Trying the Domino Theory on for Size

First Iran, Now Pakistan

While world attention focused on the violent upheaval in Iran, which led to the establishment of an Islamic republic there, a more gradual shift to Islamic orthodoxy was taking place in Pakistan. This less publicized transition to Islamic values, however, concerns West Asian Christians just as much.

Pakistan’s Council for Islamic Ideology, meeting in Karachi last month, adopted laws that represent a new phase in the country’s planned return to strict Islamic life. Earlier, on the anniversary of Mohammad’s birthday in February, President Mohammed Zia ul-Haq announced over national television and radio that Islamic law would begin serving as the criminal code of the nation. He announced legislation based on the Koran to deal with the crimes of adultery, theft, slander, and drinking. The new legislation replaces existing legislation based on English common law. Three days of special celebrations followed, with prominent Muslim religious leaders taking part.

There is much speculation among the Muslim majority and Pakistan minorities about the effects of Islamization of the Pakistani legal system. Christians are especially apprehensive. Will it cause restrictions on evangelism? Will Christians become, in essence, second-class citizens? Will the promised “protection of belief’ that is to be enforced along with Islamic law mean that Muslims are no longer free to leave Islam to embrace another religion?

Some Christians feel, for example, that a true Islamic state leaves no place for Christian teachers in the educational system. Government plans are that local languages, rather than English, will be substituted as the medium of instruction in English elementary and high schools within the next two years. This policy could affect a number of the Christian schools in the cities—both Roman Catholic and Protestant—which are well attended and maintain high educational standards.

Some observers believe that Islamic law will not be applied as strictly as advance announcements had indicated. There is now total prohibition of liquor for all Pakistanis except for approved medical and religious purposes. But no amputation of the right hand for robbery has been reported as yet. (To impose this maximum sentence, there must be at least two adult Muslim male witnesses.)

The press has been silent about the role of minorities under Islamic law, especially as it relates to the propagation of religion. Some intellectuals believe that Islamic law, if strictly applied, may prove counter-productive for Islam by creating discontent. Many Muslims have had enough contact with Western thought and culture through movies, magazines, television, and travel to remain unconvinced of the benefits of a purely Islamic state.

Meanwhile, there seem to be many opportunities for Christian witness. Veteran Christian workers in different areas of Pakistan have reported that the number of Muslims inquiring into Christianity is increasing noticeably. Could a forced return to Islamic values trigger a genuine turning to Christ?

Scheduled new phases in the Islamizing process may test that theory. Zia already has announced that the traditional Islamic wealth tax, called zakat (alms), will become mandatory after July 1. Zakat, at the rate of 2.5 percent, will be assessed on savings accounts, unit trusts, bonds, and shares, but not on buildings and houses. In rural areas, crops and livestock will be assessed. The government has exempted checking accounts and what it calls “private wealth,” such as jewelry.

The old Islamic land tax (ushr, or tithe) will also be reconstituted: 10 percent on arable land, 5 percent on other land. Together, the two new taxes, superimposed on the country’s income tax structure (paid by very few Pakistanis), will double the existing tax base.

The most drastic phase is the projected establishment of an interest-free economy. Officials are talking of a three-year time scale for ushering in a system that would convert the fixed returns guaranteed by normal interest to de facto risk capital throughout the economy. But such a switch faces major obstacles, and observers believe it will be a long time coming.

As in Iran, Zia’s acceleration of the pace in restoring rigid Islamic precepts has brought out internal tensions. Splits have developed between Pakistan’s conservative majority Sunni Muslims and the more liberal minority Shias—the proportions are just the reverse in Iran—over just what conformity to Islam means. Under Shiite interpretation, for instance, there would be more exemptions from zakat.

Other centrifugal forces tugging at the fabric of Pakistani society are border tensions caused by Afghan rebel groups operating inside Fakistan, and public reaction to the death sentence of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto after a protracted trial.

The Pakistani church suffers from divisiveness—especially within I denominational structures. There is often more cooperation on an inter-chuch level.

Most churches in Pakistan are conservative, although influence from World Council of Churches-style liberal theology is reflected in some publications produced by the Pakistan Council of Churches. The Evangelical Fellowship of Pakistan—short on finances and without a full-time secretary—struggles on with a limited program. The present chairman is Iqbal Nisar of the Theological Seminary in Gujranwala.

Christian witness continues through personal evangelism, literature distribution, medicine, rural development, correspondence schools, and the outreach of local churches.

The Pakistan Campus Crusade for Christ held New Life in Christ campaigns in Lahore in December and in Karachi in February. Participation in the campaign by the Lahore churches was minimal, but the Karachi churches were more cooperative. The campaign was adapted to fit the local culture to some extent, but some evangelicals have questioned the wisdom of using such an aggressive approach just when Islamic law is coming into force.

Several institutions in Pakistan engage in theological education. Within the past few years a seminary was established in Karachi by the Church of Pakistan and its bishop of Karachi, Arne Rudvin; it now has twenty students, although most of them would probably not be identified with the evangelical movement in Pakistan. There are some Bible schools in the northern district of Punjab, including one sponsored by the United Pentecostal Church in Pakistan in the Lahore area and a small Bible school (Lahore Bible Institute) in Sheikhupura. There are baptistic groups planning a residential Bible school program, but progress has been slow. Some evangelical Christian workers feel there is a need for a strong evangelical Bible school in Pakistan to train Christian workers to pastor small congregations, as well as for tribal evangelism and to produce literature.

The Pakistan Committee on Theological Education by Extension (PACTEE) seems to be off the ground, and now is making solid contributions to the publication of program materials and the establishment of TEE centers. Indications are that PACTEE will contribute significantly to Christian education in the future.

The Christian publishing work of Masihi Isha’at Khana, the Christian publishing house in Lahore, is healthy, and producing some significant titles for the Christian and majority communities.

The most promising area for church growth is among the Hindu tribal groups, some in the Punjab, but primarily in the southern Sind province. Hundreds of believers are in the Kohli, Marwari, Bhil, Mangwal, and Oad tribes. Many of these tribal peoples are responding to the gospel message. At present, the greatest needs are for solid Bible teaching and for training of lay leaders who can carry on a regular Bible teaching ministry among the largely illiterate tribal people.

With the present difficulty in obtaining visas for Americans, Germans, and Scandinavians, the role of people from the Commonwealth countries in missionary service may become more central.

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