Listen "Pakistan"
Episode Synopsis
70 years ago Pakistan was born out of the partition of the Indian sub-continent, at the end of British colonial rule. It was created to meet the demands of Indian Muslims for their own homeland. The Constitution states that all laws are to conform with the rulings of Islam as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah. Religion is deeply woven into Pakistan; its culture, its laws and its justice system. It's been a turbulent 70 years politically, characterised by a civil war which resulted in the breakaway of Bangladesh; interchanging periods of military rule and transitional democracy. And Pakistan is frequently cited among the top 10 worst countries for human rights violations of religious minorities and women. How has religious faith shaped Pakistan? To what extent are the blasphemy laws, adultery punishments and honour killings religious? And how is the cultural and religious patriarchy of the country being challenged today? Ernie Rea explores religion in Pakistan with Iftikhar Malik, Professor of history at Bath Spa University; Humaira Masihuddin, an Islamabad-based lawyer and Islamic scholar, who trains the Pakistani police and judiciary; and Dr Saeeda Shah, reader in Education at the University of Leicester and an expert in Islam and Education in Pakistan.Producer: Dan Tierney
Series producer: Amanda Hancox.
Series producer: Amanda Hancox.
More episodes of the podcast Beyond Belief
Consciousness
21/10/2025
Prison Conversions
21/10/2025
Faith versus Fear
23/09/2025
Cultural Religiosity
22/04/2025
Claiming Christianity
15/04/2025
Faithful Food
08/04/2025
Mixed Blessings
01/04/2025
Pharisees: a byword for hypocrisy?
14/01/2025
Divine Comedy
07/01/2025
The Religion of Detection
31/12/2024
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.