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Default Dawn:Sunday Magazine

'Pakistani culture': Who made who?


What is ‘Pakistani culture?’ We keep hearing about it but struggle to define it in a manner that is convincing enough for it to bag a nod of agreement from a large body of people in the country.

After 67 years of independence, a culture has indeed developed but only rarely has it been studied and documented. Instead, much of the effort in this context has gone into determining and then advocating what should be (as opposed to what is) Pakistani culture. But there have been some exceptions.

Though even after six decades the country as a whole has yet to agree upon a consensus idea about Pakistani culture — and most Pakistanis have been unable to understand the notion of culture outside of their own ethnic, religious, sectarian and sub-sectarian biases — over the years some truly remarkable intellectual exercises have taken place to study what is (and should) constitute Pakistani culture.

When Pakistan was spun into a reality in 1947 through a nationalist theory that described the Muslims of India as being a separate cultural and political entity in the region, the left and liberal supporters of the country’s founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, understood his separatist impulse as an attempt to create a Muslim-majority country that would inherently negate the environment of communal strife that had engulfed India.

To the liberals and those on the left, Jinnah had envisioned a separate country as being a haven of communal harmony because it would have a majority that was once a ‘persecuted minority’ in India. This way (theoretically) Pakistan was more likely to eschew and escape the historical and political dynamics that had plunged India into a riotous religious and communal whirlpool.

Various voices have been raised in the ongoing debate over what ‘Pakistani culture’ is

But whereas the liberals and those on the left saw the separatist aspect behind the movement that created Pakistan as a purely political manoeuvre to rescue India’s Muslim minority from the rising tide of communal strife in pre-partition India, those on the right understood it in more theological terms.

They understood the creation of Pakistan as a first step to enact an Islamic State in South Asia that would then be expanded into other regions as a possible caliphate.

For this they saw Jinnah’s move and achievement simply as an evolutionary stepping stone from where the political leadership must fall into the hands of religionists who would kick-start their campaign by first ‘Islamising’ the society from below (through Islamic evangelism) so society could be prepared to willingly accept ‘Islamic laws’ imposed from above (the state).

One of the leading proponents of such a theory was prolific Islamic scholar, Abul Ala Maududi. To him anything ‘Indian/Hindu’ (or for that matter, ‘Western’) that was prevalent in the Pakistani culture and society should be done away with and replaced with laws and acts that were ‘Islamic.’

Of course, with Pakistan boasting of various strands, sects and sub-sects of Islam, Maududi’s definition of ‘Islamic’ was not only at odds with the thinking of the left and the liberals, but he was also vehemently opposed by the country’s Shia, Sunni Barelvi and even by the more puritanical Sunni Deobandi leaderships.

Jinnah’s early death in 1948 had left behind a huge vacuum, leaving his party (the Muslim League) haphazardly responding to Maududi’s theory by trying to fuse it with what the party believed was Jinnah’s original intent.

In the late 1950s, famous Pakistani historian, I. H. Qureshi, published a book called The Pakistani Way of Life.

Though a vivid thinker and fluent writer, Qureshi’s book is nothing more than a somewhat moderate version of what Maududi was already advocating.

But whereas Maududi was speaking more as a theoretical political Islamist, Qureshi attempts to stoop and become a cultural propagandist who (at least in the mentioned book) only manages to offer a rather bare description of ‘Pakistaniat.’

He completely ignores the dynamics of the cultures of the country’s various ethnic, religious, sectarian and sub-sectarian communities that were contributing in the construction of Pakistan’s culture as a whole. Instead he ends up offering a rather absolutist (if not entirely naďve) idea of faith and culture (in Pakistan) emitting from a small upper-middle-class elite that was neither liberal nor entirely conservative. Qureshi was part of such an elite.

Such perceptions (and also those held by men such as Maududi) would begin to be challenged in the 1960s by renowned Urdu poet and journalist, Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Photos provided by the writer
Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Photos provided by the writer
He began authoring various essays on what (he believed) was Pakistan’s culture. The essays were collected and published by the populist government of Z. A. Bhutto in 1975. The collection was called ‘The Faiz Report’.

The report is a detailed study of the political, economic and cultural origins of the region that became Pakistan and of the historical roots of the people who after 1947 had become Pakistani.

Faiz’s conclusion was that the Pakistani culture was a combination of cultures — driven and energised by the individual cultures of the various Islamic sects and ethnic groups present here. He added that Pakistan’s culture was also being contributed to by elements of Western culture inherited by the country from the region’s colonial past; and by the distinct cultures of various minority groups residing in Pakistan. To him Pakistan’s culture was naturally pluralistic and not monolithic. It was still an on-going process.

A great admirer of Mohammad Iqbal, Faiz also suggested that Islam is universal and cannot be associated with a single nation. He wrote that Pakistan has its own culture that has many aspects, one of which was Islam. ‘We do not have a monopoly on Islam,’ he insists in the report.

This also meant that Jinnah had strived to safeguard a number of varied cultural, economic and political aspects associated with India’s Muslims, one of which was the religion that they follow. To men like Faiz, religion alone was not the sole reason behind Pakistan’s creation.

Whereas the rightists condemned the liberal points of view on Pakistani culture as a mixture of acts ‘aping the West’ and displaying the desire to retain certain unwanted ‘Hindu practices’, the liberals have mocked the rightists for failing to mould an identity that was in tune with the historical trajectories of Pakistan’s various stands of Islam. They accuse the rightists of ‘aping the Arabs’ (especially those from oil-rich monarchies), and for encouraging Pakistanis to behave like ‘fake Arabs’ and even second-class Muslims.

In 1973 another interesting study appeared in this context. It was authored by Dr Hameeduddin, a Pakistani professor of history at the Harvard University.

In a remarkable twist, Hameeduddin’s study, The Quest for Identity, concluded that Pakistan’s cultural identity should be shaped (in the minds of its people and those of the foreigners) by living Sufis who should be trained in the art of cultural diplomacy.

In an interesting paragraph at the end of his study, Hameeduddin wrote: ‘The common people in the West are being swayed by the hypnotic influence of (Indian) spiritualists who flock the land and present India as a country of pacifists who are incapable of any aggressive action and have always been threatened by the Pakistani bullies who were supplied with US arms. Could Pakistan catch up with this influx in the West by sending a stream of Sufi saints?’ He asks.

In Pakistan, Hameeduddin pleaded that the state should hurl the Sufis into the modern orbit of cultural engineering. This to him would truly shape Pakistan’s unique nationalist character in the Muslim world.


Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, March 29th, 2015
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Default "Past present: The high cost of hatred"

Past present: The high cost of hatred


From time to time, politicians from the West use the term ‘crusade’ when describing the battle against Islamic fundamentalism, perhaps not realising that the term itself harks to a bloody campaign waged by fanatical Christian extremists in order to recover the holy places in the Middle East which were then under the control of Muslim rulers.

Pope Urban II ordered the first crusade in 1095 in response to the appeal of the Byzantine emperor who sought help of his co-religionists to protect him against the Turkish invaders. The Pope combined these two projects into one and urged the European rulers and people to go to war and serve the cause of God. He also declared some concessions for the crusaders who were ready to embark on this campaign. They were granted indulgences which would eliminate their worldly sins and reduce their torment in purgatory, paving the way to heaven. Those who would die fighting would earn martyrdom.

Such was the impact of the Pope’s declaration and the propaganda conducted for the Church by the likes of Peter the Hermit, a religious fanatic, that there was great enthusiasm among the common people to go and fight against the infidels.

They embarked on the first crusade on 1095 and travelled by land and sea first to Constantinople.

When the Crusaders reached Constantinople, the emperor was disappointed that they were not warriors but instead common people with no experience of fighting. He encouraged them to go to Anatolia and fight against the Turks. As a result of the encounter, they were slaughtered in the battlefield.

From the crusaders to today’s suicide bombers, there have been many who have shed blood in the name of religion
The First Crusade, known as the Crusade of the Barons ended in failure. Armed with only religious enthusiasm, they could not succeed in the battlefield.

The news of their failure created dismay and hopelessness in Europe. However, such was the religious zeal and support of the Church that this time the European rulers, aristocracy and knights began preparations in advance to once again undertake the project of capturing the holy places.

The Second Crusade was launched in 1147. Before embarking, the rulers and the knights made sure that they were well-prepared for the war considering the high cost of weapons, horses and living expenses. Some sold their properties which were purchased mostly by the bishops who were rich and could afford to invest in real estate. Others prepared their wills and bequeathed their wealth and properties to their families.

They accepted this war as a religious obligation of the highest order that would absolve them of their sins.

The Second Crusade was different from the first as it was fought by professional warriors who had previously been involved in battles against their rivals in Europe. They succeeded in a number of battles against the Muslim armies and captured important cities, their final triumph being the occupation of Jerusalem which was the main target of the holy warriors. After occupying the city, they neither spared the Muslims nor the Jewish inhabitants, and massacred them all.

The Second Crusade led to the establishment of crusader states in the Middle East, headed by different rulers belonging to the royal families of Europe. However, these states were surrounded by the Muslim rulers who either continued the war against the crusaders or concluded treaties of peace.

After the occupation of Jerusalem, two important Orders of Knights emerged, one was known as the Templars, originated from the Temple of Solomon and the Aqsa mosque. The other was known as Hospitallers whose duty was to take care of the pilgrims. These two were the militant Orders whose responsibility was to protect and look after the pilgrims who visited the holy places and were directly under the control of the Pope.

In the meantime, political changes took place in the Middle East. After the decline of the Fatimid caliphate in 1171, Salahuddin Ayubi became the Sultan of Egypt and extended his political power in Syria. He decided to fight against the crusading states and liberated Jerusalem from the Christian rule. His campaign coincided with the Third Crusade in 1187, which was led by Richard the Lionheart, the king of England.

After defeating the crusaders in a number of battles Salahuddin finally reoccupied Jerusalem in 1187. However, his treatment with the Christians of Jerusalem was different and he allowed them to live peacefully and retain their properties.

His victory earned him the title of ‘Ghazi’ for rescuing the holy city from the Christians. In history, he is known as not only a warrior but also as a generous and tolerant king.

The Third Crusade continued for five more years but failed to achieve any substantive results. When the Mamluk dynasty (1250-1517) came to power in Egypt, Sultan Baibars undertook campaigns against the crusading states and defeated them one by one. After existing for nearly two centuries, these states were wiped out and the crusaders also stopped coming to the Middle East for their help.

Such was the outcome of the crusades which cost thousands of lives and loss of property; they brought nothing but failure and disappointment in the end. Religious fervour which urged the people of Europe to sacrifice for a holy cause ended without achieving anything.

Although the crusades were popularly supported in Europe, there was also criticism by some individuals who argued that to shed blood in war was against the teachings of Christ; it was a religion of peace, love and brotherhood which appealed to its followers to love their enemies. However, these voices remained unheard. Religious passion motivated people not for peace but for violence and bloodshed which created an environment of terror and the fear of death.


Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, March 29th, 2015
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Default "A leaf from history: Meeting Zia’s terms and conditions for politics"

A leaf from history: Meeting Zia’s terms and conditions for politics


With Martial Law dragging into its third year, General Ziaul Haq needed to show practical attempts to change the country’s political system. In the last week of August 1979, the General struck with two important changes to the law.

The first was of a very fundamental nature for political parties and their operations: through one amendment on Aug 30 to the Political Parties Act, 1962, all political parties were bound to get themselves registered with the Election Commission. Parties that displayed any “opposition to the Pakistan ideology” or were “working against the country’s integrity” were to be banned. No party could ridicule the armed forces either. Parties that did not fulfil these conditions would stand disqualified from the electoral process.

It also became mandatory for them to hold annual party elections and keep a record of their finances, including raising funds and their use. The amendment also decreed that parties that did not get registered or failed to show a record of finances would not be allowed to function as political parties. Parties receiving funds from abroad were to be banned altogether.

The second decision made by Gen Zia, one which he had been arguing for some time, was to hold local bodies elections in September on non-party basis, and before the general elections. The General announced that elected local representatives were to be armed with judicial powers, empowering them to decide disputes of various natures. At every instance, Gen Zia tried to quash notions that his local bodies system was merely a copy of General Ayub Khan’s Basic Democracy system.

An old dilemma for political parties once again: to participate in elections and legitimise a dictator, or to boycott and cede space
In response to the registration regulation, Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) chief Mufti Mahmood said on Sept 2 that political parties in the Alliance and outside had a unified stand: nobody agreed with it. The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) held a meeting of its central committee on Sept 3, and said that the amendments to the Political Parties Act were biased. Maulana Noorani also opposed it, arguing that empowering the Election Commission with judicial powers was wrong.

Meanwhile, the now-reactivated Election Cell began welcoming political visitors again.

On Aug 11, 1979, Khwaja Khairuddin of the Muslim League-Chathha called on the Cell. Of his suggestions, the most critical one was that all factions of the Muslim League should be amalgamated and that Gen Zia should head the unified Muslim League. Khairuddin argued that in the presence of Pir Pagara, the various Muslim League factions would not unite.

The Muslim League-Chathha leader also communicated his fear to the Cell that holding elections on Nov 17 would lead the country towards more trouble. He claimed that the deteriorating law and order situation coupled with price hike had created a general need for change.

On Oct 21, Mian Akhtar Paganwala wrote to the Cell and suggested that there should be no elections till the economy was reinvigorated and reset.

Nonetheless, most leaders were in support of holding elections on Nov 17. Most parties and politicians, however, received the Aug 30 announcement as a hopeless measure. They argued that the new condition of registering political parties and submitting financial accounts in a short span of time was near impossible.

The PPP had already announced that it would participate in local bodies polls. For the sake of identifying their candidates among the candidates, the party called them the Awam Dost (panel).

The JI was pressed by two divergent views, but in its Sept 2 meeting, the party’s executive committee decided to take part in elections. The party resolved that if they boycotted polls, the vacuum created could be used by some unscrupulous elements. But since the JI was an active part of the PNA, its decision needed to be tied into the aims and aspirations of the Alliance.

The second decision made by Gen Zia, one which he had been arguing for some time, was to hold local bodies elections in September on non-party basis, and before the general elections.
The PNA decided on Sept 4 to boycott the local bodies polls, arguing that they were aimed at prolonging dictatorial rule. The JI revised its policy after PNA’s decision; on Sept 15, the Jamaat too announced a complete boycott of local bodies polls. Maulana Noorani’s Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (JUP) and Asghar Khan’s Tehrik-i-Istaqlal (TI), however, stuck with their decision of participating in the polls process.

Amidst the turmoil, local bodies elections were held on Sept 25.

The polls were not without their skirmishes, disputes and clashes, with a number of deaths reported from across the country. Rigging complaints were received from all provinces too; rigging was rampant especially at women’s polling stations. In some city centres, polling needed to be suspended after rigging complaints.

The Election Commission announced on polling day that general elections would now be held on Nov 17, 1979. This infuriated Gen Zia; the very next day, he contradicted the report and said that the Nov 17 date was neither sacred nor set in stone.

After the polls, it was now time for all parties to get registered with the Election Commission.

While many parties opposed the registration process, some began preparing to comply. On Sept 3, the Home Department issued a notification saying that parties which were in existence on Aug 30 would have to present their accounts by Sept 18. On that day, some 44 political parties presented their accounts. These parties included PPP, Progressive People’s Party, Muslim League, JI, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, JUP, Tehrik Istaqlal, Pakistan Jamhoori Party, Markazi Jamiat Ahl-i-Hadis, Pakistan Minority Council and the Pakistan Shia political party.

After its Sept 3 decision to reject the proposed amendments to the Political Parties Act, the PNA met again in Islamabad on Sept 8 to reiterate its stand. On a day when Gen Zia had just returned from Havana, having attended a non-aligned countries conference, the PNA argued that if Gen Zia was inclined to take part in politics, he should resign as army chief and form his own political party.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, March 29th, 2015
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Default "A leaf from history: Zia goes back on his word ... again"

A leaf from history: Zia goes back on his word ... again


As is the wont in dictatorships, the inner cabinet of General Ziaul Haq assured him in August, 1979 that he was the most suitable person to rule the country. But then came a rude shock to the system: some generals began questioning him at an Aug 29-meeting of his advisors.

In the meeting, Gen Zia began reviewing the overall situation and warned that if elections were to be held, the country would break up. Some generals had heard it all before. They retorted that he should not tell the same old story every single time; for once, he should tell them what he planned to do, and then stick to his plan. They argued that Gen Zia’s oft-changing stances left them exposed to humiliation at the hands of their adversaries.

This was the first time that Gen Zia had heard dissenting voices in his presence.

Despite extending assurances to Mufti Mahmood to the contrary, Gen Zia presses ahead with the PR system and parties’ registration
Perhaps feeling that he was losing ground, Gen Zia changed his standpoint. He informed the others that a two-member committee was being set up which would evaluate the situation and report to him by Sept 10. Guidelines for a future political system would then be drawn in light of the committee’s findings.

General Rahimuddin and General Abbasi were tasked with preparing the report. They knew what Gen Zia wanted, and thus, their report said that the General should continue to rule for another two to five years. They claimed that during this period, the country’s economy would also improve and political decisions could thus be made on safer grounds.

The report also urged him to retain Martial Law as the supreme law of the land, and suggested that amendments should be made to the constitution or it could even be abrogated if necessary. A complete ban on political activities was also proposed; if any agitation took place, it should be crushed with force.

On Sept 25, the Election Commission announced the election schedule for the provincial and national assemblies. Polls were to be held on separate electorate basis and on the basis of the Proportional Representation (PR) system.
According to the schedule, nominations were to be filed between Sept 26 and Oct 2. Scrutiny would be held on Oct 2; appeals in acceptance and rejection of nominations on Oct 4 and 5. Decisions on appeals would be handed on Oct 7, withdrawals on Oct 9, and polling on Nov 17.

Soon after the announcement, Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) chief Mufti Mahmood rejected the election schedule, citing Gen Zia’s duplicity in the matter. Mahmood argued that on the one hand, Gen Zia had agreed to withdraw the condition of registration of parties and the PR system, but on the other, both have been introduced as part of the elections schedule.

The same day, he tried to contact Gen Zia and surprisingly the General agreed to meet. Despite being locked in discussions for three hours, Gen Zia and Mahmood could not reach any understanding.

On Sept 26, Gen Zia addressed a select gathering in Quetta, where he cast doubts over holding elections on Nov 17. Arguing that the Nov 17 date was not set in stone, he said that it would be devastating to hold elections on that date.

On Sept 26, Gen Zia addressed a select gathering in Quetta, where he cast doubts over holding elections on Nov 17. Arguing that the Nov 17 date was not set in stone, he said that it would be devastating to hold elections on that date.
The issue now rested with the PNA, which was to meet in Lahore on Sept 27.

After deliberations in the PNA central committee meeting, Mahmood addressed a press conference on Sept 28, saying that the Alliance had rejected the condition of parties’ registration as undemocratic, and, therefore, no constituent party of the PNA would get itself registered.

Mufti demanded that the condition of registration should be immediately withdrawn, the ban on political activities be lifted, and PNA’s amendments to the PR system be accepted. The PNA also demanded an end to the “character assassination” of politicians and parties.

The PNA chief said that from the very beginning, the Alliance had termed the condition of parties’ registration as a means to disgrace political parties. He recalled the meeting with Gen Zia on Sept 25, in which it was agreed that the PNA’s amendments to the PR system would be incorporated, and the condition of parties’ registration would be withdrawn.

Despite Gen Zia agreeing to accept the two conditions, he told the PNA that he was not prepared to withdraw the registration condition. To this, the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) said that it would contest the polls after registration, as the JI thought that it did not want to give an excuse to the government to put off the elections on this point.

Mahmood continued to insist that Gen Zia had agreed to include the recommendations of the Alliance in the new elections schedule, but now the government was not implementing them. He reiterated the notion that the Alliance had a clear stand on parties’ registration.

But the JI decision put the Alliance in a sticky situation. After some thought, Mahmood contacted Gen Zia on telephone.

The next day, Sept 30, Mahmood asked candidates who had taken part in the March 1977 elections and were interested in contesting in Nov 17 elections to file their nominations with the Election Commission by Oct 2 and mark themselves as PNA candidates. According to Mahmood, Gen Zia had assured him on telephone the night before that he would inform him about government’s decision today, but sadly, Gen Zia did not inform him by that time.

Later, it was learnt that barring the PNA, the PPP and the National Democratic Party, other political parties had applied for registration. The situation was still murky as neither Gen Zia nor the other parties were willing to bend. Many observers at that time were of the opinion that political parties should assent to participating in the polls, and when the political government had taken a firm shape, they should revert to the old system.



Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, April 5th, 2015
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Default "Past present: Unholy wars"

Past present: Unholy wars


It is wrongly assumed that the crusades were targeted at the Muslims in order to control Jerusalem. In fact, the crusades were not restricted only to Muslims but also aimed at those Christians who either politically opposed the Pope or deviated from the teachings of the church.

However, the campaign of crusades against the Muslims to recover the Holy Land from their domination created a religious zeal, fervour and extremism in Europe. It made the Catholic Church a powerful institution which threatened the independence of the European rulers. The succeeding popes used the holy war to assert their authority and to crush any opposition whether political or religious.

The Holy Roman Emperor, who belonged to the Hohenstaufen dynasty of Germany, was a political threat to the Pope therefore a campaign was launched against him which lasted from 1194 to 1250. As a result, it reduced the power of the Holy Roman Emperor. The Northern Crusades were declared against the Prussians, Poles and Slavs in the 12th century. The object of this holy war was to convert them to Christianity.

Wars fought in the name of religions damage society to an extent that is only fully realised much after the wars have ended
This crusade inspired some warriors to organise themselves as Teutonic Knights who contributed to the campaign of conversion. The third crusade was against a sect known as Cathars, who were inhabitants of Albigens, in the south of France in the year 1209. They were condemned as heretics and stern military action was taken against them. Their villages were burnt and they were massacred. All this happened in the name of religion.

Two crusades that were not sanctioned by the Pope but initiated independently out of religious sentiment were the Children’s Crusade and the Shepherd’s Crusade.

In the former, the children belonged to poor families and it was believed that the crusade would provide them religious solace and blessings. They marched to liberate the Holy Land from Muslims in 1212 but as it was organised haphazardly therefore failed disastrously. The Shepherd’s crusade broke out in 1320 and was directed against the Jewish money lenders, the clergy and landlords. They burnt the churches and hounded the clerics. It shocked the Pope as well as the rulers and resulted in violent action against the crusaders. They were ruthlessly dispersed and killed, which ended their crusade.

In Spain, when Castile and Aragon were united in 1469 under Ferdinand and Isabella, they undertook a crusade against the Muslim States of Andulus, defeating and incorporated them into their kingdom. The last one was Grenada which was vanquished in 1492, after which the Jews and the Muslims were expelled and Spain was completely Christianised.

History shows how the religious sentiments of the people were exploited and used by the Church for its advantage. However, the results of the crusading spirit were devastating politically, socially and economically. It destabilised the position of the European rulers and divided the society into many dissident groups. Since the European rulers suffered financially, their interest was to acquire wealth and property to compensate their losses. The Order of the Knights Templars became rich during the crusades.

They acquired religious relics, wealth and properties throughout Europe. Eager to get their wealth, Philip II of France condemned them as heretics. In 1307, 67 knights along with their grand masters were burnt at the stake and their property was confiscated. The knights, who were organised in the name of religion and fought crusades against the Muslims, themselves became victims and suffered at the hands of Christian rulers due to their wealth and property.

However, the crusade against the Muslims also had positive results as the Europeans acquired the knowledge of philosophy, science and medicine from Muslim society. The prejudices they had against Islam were also minimised. The first Latin translation of the holy Quran was completed in 12th century by the Christian scholars of Spain under the guidance of Peter, the Venerable. The wars also opened trade routes from the West to the East and Venice and Geneva especially profited largely by these contracts.

The crusades may have failed to achieve the objective of liberating the Holy Land from the Muslims and to protect the Byzantine Empire from the Turks, but in 1453 the Ottomans occupied Constantinople and ended the Byzantine rule.

These crusades amalgamated religion and politics which popularised the concept of Just War, fought in the name of religion. It weakened the policy of religious tolerance and enhanced extremism that paved the way for succeeding conflicts and clashes between the Muslims and the Christians. Even today, we are facing hostility either in terms of clash of civilisations or in the fight against religious terrorism.


Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, April 5th, 2015
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