Terrorism, Religious Radicalism and Violence: Perspectives from Pakistan
Arshi Saleem Hashmi
Senior Research Analyst, Institute of Regional Studies, IslamabadAdjunct Faculty, National Defense University(NDU), Islamabad-Pakistan
IB121-Ploughshares-Arshi.pdf  In Pakistan, the political use of Islam by the state promoted an aggressive competition for official patronage between and within the many variations of Sunni and Shia Islam, between the clerical elites of major sects and sub-sects. The focus on building an ideological state has undoubtedly affected Pakistan negatively in all areas that define a functional modern state.    Pakistan’s government, its society and the military, are at ideological crossroads.

Pakistan is undoubtedly going through tough times; many of its troubles are due to the policies it adopted deliberately and at times unwillingly due to external imposition. The residues of the fight, which began after the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and appeared as the modern global jihad with America’s blessing in Afghan refugee camps. Bruce Reidel writing in The National Interest informs that the ISI trained eighty thousand fighters from forty-three countries during
that time.1
This however, does not let Pakistan off from the responsibility for the deliberate decisions it took during that period that has altered the course of action in its political history. The Islamization process that began during the Zia era led to 1) gain legitimacy domestically and 2) to create a warring corps that could be used to help Islamabad achieve its regional interests oblivious of the fact that the little demons it was encouraging would one day become a monster threatening the existence of the state.

IPCS Research Paper # 21
Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies-New Delhi, India
Pakistan: Politics, Religion & Extremism
Arshi Saleem Hashmi  The question arises, if militant theology is more often a consequence than a cause for militant orientation, then what leads religious groups towards militancy in the first place? Why did religious groups choose violence to improve the lot of their institutions and constituents, resisting repression and gaining political power? One reason could be that religious societies, which favour one group over another, suppressing all other competing sects, encourage furious and fanatical violence. Deobandi patronage by Zia for instance, led to the rift with the Bralvis.
 
The study attempts to investigate whether it is relative deprivation as Ted Gurr suggests or the element of fear that pushed the Muslim majority Pakistan into a cycle of religious violence due to the intrusion of religion in politics.
 
For full report, click here:
 
http://www.ipcs.org/pdf_file/issue/RP20-Arshi-Pakistan.pdf

Arshi Saleem Hashmi ,IPCR Graduate 2005 met with former Pakistani President Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf in Islamabad as part of the delegation of scholars based in Islamabad.


Arshi Hashmi also met current Pakistani Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi at the Institute of Regional Studies' Seminar where she is working as senior research Analyst.

6th Biennial Conference, International Academy for Intercultural Research (IAIR) Honolulu, HI (USA) 15-19 August 2009
Vision Statement
When a war or ethnic riot breaks out, the crises has to be managed by containment. However, during peacetime people can be taught and trained preemptively to deal with intercultural differences so that at least one cause of war or riot can be reduced. Brushing differences under the proverbial carpet only allows the festering of perceived differences and resentments to grow the point that education and training no longer suffice and more vigorous is necessary. Many of the current international conflicts, e.g., those in Sri Lanka, Sudan, and elsewhere, could be attributed to the lack of a ongoing and intense discussion of cultural differences among the various groups in peacetime. Cross-cultural research in psychology, communication, education, anthropology, and related fields shows that with intervention we can increase intercultural sensitivity and reduce cultural misunderstandings. This conference will contribute and expand the growing corpus of research into how the social sciences can contribute to peace and stability in the world. Topics include: intercultural conflict management and world peace; management and world peace; intercultural training and world peace; acculturation and world peace; intercultural education and world peace; world peace and intercultural communication; indigenous cultural concepts of peace.