Association of Religious Activities and Social Interaction of Christian and Sikh Minorities with Muslims in Pakistan

Azizullah Jan; Ashfaq U. Rehman; Ahmad Hassan Khattak; Ihsan Ullah Khan

doi:10.32350/jitc.92.12

Azizullah Jan Department of Sociology University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan
Ashfaq U. Rehman Department of Political Science Women University Swabi, Pakistan
Ahmad Hassan Khattak Center for Arabic and Islamic Studies Women University Swabi, Pakistan
Ihsan Ullah Khan Department of Sociology FATA University, FR Kohat, Pakistan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32350/jitc.92.12

Keywords: religious activities, social interaction, adjustment problem, minorities

Abstract

Abstract Views: 362

Faith in any religion takes significant importance in a country where intolerance and extremism are high. Acceptance and tolerance are keys for adjustment in religious activities and are pertinent for smooth running and dynamism. In contrast to it, intolerance and non-acceptance in religious activities is a burning issue with respect to adjustment problems faced by minorities in a country. This study aims to explore the adjustment problems faced by minorities, especially by Christians and Sikhs for the performance of their religious activities in district Peshawar and Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The prime aim and goal of the study is to illustrate the ways minorities are targeted (Christians and Sikhs) and have to adjust with Muslim majorities for the performance of their religious activities, along with making efforts to strengthen various modes of social interaction within themselves in the targeted area. For the measurement of variable, five-level Likert scale was used, and the chi-square test was applied to find out the association level of an independent variable with the dependent variable. Based on the Sekaran table, a total of 372 respondents were selected from the local minorities to analyse the adjustment problems faced by minorities in the performance of their religious activities. The findings of the study reveal that Christians and Sikhs usually celebrate their religious festivals and rituals publicly which highlights the strong social interaction between majorities and minorities in the target area. But still, slight issues of disturbances with their religious rituals and festivals were found in some places of the target area.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ahmad, Akhlaq., Bilal Shaukat, and Muhammad Saeed. “A Survey of Social Exclusion, Media Portrayal, and Services for Christians Minorities in Pakistan.” Pakistan Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies 1, no. 2 (2016): 15-24.
Ahmad, Niaz., Abida Bano., and Ashfaq, U. Rehman. “Women’s Political Empowerment through Local Government in the Patriarchal Society of Pakistan: A Narrative of Women Councillors.” Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal 3, no. 1 (2019): 1-58.
Azim, Syed Wasif., Wajid Mehmood, and Sajjad Hussain. “Swat Conflict in Retrospect: Violence and Jarga among the Swat Pakhtuns in Pakistan.” Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal 2, no. 1 (2018): 37-48.
Bailey, Enrique Baraona. “Dimensional Sampling and the Variation of Purposive Sampling.” Journal and Scientific Research 7, no. 5 (1987): 865-871.
Daraz, Umer., Akhlaq Ahmad, and Muhammad Bilal. “Gender Inequality in Education: An Analysis of Socio-Cultural Factors and Impacts on the Economic Development of Malakand.” Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal 2, no. 2 (2018): 50-58.
Fry, George F. “World Religions in War and Peace in Conflict and Concord.” In Forum on Public Policy: A Journal of the Oxford Round Table. Forum on Public Policy, 2008.
Gregory, R. S., and R. S. Valentine. The Situation of Religious Minorities. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Status Determination and Protection Information Section. Islamabad, Pakistan, 2009.
Hussain, Ishtiaq. “Religious Minorities in Pakistan: Mapping Sindh and Balochistan.” Living on the Margins. Minorities in South Asia, 2008. http://fhrp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/RELIGIOUS-MINORITIES-in-PAKISTAN.pdf
Jan, Aziz Ullah., and Ashfaq U. Rehman. “Assessment of Interfaith Harmony between Muslims and Hindus in Socio-Cultural Activities in Swat.” Burjis 6, no. 1 (2019): 75-84.
Khan, Asghar, Ashfaq U. Rehman, and Shughla Ashfaq. “Center-Periphery Relations and Governance Gap: The Role of Local Government in Post-Conflict North-Western Pakistan.” J. App. Environ. Bio. Sci. 6, no. 3 (2016): 186-193.
Khan, Arif., Taj Moharram Khan, and Ashfaq U. Rehman. “Government-Opposition Relations amidst the Provincial Autonomy during Bhutto Regime.” Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan 54, no. 2 (2017): 41-52.
Khan, Noor Ullah., and Ashfaq U. Rehman. “National Character and Leadership in Pakistan: Challenges and Response.” Pakistan Journal of Criminology 10, no. 2 (2018): 58-71.
Khattak, Ahmad Hassan., Khalid Usman Khattak, and Shamsul Hussain Zaheer. “Security Issues in Pakistan: its Solution in the Light of Seerah.” Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal 1, no. 2 (2017): 34-42.
Kozar, Aida. “The Media and Cultural Rights of Ethnic Minorities.” Paper presented at the Eighth International Seminar Democracy and Human Rights in Multi-ethnic Societies, 2005.
Malik, Iftikhar H. Religious Minorities in Pakistan (Vol. 6). London: Minority Rights Group International, 2002. https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/469cbfc30.pdf
Mbillah, Johnson Apenad. “The Causes of Present-day Muslim Unrest in Ghana.” PhD Dissertation, The University of Birmingham, 1999.
Naveed, Fouzia., Maryam Munir, and Yasir Saeed. “Unveiling the Situation of Religious Minorities: A Case Study of Marginalized Groups Living in Lahore.” International Journal of Asian Social Sciences 4, no. 1 (2014): 41-50.
Naazer, Manzoor Ahmad. “Islamic Universalism and the Nation State.” Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal 2, no. 2 (2018): 29-41.
Naazer, Manzoor Ahmad, Amna Mahmood, and Shughla Ashfaq. “Political Rights Situation during Musharraf Era: 1999-2004.” Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal 1, no. 1 (2017): 20-31.
Rashid, Tahmina. “Radicalisation of Civil Society: A Case Study of Pakistan.” South Asia: Envisioning a Regional Future, 2011.
Rehman, Ashfaq U., Asghar Khan, and Shughla Ashfaq. “Role of Civilian Governments in the Implementation of Local Government System in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.” J. App. Environ. Bio. Sci. 5, no. 10 (2015): 382-389.
Rehman, Ashfaq U., Bakht Rahman, and Tariq Ali. “US War on Terror: Portrayal through Caricatures in Selected Newspapers of Pakistan.” Pakistan Journal of Criminology 10, no. 3 (2018): 43-63.
Safia, Z., and K. Ishfaq. “Socio and Economic Problems of Minorities in Southern Punjab, Pakistan.” Proceedings of Advanced 15th International Conference on Advances in Education and Social Sciences 12-14 October 2015, Istanbul, Turkey.
Sekaran, Uma., and Roger Bougie. Research Methods for Business, A Skill Building Approach. New York: John Willey and Sons Inc., 2003.
Shafiq, Sumaira., Ashfaq U. Rehman. “Land, Conflict and Traditional Institutions in the North-West Pakistan: An Appraisal of Hazarkhwani, Peshawar.” Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society 31, no. 1 (2018): 235-246.
Shah, Hassan., Ashfaq U. Rehman, Sajjad Hussain, and Shughla Ashfaq. “The Role of Social Networks in Democratisation: An Assessment of Family Socialisation and Voting Behaviour in Pakistan.” International Journal for Social Studies 4, no. 9 (2018): 108-118.
Shamsi, A. Hussain. “Social Status and Political Participation of Christian Minority in Pakistan.” PhD diss., University of the Punjab, Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore, Pakistan, 2011.
Tahira, Iffat., and Abdul Qadir Mushtaq. “Protection of Minority Rights: An Analysis of Implementation of Statutes, Policies and Illegalities in Pakistan.” Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society 31, no. 1 (2018): 73-81.
Yusuf, Moeed. “A Society on the Precipice? Examining the Prospects of Youth Radicalisation in Pakistan.” Reaping the Dividend, 2011. ttps://www.brookings.edu/wpcontent/uploads/2016/06/10_pakistan_yusuf.pdf