1. There has been a lot of debate recently about whether it makes sense to support the JUI-F in it's Azadi March later this month. Some liberals and progressive have argued that doing so is necessary to put pressure on a government that is just a front for the military.
2. This concern for democracy and civilian supremacy is supplemented with two additional points; first, the incompetence of the PTI government necessitates opposition to its agenda and second, the PTI's own use of religion as a political tool justifies the opposition using it.
3. While I am sympathetic to these arguments, I am troubled by the almost uncritical backing the JUI-F and Maulana Fazal-ur-Rahman are receiving from some quarters. While politics does make for strange bedfellows, the Maulana is hardly a paragon of progressive values.
4. In the past, the JUI-F has aggressively opposed pro-women legislation (including reforming the Hudood laws), has been at the forefront of weaponizing the blasphemy issue, and has expressed support for Islamist militancy in Pakistan and abroad.
5. Even now, while mobilizing support for the Azadi March, the Maulana and his lieutenants have relied on emotive religious appeals castigating the government for being soft on blasphemy, for supporting Ahmadis, and for freeing Aasia Bibi.
6. Some have suggested that while this is true, the Maulana has nonetheless agreed on a common platform with the PML-N and other parties. I am skeptical. If the aim is to simply remove/pressurize the PTI, the JUI-F is probably on the same page as its allies. Beyond that...
7. It is difficult to see where there could be agreement. Will the JUI-F cease to demonize and targets minorities? Will it support laws aimed at ending gender-based oppression and inequality? Will it commit to working towards making Pakistan a fairer place for all its citizens?
8. Everyone can't be a progressive firebrand - including the leaders of the PML-N and PPP - but should that mean abandoning basic principles of justice and equality? Should the past opportunism of Pakistan's parties mean always sacrificing principle at the altar of expediency?
9. Saying that the PTI is guilty of all these crimes does not justify emulating them. I appreciate many will feel schadenfreude at seeing the PTI targeted using religion, given that the party did the same itself during its election campaign, but where will this end?
10. In the early 1950s, the dismissal of Mumtaz Daultana's Punjab government on the basis of anti-Ahmadi agitation - manipulated by his political opponents - helped pave the way for the eventual imposition of authoritarian rule. Religious agitation against the PPP led to the...
11. Introduction of the 2nd Amendment - targeting Ahmadis - and other 'Islamizing' measures. Remember - caving to religious pressure did not prevent the Bhutto government from being targeted again and eventually dismissed.
12. The social forces empowered by these episodes were instrumental to legitimizing the Zia regime and it's Islamization process. Since the 1990s, the state's tolerance for Islamist extremism - at home and abroad - has ensured that these forces have retained considerable power.
13. All this has, of course, come at the cost of Pakistan's women, it's minorities, and those who will not conform to an increasingly parochial and dogmatic view of Islam. The very liberals and progressives who might justify their support for the Maulana in terms of creating...
14. A 'popular front' are those who will inevitably be targeted as enemies by these same religious parties and organizations. For evidence, just look at the role played by religious organizations on university campuses across the country to see how they treat progressive rivals.
15. Pakistan's history shows that working with and tolerating the Religious Right only creates more space for its toxic discourse and only amplifies the oppression of women and minorities. My old teacher @arifanoor72 recently pointed out that the JUI-F and other mainstream...
16. Religious parties are actually much more marginal than is often realized, but the threat they pose does not come from their electoral prospects; it comes from their ability to shift the debate and force other parties to adopt their rhetoric and their positions.
17. Witness, for instance, the PML-N's insistence that it stood for defending Khatm-e-Nabuwat in the face of TLP protests, or the sight of Capt. Safdar frothily denouncing Ahmadis on the floor of the National Assembly. The Maulana will not win an election, but he can...
18. Induce his allies to speak his language. Indeed, that is exactly what Imran Khan himself did back in 2005 when he joined the JI and JUI-F in opposing reforms to the Hudood Laws. At the time, IK justified his decision in terms of his alliance with them against Musharraf.
19. What, then, should be done? It is obviously unrealistic to expect an ideologically pure, progressive movement to emerge overnight. Work should continue to build one but until then, it may make sense to consider how the PTI government's many shortcomings can be attacked.
20. The economy is a mess. Dissent is being punished. Politicians are being persecuted. Movements like the PTM are being suppressed. People are still going missing. Social provision is stagnant. The list goes on and on. These are the issues that should be highlighted by the march
21. Furthermore, the opposition parties should take the lead on organizing around these issues and not cede leadership to religious reactionaries. If the PML-N and PPP cannot or will not do this, they are making a strategic mistake.
22. Playing the religion card is easy but it ultimately helps the establishment, which has a long and sordid history of using it against civilians (remember the TLP?). Also, if elements in the PML-N are waiting for a signal from the military, they are again playing a losing game.
23. The PTI government is a mess and the party and its leadership, with their own use of religion in politics, are hypocrites. But let us not miss the wood for the trees. The Maulana is not a progressive, nor is his platform. Those who desire a more democratic and inclusive...
24. Pakistan must reject his brand of politics and work to build truly progressive movements and parties. Until then, they must also expect more from the mainstream parties. Endorsing bigotry should not be the only route to civilian supremacy and democratic rule.
