Islam’s Political Culture: Religion and Politics in Predivided Pakistan

This book examines the political dimensions of Islam in predivided Pakistan (1947-1971), one of the first new Muslim nations to commit itself to an Islamic political order and one in which the national debate on Islamic, political, and ideological issues has been the most persistent, focused, and rich, of any dialogues in the contemporary Muslim world. Based on extensive literary and field research in Pakistan and what is now Bangladesh, this study contributes to an enhanced understanding of Islam’s political culture worldwide, since the issues, positions, and arguments are often similar across the Muslim world. Nasim Jawed draws on the findings of a survey he conducted among two influential social groups, the ulama and modern professionals, as well as on the writings of Muslim intellectuals. He probes the major Islamic positions on critical issues concerning national identity, the purpose of the state, the form of government, and free, socialist, and mixed economies.