Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Comment/debate
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Comment/debate
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The intellectual roots of Sunni sectarianism in Pakistan
T2 - a reply to Fuchs
AU - Kapur, Saloni
PY - 2019/11/30
Y1 - 2019/11/30
N2 - In the article ‘Faded Networks: The Overestimated Saudi Legacy of Anti-Shi’i Sectarianism in Pakistan’, Simon Wolfgang Fuchs highlights the distinction between Sunni sectarianism in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, arguing that scholars have overestimated the influence of Salafi Saudi scholars on sectarian ulama in Pakistan. Fuchs underlines the Deobandi roots of Sunni sectarianism in Pakistan to differentiate anti-Shia sentiment in South Asia from the Middle Eastern, Salafi variety. However, Fuchs overlooks the impact of the Saudi- and US-sponsored jihad in Afghanistan in the 1980s on Sunni sectarianism in Pakistan. Sunni extremists in Pakistan regularly target Ithna Ashari Shias – including ethnic Hazaras – rather than Ismaili and Bohri Shias, which is evidence for the spillover of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry into Pakistan. The continuing impact of events in Afghanistan on sectarianism in Pakistan further undermines Fuchs’ argument about the domestic roots of Sunni sectarianism in the latter country. Nevertheless, Fuchs’ emphasis on the intellectual heritage of Deobandi Sunnism and its impact on Sunni sectarianism in Pakistan provides a necessary corrective to the view that sectarian violence in the country is due solely to foreign influences.
AB - In the article ‘Faded Networks: The Overestimated Saudi Legacy of Anti-Shi’i Sectarianism in Pakistan’, Simon Wolfgang Fuchs highlights the distinction between Sunni sectarianism in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, arguing that scholars have overestimated the influence of Salafi Saudi scholars on sectarian ulama in Pakistan. Fuchs underlines the Deobandi roots of Sunni sectarianism in Pakistan to differentiate anti-Shia sentiment in South Asia from the Middle Eastern, Salafi variety. However, Fuchs overlooks the impact of the Saudi- and US-sponsored jihad in Afghanistan in the 1980s on Sunni sectarianism in Pakistan. Sunni extremists in Pakistan regularly target Ithna Ashari Shias – including ethnic Hazaras – rather than Ismaili and Bohri Shias, which is evidence for the spillover of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry into Pakistan. The continuing impact of events in Afghanistan on sectarianism in Pakistan further undermines Fuchs’ argument about the domestic roots of Sunni sectarianism in the latter country. Nevertheless, Fuchs’ emphasis on the intellectual heritage of Deobandi Sunnism and its impact on Sunni sectarianism in Pakistan provides a necessary corrective to the view that sectarian violence in the country is due solely to foreign influences.
KW - Deobandi
KW - Pakistan
KW - Salafi
KW - Saudi Arabia
KW - sectarianism
U2 - 10.1332/204378919X15718899928703
DO - 10.1332/204378919X15718899928703
M3 - Comment/debate
VL - 9
SP - 717
EP - 719
JO - Global Discourse
JF - Global Discourse
SN - 2326-9995
IS - 4
ER -