Daily Times

Pakistan is beset with multiple deep-rooted challenges. While poor economic growth, security and energy crisis are commonly cited as key issues, the fundamental problem concerns the decaying moral foundations of our society. Extremism of all kinds has infected our societal conscience fueling widespread polarisation. This is manifested not only in the scourge of domestic terrorism but also increasingly in a growing sense of intolerance toward the ‘other’. From violence against religious minorities and antagonism toward linguistic diversity to slaughtering in the name of blasphemy, failure of managing difference is at the heart of the problem. The crisis of violent extremism facing Pakistan represents our collective failure and calls for an honest introspection.

Thousands of innocent lives have been lost to religion-based terrorism across the country. Attacks against religious and ethnic minorities have sadly become a routine occurrence. Dozens have been assassinated under the pretext of blasphemy. A mob mentality has infiltrated our notions of justice. The latest victim of this menace was Mashal Khan, a young student of Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan. As Ayesha Jalal, an eminent historian on South Asia while speaking at a public platform recently commented, “It is as if Pakistan is doomed to make historical mistakes. How many Mashal Khan are we going to lose in a losing battle against extremism?”

In order to effectively address pressing social issues such as extremism, it is necessary to know the causes first. Using this perspective, we find that the issue of extremism in Pakistan stems from a failure on multiple fronts, beginning with home. On a basic level, extremist thinking is a product of poor upbringing and socialisation experience that shapes rigid and intolerant individuals. We have failed to expose our children to alternate viewpoints and cross-cultural learning. Think about a typical conversation you have at home on India or music. We are likely to tell our children that Hindus are our enemies or pursuing music is un-Islamic. While these are routine questions for many of us, little things like these foster extremist tendencies.

Second and more markedly, the violent explosion of extremism also represents a gross failure of our education system, which has produced narrow-minded and intolerant mindsets. We often argue that uneducated and illiterate persons engage in violent activities. However, recent cases involved educated youths as perpetrators of heinous crimes, which begs the question of the quality of education being imparted. As Albert Einstein noted, “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the minds to think.” Unfortunately, the former has been the focus of our public education system. It is a system which suppresses critical thinking and incentivizes rote learning. A good education institution should instill in its students the ability to rationalise, to question and to accept competing explanations. Another function of good education, though latent, is to foster empathy, tolerance and flexibility. Unfortunately, both functions are missing from our education system. Recent research on radicalization in Pakistan has pointed to the link between curriculum and militancy. Our textbooks systematically present a distorted portrayal of historical events and facts to reinforce a particular ideology and national identity. For instance, the curriculum reinforces Islam as the primary force behind the creation of Pakistan. Whereas while religion was important, the real motivation behind Pakistan movement, according to Ayesha Jalal, was a greater political representation and power-sharing mechanism for Muslims. Similarly, the 1965 war is unambiguously presented as a big victory whereas Pakistan lost terribly.

While poor quality of education is an important cause, the phenomenon of youth radicalization also indicates other failures on the part of the state. The inability of our state to provide youth with constructive opportunities for engagement has pushed vulnerable individuals to consider illicit activities as a more rewarding alternative. Considering 66 percent of our population is under 30, a growing sense of disillusionment amongst our youth should be a cause for concern.

Extremism is a deeply complex and multi-faceted issue having wider social, ideological and political roots. Counter-extremism strategies that focus predominantly on physical or military action fail to capture the complexity of the crisis we face today .A good starting point is to encourage opportunities for public debate and discussion on key social issues. However, can we even have a debate on religion or blasphemy in an increasingly volatile society like ours? Even with the most concerted efforts, the government alone cannot get rid of the cancer of extremism that has permeated our society. We must begin by asking difficult and intriguing questions about our everyday attitudes concerning the role of religion and basic things such as music, food and dress. Schools and universities should encourage students to be open minded and engage with objectionable ideas in non-violent ways.

The writer is lecturer in International Development for University of London International Programmes