In Pakistan, Democracy , Islam and Secularism

In Pakistan, Democracy , Islam and Secularism :A phantasmorgia of conflicting Muslim aspirations, Isthiaq Ahmad studies Pakistan as a nation in search of its identity. Ishtiaq Ahmed segments this article into pre and post partition and focuses on Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Muslim league’s campaign for Pakistan. Ishtiaq Ahmad, through the course of this article, presents the idea that the controversy surrounding the idea of Pakistan was because of the deliberate ambiguity in the Muslim League’s campaign for a separate Pakistan.

The first premise presents the idea that Jinnah did not vividly or explicitly state what ideological foundations the state of Pakistan should consist of. Ahmad explains that this was precisely because Jinnah had to appease a varying group of stakeholders. One could agree to the veracity of this premise as there is a consensus amongst scholars regarding the ambiguity that surrounded Jinnah’s statements. As Ahmad himself points out that to the legist Muslims, ideals of Islamic social justice were promised. Likewise to the seculars, Jinnah promised that Pakistan will not be a theocratic state. Further to the barelvis and deobandis, different promises were made in order to intricately balance the different interests of varying groups. As S Nomanul Haq says, "I think that there is a degree of ambiguity in this matter. There is no clarity on this issue, as there are some statements by Jinnah in which he was very clear about the kind of state he had envisioned, whereas some are not so clear," Haq said, adding that the arguments of liberals that Jinnah's vision of Pakistan was secular were not very strong.”

The second crucial claim that Ahmad makes is that Jinnah envisioned Pakistan as a secular state. Clearly, this claim is problematic since it has faced great opposition from a variety of scholars. As Guichi outlines: “By Islam Jinnah meant not a totalitarian ideology, but, as stated in early 1948, a doctrine of "social justice and Islamic socialism which emphasizes equality and brotherhood of man”. One ought to understand the definitional meaning that Ahmad might have implied from this claim. By a secular state, Ahmad implies that religion and state should be separated. S Nomanul Haq further states, "Soon after the partition of India, Jinnah asked the legislators to devise an Islamic banking system. How would you interpret that?"