Religious Extremism and Modernity - Mapping the New Pakistan

Centre of Global South Asian Studies and the Swedish Network of South Asian Studies (SASNET) are pleased to invite you to a public lecture

Religious Extremism and Modernity - Mapping the New Pakistan
by Ayesha Siddiqa

Abstract

According to a recently published survey by the British Council a large part of the youth, especially in Punjab, Pakistan, want implementation of Sharia law. The judges from the lower judiciary appointed as officers to scrutinize documents of candidates contesting the coming national elections forced the latter to recite holy verses and ascertaining their knowledge of religion. This has forced some to question whether the founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who was otherwise a man of non-religious habits, survived such scrutiny. Indeed, is it really Jinnah's Pakistan. The paper will examine the ideological contestation in Pakistan and its impact on the country today. It will look at the process of politicization of religion in historical context and also as an extension of regional trends in South Asia.

Bio

Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa is a Ph.D. in War Studies from King’s College, University of London. She is the author of two books: Pakistan’s Arms Procurement and Military Buildup, 1979-99 In Search of a Policy (Palgrave Press, UK – 2001) and (b) Military Inc, Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy’ (Pluto Press, UK April 2007) She was the inaugural Pakistan Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC, a Ford Fellow at the Bonn International Center for Conversion, and a research fellow at the Cooperative Monitoring Center, Sandia National Laboratories, USA. She was the correspondent for the prestigious ‘Jane’s Defence Weekly’ (2003-4) in Pakistan and has contributed to various academic journals. Currently, she is a regular column writer in Pakistan’s English daily paper Express Tribune. Dr Siddiqa has taught at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University and University of Pennsylvania.

Date: 23rd April 2013
Time: 12:30 - 14:00
Venue: KUA2 15A.0.13, Njalsgade, Cph 2300

The event is public. Registration is required.