Pakistanis Trust Ulama Over Politicians

"Attempts by General Musharraf and his company to make the country a secular state will be foiled," Siddiqui told IOL.

"This is not surprising. Even this survey had not been conducted, it is a known fact that Ulema enjoy the confidence of a majority of Pakistanis," Dr Zameer Ahmed, a veteran sociologist, told IslamOnline.net.

He insists that General Musharraf does not understand the psyche of Pakistanis.

"They, to an extent, do not consider Ulema to rule them, but they definitely consider the religious scholars to guide them vis-à-vis their daily life," said the expert.

A new survey by Gallop Pakistan, one of most prestigious survey firm in the Asian Muslim country, showed that about 71 percent of Pakistanis trust Ulema as compared to only 29 percent who consider secular politicians more trustworthy.

The majority of women interviewed reposed confidence on Ulema against politicians or any other section of the society.

Musharraf had predicted after the passage of the controversial women protection bill, that the women, who make up nearly 52 percent of the population, would reject " extremists" and so-called Ulema.

The survey, which involved 1100 people of different income groups, areas, age, and education, showed that a majority of Pakistanis also trust teachers, doctors and labor leaders.

However, they are not satisfied with the performance of law enforcement agencies and industrialists.

Defeat  

Many see the survey results as a blow to General Musharraf's so-called enlighten moderation.

The six-party religious alliance, Muttehida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), considers the survey results as a blow to General Musharraf.

"The people of Pakistan have rejected the so-called policy of enlighten moderation," Dr Meraj-ul-Huda Siddiqui, a senior MMA leader, told IOL.

"Pakistanis have always reposed confidence on Ulema, and the attempts taken by General Musharraf and his company to make the country a secular state will be foiled," he said confidently.

"If you visit the personal website of General Musharraf, the results of a survey conducted by the website itself shows that 57 percent reject his policy of enlighten moderation."

Ahmed, the veteran sociologist, seemed to agree.

"The results of General Musharraf's enlighten moderation policy can only be visible on media or some posh localities of the big cities, where one can see women dancing in five-star hotels, wearing western clothes or smoking," he said.

"Otherwise, a brute majority of Pakistanis, especially in rural areas where about 70 percent of the total population resides, have rejected this policy."

Some insist that steps like mixed marathons and the liberalization of the private and state-owned media remain "cosmetic".

"Actually, people are against General Musharraf just because he has been toeing the US policies. And even if he takes a right step, people doubt that," Dr Shamim Ahmed, a senior columnist, told IOL.

"Pakistanis respect Maulvi (scholar) as Afghanis do with their Mullah. In these two countries, religious scholars have great penetration in the society," he noted.

"Various rulers of the two states have tried to reduce this influence but they could not succeed because people are dependent on Mullah or Maulvi who in rural areas are kings without crown as no marriage, funeral, announcement of birth, or any other ceremony can be held without them."

Myth

The MMA believes Islam is reviving among Pakistanis.

"In fact, the people, especially women, are converging to Islam nowadays as compared to a decade ago," said Dr Siddiqui.

"I remember when I was studying, a few female students used to wear hijab. Now if you visit any university or college, you will see almost half of the female students wearing hijab."

The veteran sociologist says religious sentiments picked up steam in Pakistan after 9/11.

"Definitely, people have become religiously sensitive after 9/11, and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have aggravated the phenomenon."

He contends that "the myth" that people do not consider Ulema fit to rule them was proven false in the last general elections.

The MMA had surprised the political pundits by securing record seats in the last general elections held in October 2002.

Currently, the MMA is ruling the country's north western frontier province (NWFP), which borders Afghanistan, and is a major coalition partner in the southeastern Balochistan province.

The opposition leader in the national assembly also belongs to the religious alliance.

"Musharraf is doing the same what [Afghan President Hamid] Karzai is doing in Afghanistan," charged Dr Siddiqui.

"Both are trying to malign Ulema who are heirs of Prophets."