Religious Nationalization of Identity: Pakistan between Saudi Arabia and Iran, 1979-1988

Abstract

Zia ul-Haq, President of Pakistan (1977-1988), introduced Islam into the public and political realms. Once he grabbed power in Pakistan after ousting the elected government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Islam became his strategic choice to provide legitimacy to his military coup and to expand his role in the Muslim world. Since the independence of Pakistan, the state had used Islam on many occasions to serve its interests. The encouraging results in this respect further induced the state to use Islam more frequently to achieve its domestic and foreign objectives. Zia institutionalized Islam in every aspect of the Pakistani state and society. Religious nationalization was the cornerstone of the Zia regime’s internal and external policies. The Islamization of the regime in Pakistan during the 1980s was the zenith of the state’s gradual turn towards religion. Regional upheavals such as the Shi’a Islamic revolution in Iran and Soviet invasion of neighboring Afghanistan were incremental to continue Islam as a strategic asset in Pakistan’s domestic and foreign policy. As a result, Pakistan became the launching pad both for the Middle Eastern Sunni Arabs monarchies and Iran’s Shi’a clergy to furnish their political cum sectarian agenda that ultimately ravaged the Pakistani polity and society.