Politics of Desecularization: Law and the Minority Question in Pakistan

Description

The movement away from secularist practices and toward political Islam is a prominent trend across Muslim polities. Yet this shift remains under-theorized. Why do modern Muslim polities adopt policies that explicitly cater to religious sensibilities? How are these encoded in law and with what effects? Sadia Saeed addresses these questions through examining shifts in Pakistan's official state policies toward the rights of religious minorities, in particular the controversial Ahmadiyya community. Looking closely at the 'Ahmadi question', Saeed develops a framework for conceptualizing and explaining modern desecularization processes that emphasizes the critical role of nation-state formation, political majoritarianism, and struggles between 'secularist' and 'religious' ideologues in evolving political and legal fields. The book demonstrates that desecularization entails instituting new understandings of religion through processes and justifications that are quintessentially modern. Cover Half-title page Series page Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Rethinking Desecularization 1 Colonial Genealogy of Muslim Politics 2 Democratic Exclusions, Authoritarian Inclusions 3 Politics of Minoritization 4 The Nation-State and Its Heretics 5 Courts and the Minority Question Conclusion After Secularization Appendix A Text of Objectives Resolution, Preamble to the Constitution of Pakistan Appendix B Text of Anti-Islamic Activities of the Qadiani Group, Lahore Group, and Ahmadis (Prohibition and Punishment) Ordinance, 1984 Bibliography Index