[R-G] Pakistanis Want Larger Role for Both Islam and Democracy

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

<http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/home_page/440.php?lb=hmpg1&pnt=440&nid=&id=>
Pakistanis Want Larger Role for Both Islam and Democracy

Majority Reject 'Talibanization' and Favor Reform of Madrassas

Growing Perception that US Threatens Islam

Full Report (PDF)
Questionnaire / Methodology (PDF)

An in-depth survey of Pakistani public opinion reveals majority
support for a moderate and democratic Islamic state, though a small
but significant minority shows sympathy for Islamist militant groups.

Most Pakistanis want Islam to play a larger role in Pakistani society.
However, a majority also favors a more democratic political system,
rejects 'Talibanization," and supports recent government efforts to
reform the madrassah system by focusing more on science and
mathematics. Majorities have little sympathy for Islamist military
groups and most would like to see the Federally Administered Tribal
Areas integrated into Pakistan.

The survey also found that Pakistani attitudes toward the United
States are negative and that there is a growing perception that the
United States is hostile toward Islam.

The survey was conducted from Sept. 12-18, just before President
Pervez Musharraf declared a six-week state of emergency and before the
assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The sample
included 907 Pakistani urban adults, selected using multi-stage
probability sampling, who were interviewed at home in 19 cities. The
margin of error is +/- 3.3 percent.

It was conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org in collaboration with, and
with financial support from, the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org comments, "While
Pakistan is racked by conflict between leaders and groups vying for
power, this poll indicates that most Pakistanis largely agree on what
kind of state they want and on how they want the government to deal
with the many challenges it faces."

C. Christine Fair, senior research fellow of the US Institute of Peace
(now at RAND) observes, "With Pakistan as perhaps the most important
country in the war on terrorism, the good news is that majorities of
Pakistanis view most militant groups in Pakistan as a threat. The bad
news is that many Pakistanis view the U.S. with great suspicion. "

The survey finds strong public support for a wider role for Islam.
Asked to gauge the importance of living "in a country that is governed
according to Islamic principles" on a 10-point scale, 61 percent give
an answer of 10 (meaning "absolutely important"). The mean response is
9.0. However, when asked to gauge the degree to which Pakistan is
currently governed by Islamic principles, the mean score is just 4.6
(on a 0-10 scale with 10 meaning "completely").

Sixty percent want Shari'a to play a larger role, "as compared to
current Pakistan law." Shari'a was formally introduced into the
Pakistani court system in the 1970s and the country was founded as an
Islamic republic. Support for a greater role for Shari'a may indicate
that Pakistanis simply want their civil courts to function more
effectively (the Pakistani justice system is well known for its long
delays) rather than for a fundamental change.

At the same time a large majority of Pakistanis want Pakistan to be
more democratic. Asked to use the 10-point scale to measure the
importance of living "in a country that is governed by representatives
elected by the people," the mean response is 8.4. Asked to rate
Pakistan in this regard, the mean score is just 4.8 (with 10 meaning
"completely"), though polling was conducted just before the imposition
of emergency rule.

Interestingly, among the 60 percent who support a larger role for
Shari'a larger role in the Pakistani legal system, nearly two out of
three (64%) give the importance of democracy a 10—considerably higher
than among those who do not favor more Shari'a.

Pakistanis also say it is important to live in a country where "the
decisions of the courts are independent from influence by political
and military authorities," giving it a mean score of 8.6 on the
10-point scale. Again, respondents give their country a relatively
poor mean rating (5.6) in fulfilling this ideal.

There is little support among Pakistanis for a shift to extreme
religious conservatism. Only a small minority (15%)—even among those
who want a greater role for Shari'a—say they want to see more
"Talibanization of daily life." Eighty-one percent say it is important
for Pakistan to protect religious minorities—which have been frequent
targets of militant violence—and three quarters (75-78 percent) say
that attacks on specific religious minorities (Ahmadiyya and Shi'a)
are never justified.

Perhaps most significantly, the survey identified substantial support
for reforming the religious schools known as madrassahs. About
two-thirds (64 percent) support a recent government plan to regulate
the madrassahs, requiring them to register with the government and to
spend more time on subjects like math and science. Only 17 percent are
opposed to such reform efforts. Interestingly, those who want a larger
role for Shari'a are more likely than others to strongly favor these
reforms.

There is also little sympathy for Islamist militant groups operating
in Pakistan. Three in five (60-62 percent) view the activities of al
Qaeda, local Taliban, and Pakistani Islamist militant groups as
threats to Pakistan's vital interests. However, a significant 14 to 18
percent do not view these groups as a threat to Pakistan.

A large majority wants the special status of the region along the
Afghan border known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)
to be phased out and for the FATA to be integrated into Pakistan's
legal structure. Seventy-two percent think the Frontier Crimes
Regulation should be changed so that people in FATA "have the same
rights and responsibilities as all other Pakistanis." Only 8 percent
think it should be left unchanged.

At the same time most of those polled prefer a gradual approach to
integration of the FATA. Overall there is little support for a
military crackdown on militant groups operating in these border
regions. Given three options, just 23 percent would rather see the
government exert control through military force while only 12 percent
are in favor of simply withdrawing. A 46-percent plurality favors
instead trying to keep the peace in the FATA through negotiations,
presumably moving toward reintegration in the long run.

Pakistani views of the United States are quite negative. About
two-thirds (64%) do not trust the United States "to act responsibly in
the world." Very large majorities believe the US military presence in
Afghanistan and in Asia is a critical threat to Pakistan's interests
(68 percent and 72 percent respectively). Only 27 percent feel that
the cooperation between Pakistan and the United States on security and
military matters has benefited Pakistan.

There is a growing Pakistani perception that the United States is
hostile to their desire for a more Islamic society. Indeed, 86 percent
now say it is definitely (70%) or probably (16%) a US goal to "weaken
and divide the Islamic world." This view also appears to be growing:
it is up 13 points from February.

This view is highly correlated with negative views of the United
States. Among those who strongly believe the US is seeking to
undermine Islam, 57 percent say they do not trust the United States
"at all." Among those who do not think this is a US goal, only 13
percent say they do not trust the United States at all.
--
Yoshie
<http://montages.blogspot.com/>