Civil Society Can Weave Culture of Discourse, Peace and Pluralism

Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC) is fast emerging as a unifying platform which brings together scholars from various academic disciplines for meaningful intellectual encounters. Established in 2002, the ultimate goal of the London-based AKU-ISMC is to strengthen research and teaching on the heritage of Muslim societies in all its historic diversity.

By highlighting the urgent need for the peaceful co-existence of people from diverse cultural backgrounds, the Institute’s series of seminars titled ‘Approaches to Pluralism in Muslim Contexts’ continues to attract eminent academicians and intellectuals as well as professionals and policy makers. In January 2005, AKU-ISMC conducted the seventh seminar of the series, ‘Civil Society in South Asia’, which featured three speakers from renowned South Asian universities. The primary objective of the seminar was to explore the concept of civil society and its evolution in the South Asian region.

Held at AKU, Karachi, the seminar focused on the cultural, economic and religious dimensions of civil society. The first speaker, Professor Amena Mohsin, Chair, Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka, presented a paper on ‘Civil Society and Conflict Management: Bangladesh’s Experiences’. Professor Mohsin recognised that civil society initiatives provide a stable anchor for building confidence and trust within and amongst communities in South Asia, adding that such measures may serve as the foundations of peace and security in the region. A generation tutored in the language of dialogue and friendship, she stressed, can bring about meaningful change in the security regimes and lives of people.

Professor Mohsin pointed out that civil society has played an active role in promoting and protecting human rights and thereby contributing to human security and conflict management. In the context of Bangladesh, Professor Mohsin pointed to the demand for a democratisation of the polity, which is widely considered to be crucial to building plural structures. She concluded that there is a need for civil society to weave a culture of discourse, peace, tolerance and pluralism. Professor Rajeev Bhargava, Head, Department of Political Theory, University of Delhi, spoke on reform of Muslim personal laws in India. The Indian constitution grants every religious community the right to establish and maintain institutions for religious purposes and to manage its own religious affairs, he informed participants. Dr Bhargava added, however, that the constitution also enjoins the state to develop a uniform civil code in the future.

According to Professor Bhargava, there are two opinion groups in Indian society on the issue of separate personal laws for religious communities and in particular for Muslims. One is the ‘radical individualist’ group, which demands the abolition of separate personal laws for religious minorities and the institution of a uniform civil code. The ‘conservative communitarian’ group, on the other hand, seeks the strict preservation of the existing system of separate personal laws on grounds of religious integrity and community identity.

As opposed to these two positions, Professor Bhargava advocated a third, ‘reformist’ position, which would advocate reform and not abolition of these laws. This, he maintained, would portray the country’s civil society as both Indian and modern, embodying an alternative modernity and offering an arena of freedom and diversity.

Professor Mohammad Waseem, Chairman, Department of International Relations, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, presented Pakistan’s case in a paper titled ‘Civil Society in Pakistan: Challenges and Response’. The postcolonial ruling set-up in Pakistan left little space for non-state actors in cultural, political, economic and religious spheres, argued Professor Waseem. However, he reminded the audience that the rise of the middle class and expansion of NGO-based social activity means that civil society is gaining strength. Professor Bhargava concluded that the extent to which these developments can pose a challenge to the ruling dispensation in terms of promoting democracy, as well as the tenor of the establishment’s response, will depend on the social capital in Pakistani society; i.e. the way microstructures of interpersonal trust and shared norms influence the macrostructures of democracy.

Earlier in his welcome address, AKU President Shamsh Kassim-Lakha observed that like other great civilisations of the world, Muslim cultures also have traditions that are amenable to modern notions of civil society. Moncef Ben Abdeljelil, Associate Professor, AKU-ISMC, meanwhile provided insight into the growing importance of civil society and the Institute’s work in this area.

In February 2005, AKU-ISMC organised a two-day conference on ‘Higher Education in Developing Countries: With a Focus on Muslim Contexts’ in London, UK. The conference focused on the vision, purpose and aims of higher education in developing countries, and on reforms and innovations in this area of critical importance. Some 200 scholars, policy makers and students from over 30 countries attended the conference.