Measuring extremism

It is sometimes said by observers and commentators that Pakistan is becoming ‘more extremist’ but beyond the statistics relating to terrorism incidents they rarely cite any credible references. Gathering a picture of how the average Pakistani views religious extremism is not something that domestic agencies appear to give priority to — but the Pew Research Centre has a long history of data-gathering worldwide and has recently turned its eye to global perceptions of religious extremism. Over 14,200 people in 14 countries were polled, and the analysis reveals that fears about extremism are rising in states with large or majority Muslim populations. It also reveals that support for radical groups is waning, a result that is evident in Pakistan.

A significant majority of Pakistanis — 66 per cent — are concerned about “religious extremism” and 59 per cent have no sympathies for the Taliban at all. A sizeable majority — 33 per cent — have no view either way and there are eight per cent who are favourable to them. What the nature of the concern is of the 66 per cent is not analysed, and it would be interesting to gain that insight as it might provide a key to the construction of a countervailing narrative to that pushed by the extremists. Support for extremist groups such as Hamas, al Qaeda and Hezbollah is also falling. In some states, Indonesia is a good example; fears are low about extremism with only four out of 10 expressing a concern. Lebanon, that sits on the edge of the Syrian civil war and the surging extremist group ISIS is extremely worried, with 92 per cent of the population concerned about religious extremism.

The Pew survey is very much a broad-brush picture, an accretion of generalities that can be noted as trends, and it offers no pointers to solutions in any country surveyed. Religious extremism in Pakistan has deep roots that stretch back decades, and it is driven as much by sectarian conflicts as conflicts of wider ideology. The concerns of the 66 per cent are not whimsical fantasy, they are real. Rolling back extremism is a generational challenge and it is one that Pakistan must rise to — now.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2014.

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