After Iran’s Islamic Revolution, Pakistan was the first country to recognize the Islamic Republic of Iran. The emergence of Iran’s Islamic Revolution is a turning point in the political life of the Pakistani people. Iran’s Islamic Revolution had greatly influenced the people of Pakistan, including Shi’ahs and Sunnis, and given the commonalities and interests of the two nations, such an effect was not unexpected. In addition to the impact of the Revolution at a macro level, which was predictable, the most important issue was the influence of the Iranian Revolution on Shi’ahs. This Revolution revived the political and social life of the Shi’ahs of Pakistan. During the rule of General Zia al-Haqq, Shi’ahs were living in dire straits because of the government’s continued disregard for their rights, as well as the lack of coordination among themselves and their disunity. The occurrence of Iran’s Islamic Revolution was the starting point for the Shi’ahs to revive again and feel the need for unity and solidarity in order to defend and acquire their violated rights. After experiencing a period of weakness and inactivity, the Shi’ahs of Pakistan because of the emergence of the Islamic Revolution became awake and found a new identity. Following the Islamic Revolution, the Shi’ahs in Pakistan have publicly declared their identities, performed rituals, and expressed dissatisfaction with the current government.
The increase of political demands:
Iran’s Islamic Revolution was a special opportunity for the Shi’ahs of this country to recover themselves. The Shi’ah figures, after much consultation, seized this opportunity and decided to hold a public assembly.
Accordingly, on April 13, 1979, a gathering of Shi’ahs of the country was held in the village of Abu Bakr in Punjab. This gathering was held in protest to the religious politics of Zia al-Haqq, especially in the case of zakat, imposing Hanafi jurisprudence on followers of other denominations and placing restrictions on the observance of Shi’ah rites, such as mourning ceremonies of the month of Muharram. According to Zia al-Haqq’s decree, all individuals with any type of property should pay zakat, whereas according to Shi’ah jurisprudence zakat is taken only from a specific source of wealth.
The demands of the Shi’ahs, which were expressed in the Abu Bakr assembly, were that Shi’ahs should be treated according to the Ja’fari jurisprudence when they are going to be on trial; All the revenues of Shi’ah shrines should be spent on their religious affairs; The government must lift all restrictions on holding mourning ceremonies for Imam Husayn, the Shi’ahs should be allowed to travel to the holy cities of Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia; Shi’ah scholars and rulings must be represented in shari’ah courts, and Shi’ah religious programs must be broadcasted on radio and television. Prominent mujtahids and great scholars should be invited from Iran, as Sunni scholars from Saudi Arabia are invited, and finally, the religious views of Shi’ahs should be expressed to the Shi’ah students in universities. These demands were accepted by the government via Islamabad’s agreement with Zia al-Haqq in July 1980. Therefore, the Shi’ahs, to whom Iranian Revolution had given a new impetus, were able to, under the leadership of Mufti Ja’far Husayn, launch a campaign to acquire their lost rights. In 1980, the government of Pakistan which, on the one hand, was facing much less pressure from the Sunnis because of the death of Mahmud and Mawlana Mawdudi and, on the other hand, saw the Shi’ahs gaining power thereby taking their struggles seriously, reached an agreement with Pakistani Shi’ah leaders and thus accepted that Shi’ahs act according to Ja’fari jurisprudence regarding the issue of paying zakat, and that other Shi’ah rights be taken into account by the government.
Institutionalization and formation of the organization and the political party: Since the formation of Pakistan, the Shi’ahs, despite their significant presence in the political arena, have never tried to found their political aspirations upon their religious beliefs; Probably, because Shi’ahs in Pakistan, unlike their coreligionists in many Islamic countries, do not have a kind of geographical focus. The Shi’ahs of this country are scattered in all cities and towns, and this scattering can be seen in the villages as well. It should be noted that nearly 70% of the Shi’ahs have been living in villages. This has undoubtedly played a fundamental role in the lack of the formation of a sectarian self-awareness and religious organization. On the other hand, in Pakistani society, before Zia al-Haqq, ethnic and linguistic boundaries and even class divides have had much more importance than religious differences. The first efforts to organize the Shi’ahs began during the Ayub Khan period. In 1958, the Wifaq al-Madaris al-Shi’ah Organization was established and it could organize teachers and administrators of these schools. the Imamiyyah Students Organization in Pakistan was also established in 1962. A look at the organization’s programs shows its non-political tendencies and trans-religious demands. Some of these programs included familiarizing students with the Holy Quran and the life of the Prophet Muhammad and the Imams, developing scientific, moral, and religious talents, increasing students’ unity and alignment, observing the teaching of the Enjoining good and Forbidding evil, and creating relief groups the member of which were Imamiyyah Shi’ahs.
The Islamic Revolution in Iran offered hope to the Islamist parties and groups with respect to the future of political Islam. This impact was so profound that many political analysts believed in the possibility of the occurrence of another revolution in Pakistan introducing this country as the second loop after Iran’s Islamic Revolution.
Simultaneously with the triumph of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, the supporters of this Revolution in Pakistan intensified their organizational activities and began promoting the ideas and messages of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the political arena. Then, the first Shi’ah political organization, Tahrik-e Ja’fariyyah Pakistan, was established by Mufti Ja’far Husayn, shortly after the large Shi’ah protest was held in the village of Abu Bakr, Punjab in February 1979. In 1984, this organization introduced itself as a political party. In July 1987, the political charter for the Tahrik-e Ja’fariyyah Pakistan was approved in the Lahore Assembly. As far as the government and the political system are concerned, the Tahrik-e Ja’fariyyah Pakistan charter, called “Sabiluna” stated that: The basis and foundation of the Islamic government is that the right to rule belongs only to God. It means that no individual, class or group has the authority over it. Undoubtedly, one of the main reasons for the emergence of this party is the triumph of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. As a result of such a great change, the Shi’ah groups in Pakistan became organized and their intellectual level and political insight were increased and deepened.
After the Organization for the Implementation of Ja’fari Jurisprudence was established, it had the greatest impact on Shi’ah activities. The group was so active in encouraging and guiding the Shi’ahs and using all their capabilities that it repeatedly forced all anti-Shi’ah groups to react.
Among other Shi’ah organizations in Pakistan is the Ja’fariyyah Welfare Fund, which is a religious charity founded in 1988 by Shi’ah clerics. One of the goals of this fund is to promote the theory of Wilayat-e Faqih.
The Role of Shi’ahs in the Country’s Political Structure:
After the Iranian Revolution, the organized activities of Shi’ahs in the form of the Organization for the Implementation of Ja’fari Jurisprudence led to the party’s independent and open participation in the 1988 elections. Since then, Shi’ahs have always had a prominent presence in the state, national, and senate assemblies, and have been involved in decision-making. For example, the expansion of Shi’ah participation in socio-political affairs caused that 37 candidates got seats in the National Assembly in the 2002 elections. Likewise, 6 of the 100 members of the Senate members were Shi’ahs. among the 124 representatives of the State Assembly of Sarhad province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province), three were Shi’ahs. Five Shi’ah ministers were in the cabinet of the local government of Punjab. Therefore, it can be said that the Iranian Revolution revived the political and social life of the Shi’ahs of Pakistan and politicized and organized them.
Obstacles to Diffusion
The forces that have acted, or are acting, as obstacles to Iran’s Islamic Revolution’s influence on the Shi’ahs of Pakistani can be divided into three categories: domestic, regional, and trans-regional forces, led by the United States and Saudi Arabia. Before the Islamic Revolution and during the time of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, there had been a regional convergence between Iran and Pakistan. But several important events took place in the region in a short period. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was overthrown by Zia al-Haqq, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and the Shah’s regime fell in Iran.
These important events, and most importantly the Revolution of Iran, upset the balance of power in the region and brought about significant changes in the region’s equations. The rapid and deep expansion of the waves of Iran’s Islamic Revolution in Pakistan has caused concern among Sunnis in this country, the West, and anti-Iranian regimes in the region. Therefore, from this point on, in addition to the activities of extremist Sunni groups, efforts to neutralize the effects of Iran’s Islamic Revolution were placed at the forefront of the policies of regional and trans-regional powers in Pakistan and led to actions and interventions which were accelerated due to the sectarian structure of Pakistan and the developments that took place in the country’s domestic political arena in the 1970s. The events that occurred in Pakistan after the Iranian Revolution show that those who oppose the Iranian Revolution used two methods to prevent the influence of the Iranian Revolution on Pakistan.
First, they tried to create divisions between Shi’ahs and Sunnis of Pakistan and intensify the sectarian divisions as well as advocating this claim that the Iranian Revolution is a Shi’ah Revolution that defends the Shi’ahs hence it aims to establish a Shi’ah government in Pakistan and eliminate the Sunnis with the help of the Shi’ahs of this country.
The second axis of those activities is about the governmental supports of Islamism. The following is an overview of why and how these forces function as obstacles to the spread of the waves of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.
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