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The new history textbooks describe the two-nation theory as the original parent of ideology of Pakistan and the latter as the inheritor of the mantle of the former. The two-nation theory, therefore, still remains a basic element in the thinking processes of the establishment. The emphasis in the textbooks on the ritualistic observances of Islam enabled them to underplay the social and egalitarian aspects of Islam.
Emphasis on Islam exacerbated feelings against non-Muslims such as the Hindus and the Qadianis. Lectures from the pulpits were often laced with propaganda of communal hatred. The Hindu was described as forever conspiring to seek domination.
If the minority view was correct according to Islamic injunctions he wanted it to prevail over the majority view
The interests of both the religious orthodox and the military were served by suitably linking such images with India.
Zia’s Priorities
On seizing power (July 1977) Zia had announced that elections would be held within three months but his priorities soon changed to Islamising Pakistan. Many of his pronouncements in this context would have done Maulana Maudoodi proud. He categorically stated that Islamisation of Pakistani society had become his top priority and elections could not be held until this objective had been secured. He even challenged the concept of elections on adult suffrage and questioned the principle of the rule by majority if it failed to arrive at correct Islamic decisions.
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If the minority view was correct according to Islamic injunctions he wanted it to prevail over the majority view. In this way, by indicating that Koran and Sunnah would be his guides, he sought a divine right to rule, unmindful of the temporal requirements of contemporary political thought and domestic needs.
Zia took his Islamic zeal to defining a new role for the Armed Forces. He called them protectors of the ideological frontiers as well, not just territorial frontiers, since Pakistan was created on the basis of the two-nation theory and its ideology made them soldiers of Islam.10
After the declaration of the Objectives Resolution in March 1949 that Islam would be the backdrop of constitutional values, the progress of Islam in constitutional provisions had been creeping and halting. The first Constituent Assembly had recommended a committee of five Ullemas to monitor Islamic applications. The first Constitution (1956), enacted after ten years of deliberations, declared Pakistan to be an Islamic Republic. While also declaring that no laws repugnant to Koran and Sunnah would be enacted, it provided no specific mechanism to ensure this.The second Constitution (1962) dropped ‘Islamic’ from the title of the Republic and created an advisory Council of Islamic Ideology to enable “Muslims of Pakistan to order their lives in accordance with the principles and concepts of Islam”. The Republic was again made Islamic through the first Amendment of 1963, in deference to the pressure brought by the Ullemas. The third Constitution (1973), enacted during Bhutto’s period, for the first time made Islam the state religion, which was an acknowledgement of socialist Bhutto’s compromise with the forces of religion. All members of the Council of Ministers had to be Muslims. An Islamic Council was to review existing laws to ensure that none repugnant to Koran or Sunnah remained on the statute books.
Zia’s programme added great substance to the Islamisation process, but only in specified fields, which largely interested the orthodox elements. Shariat benches were set up in each provincial High Court with an appellate bench in the Supreme Court in 1979 but the provincial benches were replaced by a Federal Shariat Court in 1980.
A compulsory tax of Zakat was made applicable to certain investments.
Four Hudood Ordinances were issued prescribing Koranic punishments like amputation, stoning to death, etc. for offences like theft and adultery. Higher representation was given to the Ullema in the Council of Islamic ideology. Prayer breaks were officially introduced in government offices. An Islamic university was brought into existence in Islamabad. The educational system was reorganised, as already mentioned. Women were subjected to a dress code and discouraged from participation in sports, stage activities, etc. A compulsory tax of Zakat was made applicable to certain investments. The Ahmedias, already declared non-Muslims by Bhutto’s regime, were now prohibited from calling their religious places as Masjids or using Koranic verses or Islamic symbols. In June 1988, a Sharia ordinance was issued declaring Sharia to be the supreme source of laws and ‘the grand norm for guidance for policy making’.
The Ahmedias, already declared non-Muslims by Bhuttos regime, were now prohibited from calling their religious places as Masjids or using Koranic verses or Islamic symbols.
The Objectives Resolution had envisaged two classes of citizens for Pakistan, Muslims and non-Muslims, not with identical rights. Zia’s policy of Islamisation which eventually converted into one of Shariatisation divided Muslims also, leading to sectarianism and large scale sectarian violence, apart from the targeting of the non-Muslims. The Sunnis and the Shias established their own militant organisations, Sipahe-Sahiban and Sipah-e-Mohammed to fight each other.
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