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Pakistan's Deadly Struggles With Politics and Religion J a n u a r y 5 , 2 0 11 | 0 3 2 1 G M T

The governor of Pakistan’s largest province of Punjab, Salman Taseer, was assassinated

Tuesday by a member of his own security detail. Given that the country is the world’s largest hub

of disparate types of Islamist militant actors -- a large number of whom are waging war against

the Pakistani state -- events like these are to be expected. But this particular assassination offers

key insight into the deep-rooted problems plaguing Pakistan and the wider Islamic world.

The assassin, a security officer with the Elite Force (the counterterrorism arm of the provincial

police department also responsible for VIP protection), surrendered after killing Taseer. He also

boasted about his deed, saying that he killed Taseer because of the governor’s efforts to revamp

the religious laws of the country. The deceased official was known for his outspokenness against

Islamist extremism and terrorism and was personally involved in the efforts to secure the

pardoning of a Christian woman who had recently been sentenced to death -- in accordance with

the country's blasphemy laws -- after being accused of insulting the Prophet Mohammad.

Counterterrorism and counterinsurgency measures are perceived as a Western-led war against

the faithful who are resisting a campaign to tamper with their religion.

For a member of a security entity designed to fight terrorism and protect state figures to blatantly

kill the official he is supposed to protect speaks volumes about how Pakistan is increasingly

becoming polarized over the role of religion in public affairs. The historical unresolved ambiguity

over the nature of the republic, the Islamization agenda of the military regime of Gen. Zia-ul-Haq

(1977-88) and the decades-long policy of cultivating Islamist militant groups as instruments of

foreign policy have created a situation where the secular state and mainstream society are on

the defensive. Those opposing ultraconservative notions of religion are not just targets of Islamist

militancy, they are unable to compete intellectually.

Religious discourse is the monopoly of either medievalist theologians or radical Islamists. Put

differently, there are very few who possess the knowledge to craft an interpretation of Islam that

is both in keeping with the here and now and is authentic and legitimate, as well. The result is an

environment in which extremism and terrorism can more or less flourish.

Furthermore, the standard approaches of the state in seeking to address this problem actually

work to the advantage of radical and militant Islamists. Counterterrorism and counterinsurgency

measures on the part of the state are perceived as a Western-led war against the faithful who are

resisting a campaign to tamper with their religion. On the ideological level, fighting radical

Islamism by promoting secularism only further empowers the Islamist narrative.

Analysis of the Key Event of the Day

Pakistan's Deadly Struggles With Politics and Religion | Stratfor http://www.stratfor.com/geopolitical-diary/pakistans-deadly-struggles-pol...

1 of 2 8/30/2012 6:39 PM

Despite their overwhelming electoral victories in successive elections, non-Islamist political

forces (both on the right and left) have been unsuccessful at efforts to reform Pakistan’s legal

environment primarily because at the public level, such moves are viewed by many Pakistanis --

and Muslims worldwide -- as being tantamount to tinkering with sacred religious principles. The

word reform in the context of Islam carries a negative connotation. Likewise, secularism is

popularly defined as "irreligiousity" as opposed to religious neutrality.

What this means is that the only way for Pakistanis to effectively combat extremism and terrorism

is for Muslim scholars to create an alternative religious thought that is perceived as authentic and

legitimate by a critical mass of the public to be rooted in Islamic religious text and the original

teachings of Prophet Mohammad. At this stage there is very little work being done along these

lines by the relevant Pakistani authorities, and even if a concerted effort was initiated, this is a

generational process. Such efforts are important not just in Pakistan, but in most of the Muslim

world, though in the case of Pakistan, the situation is even dire given the extent to which the

state has weakened.

Pakistan's Deadly Struggles With Politics and Religion | Stratfor http://www.stratfor.com/geopolitical-diary/pakistans-deadly-struggles-pol...

2 of 2 8/30/2012 6:39 PM