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Beyond the Sipahs, Jaishs and Lashkars Sectarian Violence in Pakistan as Reproduction of Exclusivist Sectarian Discourse Katja RIIKONEN Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Peace Studies University of Bradford 2012 ABSTRACT Katja Riikonen Beyond the Sipahs, Jaishs and Lashkars - Sectarian violence in Pakistan as reproduction of exclusivist Sectarian Discourse Keywords: Pakistan, sectarianism, sectarian violence, identity politics, sectarian discourse, religious violence This research project examines sectarianism and sectarian violence in Pakistan between 1996-2005. It represents a departure from the security- focused research on sectarianism and provides contemporary analysis of sectarian violence by contextualising it. This thesis distinguishes sectarianism as an analytical concept from sectarianism as a phenomenon in Pakistan. The existing literature on sectarianism and sectarianism in the Pakistani context is critically examined, and this research is located within that body of knowledge. In this thesis, sectarian violence is understood as being conducted to reproduce and reinforce exclusivist sectarian discourse. This premise is analysed through the framework of identity formation and identity politics, and spatial understandings of identities. The study examines the locations of sectarian violence in Pakistan, and analyses the spaces where sectarian identity discourse is enforced and maintained through violence. Consequently, the concept of sacred space and sacred time are analysed as locations of sectarian violence. The contestations of public space by competing identity discourses, and the spatial manifestations of those competing identities are analysed. This dissertation also attempts to draw out whether sectarian violence is only located within and through the organised sectarian groups, or whether the sectarian violence indicates wider fault lines in the Pakistani society. i Papalle ja Purolalle To Pappa and Purola ii Acknowledgments My first and biggest thank you goes to my family. Thank you for everything. Next I wanted to thank my supervisor Professor Shaun Gregory for continuous support, encouragement, and patience. Thank you for your academic rigour and advice – they have been absolutely invaluable. Thanks also to the nonacademic staff at the department, especially to Michele, for all the help I’ve received throughout the research process. In Pakistan, I was helped by many people, both professionally and personally. I want to thank Professor Tahir Kamran and all the wonderful people in the History Department of Government College University, Lahore. I thank Mr. Kamran Arif, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, and all the brave people working there. Your help and company were such a big part of my research experience, and I cannot thank you enough. I also want to thank the then head of the Council of Islamic Ideology, Dr. Khalid Masud, for inspirational discussions and academic advice. A special thank you to Ms. Naveera Khan from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan for welcoming me so warmly to the organisation and being there to talk about my research topic. It has been an absolute pleasure to get to know you. I also wanted to say a massive thank you for all my friends who were there to iii encourage and support me through the whole process of research and writing and who occasionally provided the much needed distraction from it all. Daniel, Hamayoun, and Suhaib, your messages of encouragement and advice at the final phases of writing were very important to me, and despite the distance, it was heartwarming to know you all wanted to see me finish my project. In Pakistan, Petri, thank you for being the best housemate ever. I truly value our friendship. Khurrum, my oldest friend in Pakistan, our conversations, trips, and occasional mischief meant more to me than you'll ever know. Finally, Miss Gwen, your love, warmth, and company have been invaluable. I am so proud to call you my friend. In Finland, The Revonkorpi sisters, I would not be who I am without you. Mara, thank you for guiding me through so many of those things I needed to learn during my last year of writing. Finally, Annika, the biggest thank you goes to you. Thank you for your endless support and encouragement. It was incredibly important to be able to share the process of writing with another writer. As so often happens in life, it all ended with something unexpected. Thank you, Mika, for providing me a special place to gather my thoughts and to finally be able to write my thesis. Kiitos. iv ABSTRACT I ACKNOWLEDGMENTS III ABBREVIATIONS VIII GLOSSARY X A NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION AND TRANSLATION XIII LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES XIV INTRODUCTION 1 LEARNING ABOUT SECTARIAN VIOLENCE 1 SABAR KI BAAT HAI 3 RESEARCH FOCUS 6 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS 11 THESIS STRUCTURE 14 CHAPTER 1: VIOLENCE, IDENTITY AND POLITICS: THE THEORETICAL CONTEXT 18 INTRODUCTION 18 IDENTITY EXPLAINED: DICHOTOMIC BASIS 20 IDENTITIES AND VIOLENCE 24 IDENTITY POLITICS – POLITICIZATION OF IDENTITY 26 CONFLICT DYNAMICS IN IDENTITY-RELATED CONFLICTS 27 SPATIALITY OF IDENTITIES 31 BORDERS AND COMMUNICATION 33 THE STRUCTURAL ELEMENT OF BORDERS 35 VIOLENCE AS COMMUNICATIVE AND PERFORMATIVE ACT 36 TOWARDS THE PRAXIS – THE CONTEXT OF SECTARIAN VIOLENCE IN PAKISTAN 40 CONCLUSIONS 48 CHAPTER 2: THE COORDINATES OF SECTARIANISM: DEFINING SECTARIANISM AND EXCLUSIVIST SECTARIAN DISCOURSE IN PAKISTAN 50 INTRODUCTION 50 SECTARIANISM: DEFINITIONS 51 SECTARIANISM AND RELIGION 56 SECTARIANISM AND RELIGION IN THE PAKISTANI CONTEXT 58 SECTARIANISM’S SYSTEMIC NATURE 61 DEFINITIONS OF SECTARIANISM IN THE PAKISTANI CONTEXT 63 SECTARIANISM IN PAKISTAN: VIEW FROM THE LITERATURE 66 POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM: THE PROCESS OF ISLAMISATION 67 DISCOURSE OF EXCLUSION 72 SECTARIANISM AND MIGRATION 83 CONCLUSIONS 91 CHAPTER 3: SECTARIAN VIOLENCE IN PAKISTAN: VIEW FROM THE LITERATURE 94 WHAT VIOLENCE? 96 THE BEGINNING OF ORGANISED SECTARIAN VIOLENCE 97 SUSTAINING ELEMENTS OF SECTARIAN VIOLENCE 102 REGIONAL AND LOCAL SUPPORT 103 v MADRASA NETWORKS 109 STATE AND VIOLENCE 120 THE MODES OF VIOLENCE 127 EXPLAINING SECTARIAN VIOLENCE 132 EFFECTS OF SECTARIAN VIOLENCE 135 VIOLENCE AND SOCIAL RELATIONS 135 TRANSFORMATION AND SECURITISATION OF SPACE 140 VIOLENCE OF THE EVERYDAY 146 CONCLUSIONS 148 CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY: RESEARCHING SECTARIAN VIOLENCE IN PAKISTAN 151 INTRODUCTION 151 METHODOLOGY: THE ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE RESEARCH 152 QUALITATIVE VERSUS QUANTITATIVE APPROACH WHEN STUDYING VIOLENCE 157 THE RESEARCHER AND THE RESEARCHED 158 DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 161 DATA SOURCE 162 DATA FORMAT 164 LIMITATIONS OF THE DATA 166 TIME PERIOD 169 RECORDING OF DATA 171 RESEARCH VARIABLES 173 DATA ANALYSIS 175 CONCLUSIONS 177 CHAPTER 5: VIOLENCE AS REPRODUCTION OF EXCLUSIVIST SECTARIAN IDENTITY 180 DISCOURSE 180 INTRODUCTION 180 THE DIFFERENCE THAT VIOLENCE MAKES 181 RELIGION AND VIOLENCE 185 PROTRACTED VIOLENCE 191 THE DIFFERENCE THAT RELIGION MAKES 193 LOCATION OF VIOLENCE 199 VIOLENCE AND RELIGIOUS PLACES 199 INDIVIDUALS AS LOCATIONS OF VIOLENCE 205 CONCLUSIONS 207 CHAPTER 6: LOCATING SECTARIAN VIOLENCE IN PAKISTAN 1996–2005 210 INTRODUCTION 210 OBSERVATIONS ON THE DATA 211 DOES MEDIA MAKE SECTARIAN VIOLENCE? 212 VIOLENCE AND VIOLENT INCIDENTS 216 FOCUS OF ANALYSIS 218 QUANTITY AND LOCATION OF INCIDENTS ANALYSED 220 TARGET KILLINGS 223 MEMBERS OF SECTARIAN ORGANISATIONS AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS 225 OCCUPATION AS AN IDENTITY CATEGORY 228 TARGET KILLINGS AS A SPACE OF SECTARIAN VIOLENCE 231 SACRED SPACE AND SACRED TIME 237 PROCESSIONS 238 vi MAJLISES 241 PROCESSIONS AND RELIGIOUS GATHERINGS AS SPACES OF SECTARIAN VIOLENCE 243 MOSQUES, IMAMBARGAHS, AND MOSQUE DISPUTES 247 CATEGORY 'OTHERS' 253 SPATIAL POLITICS OF IDENTITY—FINAL REFLECTIONS 254 TIME TO KILL 255 SHOOTING BY TWO MOTORCYCLISTS OR A BOMB BLAST: DOES THE METHOD MAKE A DIFFERENCE? 256 SPATIAL POLITICS OF IDENTITY 257 EPILOGUE—THE UNTOLD STORIES 260 CONCLUSIONS 263 RATIONALE OF INVESTIGATING VIOLENCE 263 THEORETICAL CONCLUSIONS 265 METHODOLOGICAL CONCLUSIONS 270 SPACES OF VIOLENCE 273 AREAS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 276 BIBLIOGRAPHY 280 vii Abbreviations ASS Anjuman-e Sipah-e Sahaba ASWJ Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat ATF Anti-Terrorism Force FANA Federally Administered Northern Areas FATA Federally Administered Tribal Areas FCR Frontier Crimes Regulations GTD Global Terrorism Database HRCP Human Rights Commission of Pakistan IJT Islami Jamiat –e-Talaba ISO Imamia Student Organisation; Shia Student Organisation JUI Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam KPK Khyber Pakhtunkhwa LJ Lashkar-e-Jhangvi; Army of Jhangvi MNA Member of the Pakistani National Assembly NA Northern Areas NGO Non-Governmental Organisation TJP Tehrik-e-Jafria Pakistan; Jafria Movement Pakistan TNJF Tehrik-e-Nafaz Fiqh-e-Jafria PIPS Pak Institute for Peace Studies PPP Pakistan People’s Party SATP South Asia Terrorism Portal SMP Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan; Army of Muhammad viii ST Sunni Tehreek SSP Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan; Army of the Companions of the Prophet Pakistan SSP Senior Superintendent of Police TKN The Tehrik-e Khatam-e Nabuwat ix Glossary alam flag, banner alim (pI. ulama) learned person; specialist