THE POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES OF MUSLIM ACTIVISTS IN PAKISTAN ABOUT AN ISLAMIC STATE

Abstract

This article depicts the activism generating religio-political thoughts of some popular Muslim activists of Pakistan belonging to different Islamic parties like Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiyat Ulama-e-Islam and Jamiyat Ulama-e-Pakistan. As Pakistan was established on the name of Islam so, various questions arise about the nature of an Islamic government. For example, what is the conceptual and historical background of an Islamic state? How Islamic government is beneficial for resolving the problems of a nation? What is the structure of an Islamic government and what are the rights and responsibilities of the rulers and the subjects? The ideological activity of Muslim activists during first decade of Pakistan was devoted to answering these questions. The ideologies of different Islamic political parties regarding these questions are the focal point of this paper. By using analytical method, primary and secondary sources utilized in the shape of writings and speeches of prominent Muslim scholars of Pakistan and books and articles are analyzed to explain the Muslim activists’ concepts of an Islamic state. It is found out that, according to the Muslim activists, the only Creator has the right to form the law and man is only to obey. Islamic government is neither a hereditary, nor a dictatorship but a theo-democracy which is constituted by the educated representatives of the public on one hand and on the other hand, it is responsible before God.