Reconceptualizing Secularism in the Backdrop of Fethullah Gulen Movement: The Case of Pakistan

In the 21st century, globalization is continuously reshaping and changing the world. Clear demarcations are blurring due to neoliberal market economies, modern technologies and social media. Contrary to the assumptions, modernity and globalization are witnessing a comeback of religion from private to public sphere. Political economy of media and culture are using religion as a currency of their trade. Clash of civilization thesis proposes a disagreement between tradition and modern; secular and religious. Secularism has been conceptualized differently in different parts of the world. The traditional concept of secularism is being contested. Secularism is not the opposite of religion as generally perceived. Secularism serves as a seedbed to nourish the innate nature of human beings that recognizes God since ‘Ehad-e-Alst’ and inclined to do good. Surah Shams, chapter , verse states, Fa’alhamaha fajuraha wa taqwaha.’ All sections of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights bear this fact. Quaid-e-Azam, the founder of Pakistan, is always debated and wrongly perceived for ‘secularism.’ He wanted to establish Pakistan as a welfare state for all its inhabitants irrespective of their religious affiliations. But religion has been badly treated in almost all domains in Pakistan since 1947. Exploitations in the name of religion have been quite frequent in the spheres of politics, economy, culture, military, education etc. The so-called religious leaders are branding religion according to their own heart. This research analyses the misuse of Islam as permeating into all spheres of life in Pakistan. The concept of passive secularism is evaluated in the backdrop of Pakistan that is promoted and defended by Gulen movement. Keywords: Secularism, Religion, Education, Fethullah Gullen, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinna

Modern Sovereign State System is under Cloud in the Age of Globalization

This research paper is all about the end of the state as modern state system lacks sovereignty, independent government, well-defined territory and participant population. It explains that communication revolution, international financial institutions (IFIs), advertisements, aggressive marketing and above all multinational corporations (MNCs) have made an end of the traditional form of the state that used to be based on four basic elements, Sovereignty, Government, Territory, and Population. The MNCs may be called as Multinational Governments (MNGs) or Multinational States (MNS) owing to their economic power that dictates the modern states. Besides that weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missiles race in different parts of the world have diminished the very concept of state or its well-defined boundaries. The modern state has to redefine its character otherwise MNGs are going to take it under its sway with all its technological sophistications and scientific advancements. The hypothesis of this research paper is that modern state does not comply with its definition. Modern state system lacks sovereignty and government. Now a single individual or a group of individuals without having any territory can claim their status equal to that of the state.&nbsp

What makes an educational advertisement campaign successful: A case study of Zara Sochiye

Unfortunately, literacy rate in Pakistan according to Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLM) in 2012 was 60% which went down to 58% in 2013-14. Promotion of Primary and Secondary Education has been the principal and priority agenda of political parties, non-governmental organizations as well as civil society organizations in Pakistan. Media is considered the most powerful tool in disseminating and promoting public welfare agendas. Zara Sochiye (Think About It) campaign launched by Geo TV, is taken as a case study, using Rhetorical Triangle method as well as Semiotic Analysis techniques the study tries to identify the potential appeals of advertisement that are likely to have a significant impact on stakeholders for prioritizing education and motivating public to gain education. The findings of the study show that if emotional and rational appeals of advertisement are used in balance and equilibrium is maintained between script and frames shown, then a good advertisement can be produced which ultimately adds in the popularity of the campaign

Pakistan: A case of Individual Vigilance

This paper deals with the proposition that in Pakistan individuals are more vigilant about their rights as compared to their duties. Individualistic theory (based on explaining individual behaviours) and holistic theory (means joint effort) are used to observe the behaviour of the individuals in the society. McClelland’s (1977) three dominant needs are very much relevant those are: achievement, power, and affiliation. In Pakistan Individuals show apathy to the developments happening around them. They hardly try to resist against the social injustices prevailing around. They are busy enough in accumulating wealth individually. It may make them affluent individually but collectively it increases the gap between rich and poor. This gap between rich and poor is the real source of discontentment in Pakistan. This discontentment is not given by any outer force but by our three major institutions-civil and military bureaucracy and Judiciary. These three institutions are comprised of three dominant needs- achievement, power, and affiliation.&nbsp

Discourses of Feminism in the Perspective of Allama Iqbal and the West

Feminism is a movement for the political, social, and education equality of women with men. In the past, women have been degraded, subjugated, enslaved, suppressed and sexually tortured in most parts of the world. In modern times, women struggled for their emancipation and claimed for ‘equality’ and ‘complete freedom’ that appeared in the form of different feminist movements. The apostles of feminism do not waste any chance in painting Islam as a backward and discriminatory religion. Allama Iqbal, a great Muslim philosopher, has also discussed about women’s role and status in a society, therefore he may be studied in this respect. More particularly, his lectures, discourses, research papers and poetry like ‘Ramooz-eBekhudi’, ‘Zareb-e-Kaleem’, and ‘Javed Nama’ can be analyzed for his feminist approach as well as Allama has analyzed the Western attitude towards women. Iqbal is against that ‘equality’ demanded by European women because the natural responsibilities and the perceived roles of men and women are different, how both can be evaluated by the same scale. Equality and freedom are relative terms. According to Iqbal feminist movements are a trap and intrigue of the capitalists and money-lenders, devised in the name of ‘revolution.’ This paper compares and analyzes western feminist movements with Iqbal’s perspective on feminism. Key words: Feminism; Allama Iqbal; Western feminist movementsRésumé Le féminisme est un mouvement pour l'égalité politique, sociale, et l'éducation des femmes avec les hommes. Dans le passé, les femmes ont été dégradés, subjugué, asservi, supprimé et sexuellement torturé dans la plupart des régions du monde. Dans les temps modernes, les femmes ont lutté pour leur émancipation et réclamé pour «l'égalité» et «liberté» qui est apparu sous la forme de différents mouvements féministes. Les apôtres du féminisme ne pas perdre toute chance dans la peinture l'islam comme une religion arriérée et discriminatoire. Allama Iqbal, un grand philosophe musulman, a également discuté du rôle des femmes et leur statut dans une société, donc il peut être étudié à cet égard. Plus particulièrement, ses conférences, discours, documents de recherche et de poésie comme 'Ramooz-eBekhudi', 'Zareb-e-Kaleem', et 'Javed Nama »peut être analysé pour son approche féministe ainsi que Allama a analysé l'attitude occidentale envers les femmes . Iqbal est contre cette «égalité» exigé par les femmes européennes parce que les responsabilités naturelles et la perception du rôle des hommes et des femmes sont différents, comment les deux peuvent être évaluées par la même échelle. L'égalité et la liberté sont des termes relatifs. Selon Iqbal mouvements féministes sont un piège et les intrigues des capitalistes et des usuriers, conçu dans le nom de «révolution». Ce document compare et analyse les mouvements féministes occidentaux à la perspective d'Iqbal sur le féminisme. Mots clés: Féminisme; Allama Iqbal; Mouvements féministes d’occidentau

Religia a współczesne stosunki międzynarodowe

Praca recenzowana / peer-reviewed pape

Patrones y tendencias en cómo se representan los musulmanes en las películas occidentales.

Films have the potential to play an active role in determining when and how to evoke certain realities depending on which issues are selected, what discourses are highlighted, how observations are framed, what associations (positive and negative) are established, which symbols are selected for representation, and in what ways thecontent is treated. Many studies conclude that Muslims and Islam have been receiving a negative treatment in films. This study evaluates major propositions and findings of recent research on trends and patterns of Muslims’ depictions in fiction films. The literature is evaluated for six themes, namely clash of civilization or arbitration,stereotyping as deficient or efficient information processing, framing as the “other,” marginalization and/or prominence, representative and referential, and market driven and/or popular taste.Os cinemas têm o potencial para determinar quando e como são evocadas certas realidades. Neles são selecionados temas, discursos se ressaltam, se emolduram as observações, se estabelecem associações (positivas e negativas), e símbolos que são selecionados para representar e dar forma ao conteúdo. Este estudo avalia as principais proposições e descobertas de investigações recentes sobre tendências e padrões das representações de muçulmanos nos filmes de ficção. A literatura é avaliada desde seis tópicos: o choque ou a mediação entre civilizações, se os estereótipos são mecanismos defeituosos ou eficientes para processar informação, o “outro” como o que está sendo posto num âmbito, a marginalização e/ou o protagonismo, o representativo e o referencial, e se é guiado ao mercado e/ou o prazer popular.Las películas tienen el potencial para determinar cuándo y cómo se evocan ciertas realidades. En ellas se seleccionan temas, se resaltan discursos, se enmarcan observaciones, se establecen asociaciones (positivas y negativas), y se seleccionan símbolos para representar dar forma al contenido. Muchos estudios concluyen que los musulmanes y el Islam han recibido un tratamiento negativo en las películas. Este estudio evalúa las principales proposiciones y hallazgos de investigaciones recientes sobre tendencias y patrones de las representaciones de musulmanes en películas de ficción. La literatura se evalúa alrededor de seis tópicos: el choque o la mediación entre civilizaciones, si los estereotipos son mecanismos deficientes o eficientes para procesar información, el “otro” como lo que está siendo metido en un marco, la marginación y/o el protagonismo, lo representativo y lo referencial, y si está orientado al mercado y/o al gusto popular.

Padrões e Tendências em como os muçulmanos são representados nos filmes ocidentais.

Films have the potential to play an active role in determining when and how to evoke certain realities depending on which issues are selected, what discourses are highlighted, how observations are framed, what associations (positive and negative) are established, which symbols are selected for representation, and in what ways thecontent is treated. Many studies conclude that Muslims and Islam have been receiving a negative treatment in films. This study evaluates major propositions and findings of recent research on trends and patterns of Muslims’ depictions in fiction films. The literature is evaluated for six themes, namely clash of civilization or arbitration,stereotyping as deficient or efficient information processing, framing as the “other,” marginalization and/or prominence, representative and referential, and market driven and/or popular taste.Las películas tienen el potencial para determinar cuándo y cómo se evocan ciertas realidades. En ellas se seleccionan temas, se resaltan discursos, se enmarcan observaciones, se establecen asociaciones (positivas y negativas), y se seleccionan símbolos para representar dar forma al contenido. Muchos estudios concluyen que los musulmanes y el Islam han recibido un tratamiento negativo en las películas. Este estudio evalúa las principales proposiciones y hallazgos de investigaciones recientes sobre tendencias y patrones de las representaciones de musulmanes en películas de ficción. La literatura se evalúa alrededor de seis tópicos: el choque o la mediación entre civilizaciones, si los estereotipos son mecanismos deficientes o eficientes para procesar información, el “otro” como lo que está siendo metido en un marco, la marginación y/o el protagonismo, lo representativo y lo referencial, y si está orientado al mercado y/o al gusto popular. Os cinemas têm o potencial para determinar quando e como são evocadas certas realidades. Neles são selecionados temas, discursos se ressaltam, se emolduram as observações, se estabelecem associações (positivas e negativas), e símbolos que são selecionados para representar e dar forma ao conteúdo. Este estudo avalia as principais proposições e descobertas de investigações recentes sobre tendências e padrões das representações de muçulmanos nos filmes de ficção. A literatura é avaliada desde seis tópicos: o choque ou a mediação entre civilizações, se os estereótipos são mecanismos defeituosos ou eficientes para processar informação, o “outro” como o que está sendo posto num âmbito, a marginalização e/ou o protagonismo, o representativo e o referencial, e se é guiado ao mercado e/ou o prazer popular

Impact of New Media on Dynamics of Pakistan Politics

Information technology has tremendously facilitated the communication phenomenon and mass media have emerged as pervasive and encompassing tools of politics. New media has initiated the process of democratization of information and has empowered the audience to be producers and consumers ofinformation at the same time. Peters (2009, p.18) describes new media ‘as emerging communication and information technologies undergoing a historical process of contestation, negotiation and institutionalization.’ The Arab spring uprising initiated by the new media has grabbed the attention of scholars and researchers worldwide. Literature review suggests a positive relationship between usage of new media and political mobilization in the developed world. However, there is a need to conduct studies about the diffusion patterns, usage and impact of new media in the developing countries. This study aims to explore the usage patterns of new media by political parties of Pakistan and its impact on the dynamics of Pakistan politics. The study partially focuses to explain thepolitical content usage patterns of the University students on the basis of rural and urban population by selecting equal students from hostels and day scholars. The study suggests a quick adoption of facebook by rural respondents residing in hostels. The data indicates that facebook is the most popular social networking site among youth for the dispersion of political information as compared to other tools of new media including twitter, my space, blogs, and email etc. The respondents indicate the use of cell phones for political mobilization by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The study establishes a positive correlation between political mobilization and new media usage among educated youth. Keeping in view the overall literacy rate, internet penetration, recurrent load-shedding, and other peculiar socio-economic factors, the study suggests that the impact ofnew media in the political domain is limited as compared to the general perceptions