When is a modern religious education also a modern democratic education?
Drawing on research conducted in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (2003-2005),
this question is addressed with reference to the views of those who draw upon the
resources of local maktabs and madrasas to provide their children with religious and
more specifically, Islamic instruction. Within this group-a group that, I argue,
constitutes a clear majority in Pakistan-concerns about religious and sectarian
diversity are given special attention. Most parents, stressing the importance of
religious unity, conformity and consensus, believe that it is better to ignore these
differences ‘for the sake of the nation’. For those with an interest in combining
the terms of Islam, Islamic education and democracy, however, I argue that these
differences cannot be ignored. Instead, they must be acknowledged and engaged.
Author(s): Matthew J. Nelson
Source: Modern Asian Studies, May 2009, Vol. 43, No. 3 (May 2009), pp. 591-618
Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20488097
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