laws
To outlaw
blasphemy
Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...
, the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) were amended through ordinances in 1980, 1982 and 1986.
*The 1980 law prohibited derogatory remarks against Islamic personages, and carried a three-year prison sentence.
*In 1982 the small
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
religious minority were prohibited from saying or implying they were Muslims.
*In 1986 declaring anything that implied disrespect to the
Islamic prophet
Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God in Islam, God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. So ...
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
, ''
Ahl al-Bayt
Ahl al-Bayt ( ar, أَهْل ٱلْبَيْت, ) refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, but the term has also been extended in Sunni Islam to apply to all descendants of the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and even to all Muslims. ...
'' (family members of Muhammad), ''
Sahabah
The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...
'' (companions of Muhammad) or '' Sha'ar-i-Islam'' (Islamic symbols), was made a
cognisable offence
Cognisable offence and non-cognisable offence are classifications of crime used in the legal system of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Non-cognisable offences includes misbehavior, public annoyance etc, while cognisable offences are m ...
, punishable with imprisonment or fine, or both.
Religious offences and punishments
The legal language forbidding of blasphemy is quite complete, stating
Whoever, with the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person, utters any word or makes any sound in the hearing of that person or makes any gesture in the sight of that person or places any object in the sight of that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.
Prior to 1986, only 14 cases pertaining to blasphemy were reported in Pakistan. From 1987 to 2014 over 1300 people have been accused of blasphemy, mostly non-Muslim religious minorities. The vast majority of the accusations were lodged for
desecration
Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual.
Detail
Many consider acts of desecration to ...
of the Quran.
The laws are controversial among the small liberal community in Pakistan and international human rights organizations.
According to one religious minority source, an accusation of blasphemy commonly subjects the accused, police, lawyers, and judges to harassment, threats, attacks and rioting. Critics complain that Pakistan's blasphemy law "is overwhelmingly being used to persecute religious minorities and settle personal vendettas," but calls for change in the blasphemy laws have been strongly resisted by Islamic parties. As of 2014 no one has been legally executed for blasphemy, but 17 people are on death row for the crime, and a considerable number of accused of or connected with the issue have been killed at the hands of mob or other vigilante violence.
Over 50 people accused of blasphemy have been murdered before their respective trials were over, and prominent figures who opposed blasphemy laws (
Salman Taseer
Salman Taseer ( Punjabi and ur, ); ( 4 January 2011) was a Pakistani businessman and politician, who served as the 26th Governor of Punjab from 2008 until his assassination in 2011.
A member of the Pakistan Peoples Party since the 1980s, h ...
, the former governor of
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
, and
Shahbaz Bhatti
Clement Shahbaz Bhatti (9 September 19682 March 2011), popularly known as Shahbaz Bhatti, was a Pakistani politician who was elected as a member of the National Assembly from 2008. He was the first Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs from N ...
, the Federal Minister for Minorities) have been assassinated after urging reform of the law. Altogether, since 1990, 62 people have been murdered as a result of blasphemy allegations. There has also been at least one case of an attack on a non-Muslim faith registered under the blasphemy laws.
The depth of passion and vigour of vigilantism against blasphemy was in evidence in a 21 April 1994 incident in
Gujranwala
Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...
where a doctor, Sajjad Farooq, was beaten, stoned, doused with kerosene and set alight, and dragged through the streets tied to a motorbike by a group of people after an announcement was made over the loudspeakers of several local mosques that 'a Christian had burned a copy of the Koran' and that people should come forward to stone him to death. It later transpired that Farooq was not a Christian but a devout Muslim, but one with enemies with access to local mosque public address systems. As of late 1994, a complaint had been lodged against five people but no arrests appeared to have been made.
Economic islamization
Zakat and Ushr Ordinance
In the short term, the fiscal dimension of the Islamization policy made a stronger impact. Payment of the alms tax, Zakat, as well as its agricultural counterpart, Ushr, were traditionally private obligations for Muslims in Pakistan. Together they generally represented 2.5% of annual household savings and served as a sort of wealth tax to be redistributed to the Muslim community's poor. One of the provisions of the 1973 constitution already stipulated that these taxes should be collected by the government. But Bhutto had made no move to implement it. In 1979, Zia decided to transform what was considered a personal duty of solidarity into a legal obligation. The "Zakat and Ushr Ordinance" was issued on 20 June 1980. Its urban component,''zakat'', took effect in 1981, whereas ''ushr'' did not come into effect until 1983. The system by which these taxes were previously levied was replaced by a specific agency to rationalize the collection & distribution of funds, a process that Malik describes as follows:
On the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan, the Zakat Deducting Agencies (banks,post-offices etc.) by means of deduction at source withdraw 2.5% from all saving accounts above a certain exemption limit (fixed at Rs. 1,000 in the first year of Zakat deduction, 1980). They transfer the Zakat thus collected to the Central Zakat Fund (CZF). This fund is fed also with proceeds from 'voluntary Zakat' and 'donations' and from funds of other institutions. Following certain criteria, the Zakat is then distributed among the Provincial Zakat Funds (PZFs) and the National Zakat Foundation (NZF). Following prescribed quota, the PZFs turn over funds to the Local Zakat Funds (LZFs), to other institutions, to the needy (mustaqhin) and to the National Zakat Foundation.
While ''ushr'' is distributed in the locality where it was collected, the distribution process of the ''zakat'' shows a whole bureaucratic pyramid in action. Here again, the Islamization policy reinforced state control over religious institutions. Further evidence of this was the Tehsil/Taluka/Subdivisional and Local Committees (Removal of Chairman and Members) Rule (1981), which allowed the state to dismiss the president of a local Zakat Committee, an institution that was previously independent of the state. In 1981, ''Al Zakat'', an influential national monthly publication boasted that 250,000 persons were involved in the new system of collecting and distributing zakat funds.
The fiscal dimension of Zia's Islamization policy fostered a rise in sectarianism, a term that in Pakistan denotes the conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims. As soon as Zia's plans for ''zakat'' and ''ushr'' were made public, Shia leaders objected that according to their jurisprudence of their sect, payment of these taxes was a purely individual choice, a decision made according to one's conscience. In reaction to the promulgation of the law, they orchestrated a massive demonstration in Islamabad which later led them to be exempted from the mandatory tax.The taxes have not been found to have eliminated rural and urban poverty or reduced the inequalities in wealth which had become a traditional feature of Pakistani society.
Riba
Zia publicly stated his desire to eliminate interest on loans and securities and create an "
Interest-free economy
Islamic banking, Islamic finance ( ar, مصرفية إسلامية), or Sharia-compliant finance is banking or Finance, financing activity that complies with Sharia (Islamic law) and its practical application through the development of Islamic ...
."
Zia declared that effective 1 July 1979 the affairs of the National Investment Trust, the House Building Finance Corporation, and the Investment Corporation of Pakistan were to be run on an interest-free basis through the adoption of profit-loss sharing (PLS).Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.128-9
On 1 January 1980, approximately 7,000 interest-free counters were opened at all the nationalized commercial banks.
In 1981 interest payments were to be replaced by "profit and loss" accounts (though profit was thought to be simply interest by another name). The government introduced and encouraged banks to adopt financing schemes based upon ''
murabaha
''Murabaḥah'', ''murabaḥa'', or ''murâbaḥah'' ( ar, مرابحة, derived from ''ribh'' ar, ربح, meaning profit) was originally a term of ''fiqh'' (Islamic jurisprudence) for a sales contract where the buyer and seller agree on the m ...
'' and or ''
musharaka
Profit and Loss Sharing (also called PLS or participatory banking) refers to Sharia-compliant forms of equity financing such as mudarabah and musharakah. These mechanisms comply with the religious prohibition on interest on loans that most Musli ...
''
Land reforms
Zia did not consider land reform or trade union activity to be part of Islamic economics.
In a statement addressed to the poor and working class he opined:
It is not for the employers to provide ''roti, kapda, aur makaan'' (bread, clothes and homes) reference to a well-known slogan used by Bhutto's PPP It was for God Almighty who is the provider of livelihood to his people. Trust in God and He will bestow upon you an abundance of good things in life.
His martial law government also made it clear that it "was not committed to redistributive agrarian policies and described the land reforms as ordinary politics to reward supporters and punish enemies".
When, on 13 December 1980, the Federal Shariat Court declared the land reforms of 1972 and 1977 to be in consonance with Islamic injunctions, Zia responded by inducting three members of the ''Ulema'' into the Federal Sharia Court and two into the Sharia Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court (''Ulema'' traditionally often coming from, or at least supporting the interests of, the landowning class). The newly constituted courts reversed the FSC judgment in 1990.
After the imposition of martial law, thousands of tenants were forcibly evicted from the land in various districts. Politics in Pakistan: the nature and direction of change ', Khalid B. Sayeed, Praeger, 1980
Another source, scholar Charles H. Kennedy, states that from 1978 to 1992, the "Islamic Courts" established by Islamisation (i.e. the Shariah Appellate Bench and Federal Shariat Court) were much more important in land reform policy than either the executive or legislature of Pakistan. Kennedy states they effectively "suspended implementation" of the land reforms, "repealed the reforms, drafted new legislation, and then interpreted the new laws' meanings".
Worker protests
Trade union and grass roots demands for higher wages, better working conditions, social security, old age benefits and compensation for accidents, were "no justification for protests and strikes", and treated as disorder to be suppressed. Maximum punishment to the offenders was three years rigorous imprisonment and/or whipping. On 2 January 1986 police killed 19 striking workers of the Colony Textile Mill in
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the List ...
, whose management had sought assistance from the authorities.
Other Sharia laws
Attempts were made to enforce praying of
salat
(, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba wit ...
five times a day.
Separate electorates for Hindus and Christians were established in 1985—a policy originally proposed by Islamist leader Abul A'la Maududi. Christian and Hindu leaders complained that they felt excluded from country’s political process, but the policy had strong support from Islamists.
Qisas and Diyat Ordinance 1990
In 1990 ''Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Ordinance'' on ''
Qisas
''Qisas'' or ''Qiṣāṣ'' ( ar, قِصَاص, Qiṣāṣ, lit=accountability, following up after, pursuing or prosecuting) is an Islamic term interpreted to mean "retaliation in kind",Mohamed S. El-Awa (1993), Punishment In Islamic Law, Amer ...
'' ("retaliation" or revenge) and ''
Diyat
''Diya'' ( ar, دية; plural ''diyāt'', ar, ديات) in Islamic law, is the financial compensation paid to the victim or heirs of a victim in the cases of murder, bodily harm or property damage by mistake. It is an alternative punishment to ' ...
'' (financial compensation paid to the heirs of a victim), was introduced after the Shariat Appellate Bench of the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
declared that the lack of ''Qisas'' and ''Diyat'' were repugnant to the injunctions of Islam as laid down by the Quran and Sunnah. (These laws were introduced after Zia died, but by a court—Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court—that Zia had created.)
Under the law, the victim (or heirs of the victim) of a crime had the right to inflict injuries on the offender identical to the ones sustained by the victim. (Although the ordinance set the "blood money" compensation for a female victim at half that for a male.) The law also allows offenders to absolve themselves of the crime by paying compensation to the victim or their heirs if, and only if, the family of the victim is willing to accept it.
;Law of Evidence
A proposed Law of Evidence (''Qanun-e-Shahadat'') would require two women to testify in place of one man. After protest and demonstrations against the law, a 1984 compromise limited the rule to financial transactions.
According to Charles Kennedy, it is unlikely that the law will affect any case brought to any superior court in Pakistan because "in practice, virtually every financial transaction in Pakistan by custom or rule requires the countersignature of several individuals."Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.41
Unlike men, women entering into legal contracts were required to have their signature witness by another person.
;Prayer timings
Instructions were issued for regular observance of prayers and arrangements were made for performing noon prayer (Salat Al Zuhur) in government and quasi-government offices and educational institutions, during office hours, and official functions, and at airports, railway stations and bus stops.
;Ramadan Ordinance
An ''Ehtram-e-Ramazan'' (reverence for fasting) Ordinance was issued banning eating, smoking, and drinking in public places in the holy month of
Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
. According to a clause of this ordinance, those places including restaurants, canteens, bridges, lanes, and even the confines of private homes. While in theory the non-Muslim minority of Pakistan is exempt from the law, minorities have been arrested for eating in public.
;Regulations for women
Under Zia, the order for women to cover their heads while in public was implemented in public schools, colleges and state television. Women's participation in sports and the performing arts was severely restricted.
The Ansari commission, which from the 1980s onwards advised the President on un-Islamic social conventions, recommended that women should be prohibited from leaving the country without a male escort and that unmarried, unaccompanied women should not be allowed to serve overseas in the diplomatic corps. An Islamic dress code was imposed on women in the public eye such as newsreaders and air stewardesses.
Other policies
Textbooks were overhauled to remove un-Islamic material, and un-Islamic books were removed from libraries.
Offices, schools, and factories were required to offer praying space; conservative scholars became fixtures on television. The Government built mosques in rural areas, giving the rural people greater access to
mullah
Mullah (; ) is an honorific title for Shia and Sunni Muslim clergy or a Muslim mosque leader. The term is also sometimes used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and sharia law.
The title has also been used in some Miz ...
s. It also appointed many mullahs to advisory groups.
According to
Pervez Hoodbhoy
Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy (Urdu: ;;born 11 July 1950) is a Pakistani nuclear physicist and activist who serves as a professor at the Forman Christian College and previously taught physics at the Quaid-e-Azam University. Hoodbhoy is also a promine ...
, a Pakistani physicist opposed to fundamentalism, under Zia the government organized international conferences and provided funding for research on such topics as the temperature of
hell
In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
and the chemical nature of ''
jinn
Jinn ( ar, , ') – also Romanization of Arabic, romanized as djinn or Anglicization, anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources)
– are Invisibility, invisible creatures in early Arabian mytho ...
'' (supernatural creatures made from fire).
In prisons, religious instruction is mandatory. Those who can demonstrate their ability to recite the Quran from memory before an examination board are entitled to a remission in their sentence of up to two years.
Madrassa expansions
Educational reforms partly flowed from judicial reforms insofar as, for instance, a sharia department was set up at Quaid-e-Azam University in 1979 to train Islamic legal specialists. But Zia devoted personal attention to the reorganization of Quranic schools (''dini madaris'', plural of ''madrasssa'').
Madrassas
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , Plural, pl. , ) is the Arabs, Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. T ...
s (traditional religious schools) in Pakistan received state sponsorship for the first time.Frontline Pakistan: The Struggle with Militant Islam edited by Zahid Hussain, Columbia University Press, 2006, p.81
Their number grew from 893 to 2,801 during the Zia years according to one source. Another states that 12,000 were opened from 1983 to 1984. Most were Deobandi in doctrinal orientation, while one quarter of them were Barelvi.Apocalyptic Realm: Jihadists in South Asia By Dilip Hiro, Yale University Press, 2012, p.162 They received funding from Zakat councils and provided free religious training, room and board to impoverished Pakistanis.Frontline Pakistan: The Struggle with Militant Islam edited by Zahid Hussain, Columbia University Press, 2006, p.78 The schools, which banned televisions and radios, have been criticized by authors for stoking sectarian hatred both between Muslim sects and against non-Muslims.
Cultural policies
In a 1979 address to the nation, Zia decried the influence of
Western culture
Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''.
image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
and music in the country. Soon afterwards, PTV, the national television network, ceased playing music videos or any music other than patriotic songs. Most of the cinemas in Lahore were shut down. (As of 2004, the "
Lollywood
Lollywood ( ur, , translit=lâli vuḍ) refers to Pakistan's film industry based in Lahore, previously the base for both Punjabi and Urdu language film production.
Lahore has been the center of Pakistani cinema since the partition of ...
" film industry of Pakistan produces around 40 films a year, compared to India's thousand or so releases.)
This was despite warm relations between Zia and the President of the largest Western country (
US President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
), and strong support for Zia from that country.
Also ironic was that under Zia's rule (according to leftist cultural critic Nadeem F. Paracha), economic prosperity expanded the country's urban middle and lower-middle-classes, and spread the popularity of
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
1980s fashion
Fashion of the 1980s was characterized by a rejection of 1970s fashion. Punk fashion began as a reaction against both the hippie movement of the past decades and the materialist values of the current decade. The first half of the decade was relat ...
wear, hairstyle and pop music.
The common South Asian parting phrase "
Khuda Hafiz
Khoda Hafez ( fa, خداحافظ, Pashto: خداۍ حافظ, bn, খোদা হাফেজ (''Khoda Hafej''), ur, , hi, ख़ुदा हाफ़िज़, Kurdish: , az, Xüdafiz), usually shortened to Khodafez in Persian is a common ...
" was discouraged in favour of "Allah Hafiz", which was first used in 1985 in the state-run media as it was said to be more Islamic than the former phrase that allowed for
religious pluralism
Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society. It can indicate one or more of the following:
* Recognizing and tolerating the religious diversity of a society or countr ...
.
Causes, criticism and sectarian division
Zia's motivation for the Islamisation programme has been described as including his personal piety, desire "to fulfil Pakistan's ''raison d'etre''" as a Muslim state, and the political need to legitimise what was seen by many as Zia's "repressive, un-representative martial law regime".
Zia had come to power overthrowing Bhutto, whose opposition had been united around the slogan of ''Nizam-e-Mustafa'' (Islamic rule), making supporters of Islamisation the enemy of Zia's enemy.Nasr, ''Mawdudi and the Making of Islamic Revivalism'', 1996: p.46
Secular and leftist forces accused Zia of manipulating Islam for political ends.
Nusrat Bhutto
''Begum'' Nusrat Bhutto (; sd, نصرت ڀٽو; ur, ; born as Nusrat Ispahani; 23 March 1929 – 23 October 2011) was an Iranian-Pakistani public figure of Kurdish origin, who served as spouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan between 1971 unti ...
, former wife of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto claimed that Zia "used Islam" to ensure "the survival of his own regime" following the "horrors of 1971 war" in East Bengal.
One author points out that Zia was conspicuously silent on the dispute between the heterodox
Zikri
Zikris are an Islamic Mahdist sect found mostly in the Balochistan region of western Pakistan. The name Zikri comes from the Arabic word dhikr.
Origins
The Zikri faith developed in Makran in the late 16th century.
Zikris believe in a myster ...
sect and the ''Ulama'' in
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
, where Islamist doctrine would call for siding with the conservative ''Ulama'', but where Zia had a political need for tranquility among the Zikri. Another notes Zia's use of Article 203-B to protect any part of the constitution, any Personal Laws, and any financial laws from being struck down as in violation of sharia law.
Sectarian division
How much success Zia had using state-sponsored Islamisation to strengthen national cohesion is also disputed.
The Shia Muslim minority differed with Sunnis over Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). The Pakistani government leaned in favour of applying
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
law to all.
In particular, dispute over how ''Zakat'' donations for the poor should be distributed fanned sectarian tension
and religious riots broke out in 1983 and 1984. Shia were exempt from the Zakat tax on the grounds that they would contribute to their own Shia] ulama for charitable work. But this exemption "led more and more Pakistanis to declare themselves as Shi’is" and this phenomenon "had the effect of hardening anti-Shi’i attitudes among Sunni Islamic activists."
Differences in fiqh jurisprudence also arose in marriage and divorce, inheritance and wills and imposition of hadd punishments.
Zia pursued anti-Shia policies and attacks on Shias also increased under Zia's presidency, with the first major sectarian riots in Pakistan breaking out in 1983 in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
and later spreading to
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
and Balochistan. Sectarian violence became a recurring feature of the
Muharram
Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after R ...
month every year, with sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shias taking place in 1986 in
Parachinar
Parachinar ( ps, پاړه چنار; ur, ) is a small Pashtun ( Turi and Bangash tribe) town which is the capital of Kurram District in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Parachinar is situated on a neck of Pakistani territory west ...
. In one notorious incident, the
1988 Gilgit Massacre
The 1988 Gilgit massacre refers to the state-sponsored mass killing of Shia civilians in the Gilgit District of Pakistan who revolted against military dictator Zia-ul-Haq's Sunni Islamist regime, responsible for vehement persecution of rel ...
, a Sunni lashkar attacked and massacred hundreds of Shias in Gilgit shortly after a Shia demonstration had attacked the federal minister Qasim Shah, according to Shia cleric Mohsin Najafi. This was later exaggerated in the late 1990s by Indian writers to claim that the Pakistani army and military dictatorship had sent Usama bin-Ladin and Pervez Musharraf to attack the Shias; many Indian outlets have repeated this claim in an effort to link the Pakistani army with Al-Qaeda. In fact, according to Azam Chaudhary who observed these events, the lashkar was raised from nearby Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and also joined by some Sunni policemen. Because the Gilgit garrison - which was then mostly sent to the Siachen region in the standoff with India - did not stop the attack and in fact the government did not protect the Shias, a rumour developed that the attack had been encouraged by the regime. A decade later, Indian outlets attached both Pervez Musharraf and Usama bin-Ladin to spice up the story, but this is untrue - bin-Ladin was then in Afghanistan and Musharraf serving as commander of the 25th infantry brigade at Bahawalpur, in South Punjab.
Among Sunni Muslims, Deobandis and Barelvis also had disputes. Zia favored Deobandi doctrine and the Sufi pirs of Sindh (who were Barelvi) joined the anti-Zia Movement for the Restoration of Democracy.
A solid majority of Barelvis had supported the creation of Pakistan, and Barelvi ''ulama'' had also issued fatwas in support of the
Pakistan Movement
The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the pe ...
during the 1946 elections, but ironically Islamic state politics in Pakistan was mostly in favour of Deobandi (and later Ahl-e-Hadith/
Salafi
The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generat ...
) institutions. This was despite the fact that the majority of Deobandi clerics strongly opposed the partition of colonial India and only a few (although influential) Deobandi clerics had supported the Pakistan Movement. Zia forged a strong alliance between the army and Deobandi institutions.
The Ahmadiyas, whose members include "many leading scientists and professionals", complain that under Zia they have been "removed from jobs and charge that their property and mosques have been seized".The Ahmadiyas, among whose members are many leading scientists and professionals, differ from other Moslems in that they do not regard Mohammad as the last prophet. They have been removed from jobs and charge that their property and mosques have been seized under Mr. Zia's regime.
Women's dissent
Women's groups (
All Pakistan Women's Association
The All Pakistan Women's Association, or APWA, ( ur, آل پاکستان ویمنز ایسوسی ایشن) as it is commonly known, is a voluntary, non-profit and non-political Pakistani organisation whose fundamental aim is the promotion of mo ...
and
Women’s Action Forum
Women's Action Forum (WAF) is a women's rights organization in Pakistan.
History
Women's Action Forum (WAF) was established in Karachi in September, 1981 and later the proposed Law of Evidence (which required two women to testify in place of one man). They challenged the law on an Islamic basis, offering an alternative interpretation of the Quranic ayah (verse) used as the basis of the law, emphasising that in other ayah, men and women are assumed to be equal, and noting the importance of the importance of the testimony of two of Muhammad's wives, (
Khadija
Khadija, Khadeeja or Khadijah ( ar, خديجة, Khadīja) is an Arabic feminine given name, the name of Khadija bint Khuwaylid, first wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In 1995, it was one of the three most popular Arabic feminine names in t ...
and
Aisha
Aisha ( ar, , translit=ʿĀʾisha bint Abī Bakr; , also , ; ) was Muhammad's third and youngest wife. In Islamic writings, her name is thus often prefixed by the title "Mother of the Believers" ( ar, links=no, , ʾumm al-mu'min, muʾminīn), ...
) in early Muslim history. (Despite their pious rebuttal, the protesters were met with tear gas and ''lathi'' (baton) charges by police outside the High Court building. Ulama condemned the protest as an act of apostasy.)
Internationally,
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
complained that the exclusion of women's testimony in rape cases (from ''Hudood'' Ordinances (1979), as well as the Law of Evidence and proposed laws regarding ''Qisas'' and ''Diyat'', relegated women to "inferior legal status" to men.
Support
Anis Ahmad
Anis Ahmad (Urdu: انیس احمد; b. 23 March 1944; popularised as Professor Doctor Anis) is a Pakistani social scientist, an educationist, and professor of Islam. He is recipient of award, by Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, award ...
of the International Islamic University credits controversy over the "fundamentalism" of Islamisation to the failure of "Muslim elites" to understand "the very nature of divinely revealed law." He believes these elites have adopted the "intellectual culture and political system" of the British colonizers due to which they have used a "sociological approach" to understanding Sharia law,Ahmed, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996, Introduction: pp.14, 17, 21
and to assert that Islamic punishments such as amputation, stoning and lashing are "
bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
", "tribal", "premodern", "harsh", "outdated" and "barbaric." He goes on to contend that unlike Sharia, secularism calls for leniency towards the criminal, ignoring the suffering of the victim of crime. He believes that sexual indulgence is not a matter of personal freedom but "rebellion against the established moral norms in a society", that application of Sharia to non-Muslims is simply a matter of trying to "persuade them to act rationally" and that criticism of the treatment of the Ahmadiyya community has been made based on the Munir Report which has been "condemned by the ''ulama''... as a biased work."Ahmed, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996, Introduction: p.29 Ahmad calls for development of educational institutions to include adequate information on current issues so that ''
ijtihad
''Ijtihad'' ( ; ar, اجتهاد ', ; lit. physical or mental ''effort'') is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a le ...
'' can be exercised in social, political, economic and legal areas and believes that while Zia and other politicians may be criticized for "piecemeal and at times frivolous" implementation, the "Islamic ideals" of Islamization have "the commitment" of the Muslim people in Pakistan.Ahmed, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996, Introduction: p.27
Legacy
Islamization has been harshly criticized. Author Ian Talbot has accused it of appearing "to have reduced a great faith tradition, rich in humanity, culture and a sense of social justice, to a system of punishments and persecution of minority groups." Author Zafar Iqbal Kalanauri suggests that Zia's interpretation of Islam may have "contributed to the rise of fundamentalism, obscurantism and retrogression" in Pakistan. Another authority on the topic, Christophe Jaffrelot attributes the rise of Islamic movements including the Lashkar-e-Taiba as an 'unintended consequence of the policy of Islamisation and support for Jihad movements' undertaken by Pakistani authorities since Zia. A blurb for a book of essays on ''The Islamization of Pakistan, 1979-2009'' published by the Middle East Institute, sums up the 30 year impact of Islamisation beginning with Zia as, "a country’s founding creed violated, much of its resources misspent, and its social fabric rent". Under Zia stricter Islamic rules did not appear to lead to greater social tranquility. Crime, drinking, drug addiction are thought to have increased.
Others, at least writing in the 1980s and 1990, thought the impact of the process was overstated. In 1986 New York Times journalist Steven Wiesman wrote that religious and political leaders agreed that Islamisation changes were "largely marginal or cosmetic." Academic Charles H. Kennedy, wrote in the mid 1990s that while during the Zia administration "hardly a day passed in which one or more of the issues of the program were not the focus of political debate in Pakistan," the process had relatively small impact, as policies were "already in place", "cosmetic", or were "left unimplemented". Kennedy's explanation for why the rhetoric on Islamisation would be so extravagant while the reality was so modest is that both proponents and opponents had incentives to exaggerate its scope and impact—doing so would rally their respective political bases of support. On the other hand, the "insiders" responsible for a functioning state, who implemented Islamisation had (and have) an incentive to preserve stability and order and make sure Islamisation took place in an "ordered and prudent" (and cautious) manner.Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.43-47 Exaggeration by enemies of Islamisation in the media and opposition (e.g.
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...
) were not censored or even contested by the government or government bureaucracy, as they "proved" to Islamic activists on the other side of the issue that the "government was enthusiastically implementing ''Nizam-e-Mustapha''".Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.47 Lacking in depth and homegrown knowledge of Pakistan, the foreign press accepted these reports.
According to Zafar Iqbal Kalanauri, the law under Zia is unstable. It has frequently changed or threatened to change because of differences of opinion among the ruling factions. There are inconsistencies
*Between legal norms and socially observed norms;
*Between statutory legal norms and the norms applied in practice in the courts (e.g. Hadd is difficult to implement because confession, retraction of confession and strict standards of proof make it difficult to execute);
*Between different formal legal norms (e.g. non-compliance with the ''Muslim Family Laws Ordinance'' is tolerated by the courts but should be strictly punished under the ''Zina Ordinance''). Another example of this contradiction is that the constitution assures women equal status on the one hand but, on the other hand, they are greatly discriminated in criminal law.
Post-Zia ul-Haq Islamisation
After the death of Zia, Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the Prime Minister he had overthrown and executed—was elected Prime Minister. Although she was an outspoken opponent of Zia's Islamisation, she did not dismantle the Federal Shariat Court, the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court, nor repeal the Hudood and Ramazan Ordinances.Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.49 She did, however, release all women convict prisoners in Pakistan not convicted of murder (most of whom were in prison because of the Hudood Ordinances), as one of her first acts after assuming power,Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.69 and generally practiced "bureaucratic neglect" of the Islamisation apparatus.Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.50
In October 1990, the Qisas and Diyat
Ordinance (QDO) was introduced by then President Ghulam Ishaq Khan.
In 1997 during the government of
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...
, the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance, now covering all offenses against human body, became an Act of the Parliament. As a consequence, crimes affecting human body in Pakistan are no longer considered offences "against the society or state", but "against an individual". Thus, if the victim or its family so decide, offenders "can walk free even after committing" murder.
In 1996 the Abolition of Whipping Act (passed by Benazir Bhutto's
Pakistan People's Party
The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded i ...
), forbade sentences/punishments of whipping offenders except when imposed as a hadd punishment.
This law has "greatly reduced" the instances of corporal punishment.
To lift the restrictions on jurisdiction of Shariat, an "Enforcement of Sharia Act" first promulgated by Zia in 1988 but not passed by parliament (and so allowed to expire under Benazir Bhutto), was voted into law by parliament under Nawaz Sharif's government in 1991. The law gave jurisdiction to Sharia-related cases to the Federal Shariat Court, rather than the less Islamically activist-inclined High Courts.Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.101 But whether the law had more political impact than legal is debated because it kept in place a limited standard of Supremacy of Sharia. The standard of interpretation for superior courts allowed only rulings "consistent with Islamic principles of jurisprudence" when "more than one interpretation" of the law "is possible."Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.94
Court decisions
In the absence of strong political leadership or social consensus after Zia's passing, Superior courts have been a major, some (Charles Kennedy) say the "real" determinant of the "content and pace of Islamic reform", through their interpretation of their jurisdiction to consider what laws and actions are "repugnant to Islam".Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.95 Another scholar (Martin Lau) calls Islamisation process in Pakistan largely "judge-led".
One roadblock in the way of striking down laws that activists felt were unIslamic was the lack of supremacy of shariat in the constitution. Activists had tried to use the Objectives Resolution with its principle that "Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in the individual and collective spheres in accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunnah," but the resolution was originally part of the ''preamble'' of the constitution, rather than ''in'' the constitution itself, and as a result a 1973 ruling had declared it to "not have same status or authority" as the "normal written constitution". In 1985, the constitution was amended and the Objectives Resolution became article 2-A of the "restored constitution".Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.96 With this change, Dr.
Tanzil-ur-Rahman
Honourable Justice (R) Dr. Tanzil-ur-Rahman, Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, (born 1928) is a prominent Pakistani jurist and scholar of Islamic studies. He was the Chief Justice of the Federal Shariat Court (1990–92), member of the Islamic Research Counc ...
—a particularly "skillful" Islamic activist and judicial activist—argued that ordering Muslims' lives "in accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunnah," as specified in article 2A was a "supra-Constitutional" '' grund norm'' of law in Pakistan. Supporting Tanzil-ur-Rahman interpretation were several decisions handed down in the late 1980s and early 1990s declaring repugnant to Islam such things as the payment of court fees, interest on loans, or investments with a fixed rate of return, the requirement that divorce decrees needed to be recorded by family court to be valid.Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.99-100
The Supreme Court addressed several important issues pertaining to Islamisation around this time period (during Benazir's time in office), including decisions that found unIslamic provisions in the Pakistan Penal Code pertaining to murder, manslaughter and other forms of bodily hurt,
and in most of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's land reforms of 1972 and 1977 (ruling for example that Islam does not countenance compulsory redistribution of wealth or land for the purpose of alleviating poverty, however laudable the goal of poverty relief may be.)
However bank interest still had not been banned in Pakistan curse to Article 203-B of the constitution (mentioned above) which exempted laws dealing with finance from subordination to the sharia.
To remedy this situation Islamic activists strove to convince the public with numerous conferences and copious literature that an interest-free economy as viable and religiously necessary, to pass a bill in parliament making shariat "superordinate" to the constitution, and to encourage superior courts to expand their definitions of jurisdiction of shariat.Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.129-30
;Faisal Case
In 1990, Tanzil-ur-Rehman was appointed to the Federal Sharia Court and about a year later (November 1991) issued a "monumental decision" (Faisal vs. Secretary, Ministry of Law) that appeared as though it might put an end to interest-bearing loans and accounts in Pakistan.Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.134-7
The Faisal decision forbade ''riba'' absolutely without exceptions, overturning 20 federal and provincial financial laws as repugnant to Islam. It defined ''riba'' as "any addition, however slight, over and above the principal", including any system of markup, any indexing for
inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...
, payment by value rather than kind. It forbade ''riba'' in "production loans" as well as "consumptive" loans. It specifically declared invalid two
Islamic Modernist
Islamic modernism is a movement that has been described as "the first Muslim ideological response to the Western cultural challenge" attempting to reconcile the Islamic faith with modern values such as democracy, civil rights, rationality, equ ...
interpretations that avoided strict prohibition: considering anti-''riba'' Quranic verses (2:275-8) allegorical, and use of ''ijtihad'' (independent reasoning) of the issue based on ascertaining the public good (''
maslaha
Maslaha or maslahah ( ar, مصلحة, lit=public interest) is a concept in shari'ah ( Islamic divine law) regarded as a basis of law.I. Doi, Abdul Rahman. (1995). "Mașlahah". In John L. Esposito. ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic Wo ...
'').Kennedy, ''Islamization of Laws and Economy'', 1996: p.135-6
After much stalling by the government and bureaucracy, the Faisal case was upheld in 1999 by the Shariah Appellate Bench in the "Aslam Khaki" decision, with detailed orders to start the interest free economy. Pleading that implementation of the judgment would "create enormous problems" for Pakistan's economy by hurting the domestic western-style banking industry and Pakistan's "financial dealings with the outside world", the government was given an additional year by the court to Islamise by the Bench.
By this time, however,
Pervez Musharraf
General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...
had come to power in a coup and limited the power of the courts. Two justices of the Shariah Appellate Bench resigned rather than take a new oath of office, and a new appeal with new judges found many "errors" in the Aslam Khaki case and overturned the ruling of a couple months earlier.
Kennedy, ''Pakistan’s Superior Courts and the Prohibition of Riba'', 2006: p.111-113
Protection of Women Act
After 2001, attention to revise Hudood Ordinance was given by a number of government appointed commissions, a televised several weeks-long-televised debate on the subject In 2006, then
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Pervez Musharraf proposed reform of the ordinance, and in November/December the " Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act" was passed and signed. The bill retained only Adultery in the Zina Ordinance, allowing rape to be prosecutable under civil law. It prevents unsuccessful complaints of adultery or rape from being converted into charges of fornication, and adds to the Pakistan Penal Code a new offense of false accusation of fornication.Lau, "Twenty-Five Years of Hudood Ordinances", 2007: p.1308
Public support
Islamisation has strong public support in Pakistan. According to Shajeel Zaidi, a million people attended Zia's funeral because he had given them what they wanted: more religion. A PEW opinion poll found that 84% of Pakistanis favoured making Sharia the official law of the land. According to the 2013 Pew Research Center report, the majority of Pakistani Muslims also support the death penalty for those who leave Islam (62%). In contrast, support for the death penalty for those who leave Islam was only 36% in fellow South Asian Muslim country Bangladesh (which shared heritage with Pakistan).
A poll conducted by
Gallup
Gallup may refer to:
*Gallup, Inc., a firm founded by George Gallup, well known for its opinion poll
*Gallup (surname), a surname
*Gallup, New Mexico, a city in New Mexico, United States
**Gallup station, an Amtrak train in downtown Gallup, New Me ...
Pakistan during January 2011 of over 2,700 men and women in rural and urban areas of all four provinces of the country, found 67% of Pakistanis responding yes to the question ''In your opinion should government take steps to ‘Islamise’ the society?'' 13% of those polled answered that Pakistan did not need Islamisation and 20% gave no response. In 2016 an opinion poll by PEW found that 78% of Pakistanis said that the country's laws should strictly follow the Quran and a further 16% of Pakistanis said that the laws should follow the values and principles of Islam, but not strictly follow. This was the highest figure amongst all Muslim populations surveyed by PEW.
A 2010 opinion poll by PEW Research Centre also found that 87% of Pakistanis considered themselves 'Muslims first' rather than a member of their nationality. This was the highest figure amongst all Muslim populations surveyed. In contrast only 67% in Jordan, 59% in Egypt, 51% in Turkey, 36% in Indonesia and 71% in Nigeria considered themselves as 'Muslim first' rather than a member of their own nationality.
See also
*
Islamization
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...
*
International propagation of Salafism and Wahhabism
Starting in the mid- 1970s and 1980s, the international propagation of Salafism and Wahhabism within Sunni Islam favored by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies has achieved what the French political scientist Gilles Kepel de ...
*
Petro-Islam
Petro-Islam is a neologism used to refer to the International propagation of Salafism and Wahhabism, international propagation of the extremist and fundamentalist interpretations of Sunni Islam derived from the doctrines of Muhammad ibn Abd al-W ...
Blasphemy law in Pakistan
The Pakistan Penal Code, the main criminal code of Pakistan, penalizes blasphemy ( ur, قانون ناموس رسالت) against any recognized religion, providing penalties ranging from a fine to death. According to the US Commission on Interna ...
*
Hudood Ordinance
The Hudood Ordinances (Urdu ; also Romanized Hadood, Hadud, Hudud; singular form is ''Hadh'' or ''hadd'') are laws in Pakistan that were enacted in 1979 as part of then military ruler Zia-ul-Haq's "Islamisation" process. It replaced parts of the ...
*
2020 Karak temple attack
On December 30, 2020 the Samadhi of Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj, a revered Hindu saint and the Krishna Dwara temple situated in the Teri village in the Karak District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan was attacked and burned, by a mob o ...
Bibliography
* Khan, Ayesha. The Women's Movement in Pakistan: Activism, Islam and Democracy. United Kingdom, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018.
* Malik, I.. State and Civil Society in Pakistan: Politics of Authority, Ideology and Ethnicity. United Kingdom, Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1996.
Islamization
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...