GENESIS OF RADICALIZATION: A CASE STUDY OF ISLAMIYAT TEXTBOOKS IN BALOCHISTAN, PAKISTAN

Abstract

A high profile radicalization agenda in Pakistani schools and Islamic seminaries, across the country, has risen concerns within Pakistani society and for the world as well. Post 18th amendment in the constitution of Pakistan in April 2010, the education ministry dissolved to the provinces of Pakistan, with responsibilities to design their educational curriculums on their own. Since then, the four provinces of Pakistan have re-designed their curriculums and republishing textbooks as per their understandings. This article looks critically at one of the important and compulsory subjects; Islamiyat (Islamic Studies), arguing that the textbooks reassure the students towards a violent-radical mindset against the Kufar (non-believers). Such content in the textbooks also places its emphasis on the significance of Jihad (struggle) in the historical context of Islamic wars against the non-believers. The study brings quantitative and qualitative analysis, based on the Content Analysis application on the Islamiyat textbooks, mentioning the amount of positive and negative terms. The study also provides detailed denotations and connotations of the said terms to determine the outcome of the textbooks. The study suggests that the content in Islamiyat textbooks diverts the students from using education for fundamental social change to practice negative actions towards the Kufar. This study discovers that in the existing curriculum of Islamiyat, seemingly negative terms, such as Jihad has been presented as a physical war against the non-believers. The result also shows much emphasis on Mujahideen (Warriors of Islam) who lost their lives during wars against Kufar. Therefore, it concludes that presenting Islamiyat as the sole driver of radicalization among educated youth could result in a security threat to world peace.

Keywords: Radicalization, Education, Pakistan, Jihad, non-believers, global security