Islamization of democracy and democratization of Islam: the Interplay of Islam and democracy in Pakistan’s constitutional discourse
Creators: name: Hamdullah
Publisher: name: RMIT University
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 440803
subject: Comparative government and politics
classificationCode: 480702
subject: Constitutional law
classificationCode: 500403
subject: Islamic studies

description: Pakistan’s constitution places Islam and democracy in a single constitutional scheme due mainly to the Islamic and democratic aspirations of its people as well as its inherited colonial, common law parliamentary system of government, along with the people trained in that tradition. This has presented a number of challenges to politicians, judges, and activists on the matter of how compatible the two concepts are. This study describes in greater detail the way in which the interplay of Islam and democracy unfolds in Pakistan’s constitutional discourse and provides an empirical evaluation of the situations and challenges it gives birth to by analysing the text of the Pakistani constitution, its interpretation and its context.

This thesis explores the interplay of Islam and democracy in post-18th Amendment constitutional discourse of Pakistan by analysing data in three constitutional locales: (1) the text of the constitution, (2) its judicial interpretation, and (3) the context of the constitution. The context has been approached by analysing the primary interview data collected from the key constitutional players. These included parliamentarians, judges of the Supreme Court including three chief justices of Pakistan, academics, activist opinion makers and affiliates of the Council of Islamic Ideology. 

The thesis makes an important contribution to the field by informing (1) how Islam and democracy have been arranged in the constitution in a single constitutional scheme; (2) how the judges interpret the constitutional questions involving Islam and democracy; and (3) how the key constitutional players approach and negotiate the apparently conflicting constitutional demands of Islam and democracy. 

Accordingly, this thesis has been divided into five parts. Part I is introductory. The middle three parts analyse the interplay of Islam and democracy in the context of 2 three sets of data. Part II explores that interplay in the constitution. This part also lays the groundwork for subsequent analysis chapters. Part III explores this interplay in the judicial interpretation of the constitution in the light of selected judgments. Part IV explores this interplay in the light of primary interview data collected from the key constitutional players. Part V concludes this thesis. 

Findings indicate that the interplay of Islam and democracy in the Pakistani constitution unfolds in the backdrop of an English-medium, colonial and postcolonial, common law parliamentary democratic constitutional framework. While Islam, by virtue of its fundamental concept of sovereignty of God, has rendered the constitution ideologically different from similar common law parliamentary democratic constitutions, the constitutional interplay of Islam and democracy is heavily mediated by that overarching constitutional framework. This is even more evident in the judicial interpretation of the constitution. The placement of Islam and democracy in a single constitutional scheme gives birth to unique challenges for the judiciary. Given the common law tradition observed by the judiciary, Pakistan’s judges prefer democratization and universalization of Islamic concepts before giving them legal effect. 
Findings as to the interplay of Islam and democracy, beyond the constitution and its judicial interpretation, indicate that the key constitutional players express agreement on the compatibility of Islamic and democratic principles. How that compatibility in principles unfolds in constitutional practice is less agreed upon.