MIFS Newsletter n°2 - HAL-SHS - Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société Accéder directement au contenu
Autre Publication Scientifique Année : 2009

MIFS Newsletter n°2

Résumé

In the last IIAS issue devoted to Pakistan, Kristoffel Lieten article was entitled: "Pakistan, an abundance of problems and scant knowledge". He followed Stephen Cohen who claimed in 2004 that, the USA has "only a few true Pakistan experts and knows remarkably little about the country. Much of what has been written is palpably wrong, or at best superficial" (IIAS Newsletter 49, Autumn 2008, p. 3). For instance, one of the most neglected aspects regarding Pakistan is the segmentation of the country and its society. However by segmentation, we do not mean that the country is about to be dismembered, contrary to common assumptions by so-called experts. We claim that the spread of radical Islam is mainly a response to social problems that depend on the history and the structure of local societies. Islamist groups tend to focus naturally on places where there is a lack of social cohesiveness and more particularly on places where the State fails to interact with local society. But then we can ask why some areas in Pakistan seem to be spared by the influence of radical Islam, as it is the case of Sindh (Karachi excluded)? Even though social injustice and violence are found there, based on tribal, ethnic or religious differences, the province of Sindh is an interesting case study. During our latest field trip in Sehwan Sharif, a major pilgrimage centre in contemporary Pakistan, we observed that the "Sufi system" produces a certain form of social cohesiveness. Hence the interest in developing knowledge about the functioning of such local societies, where Sufism seems to contain the spread of radical Islam, its discourses and actions, and that despite the numerous bridges between orthodox and devotional Islam. Following Robert Rozehnal's brilliant essay (p. 8), we intend to investigate the nature of such an "alternative modernity" created by Sufism and its practices, through the case study of Sehwan Sharif. Such a project and related fieldwork activities, in the volatile context of Pakistan today, require consolidating our networks. Therefore, we are particularly grateful to the Government of Sindh, its Department of Antiquities, and its Culture, Tourism and Social Welfare Department, for their active support during our field work. It enabled us to work in excellent conditions in both Sehwan Sharif and the region of Sindh (p. 4).
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  • HAL Id : halshs-00704211 , version 1

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Michel Boivin, Rémy Delage. MIFS Newsletter n°2. 2009, 14 p. ⟨halshs-00704211⟩
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