David Pinault, Notes from the fortune-telling parrot: religious pluralism in Pakistan

Excerpt

The parrot mentioned in the title emerges as the author’s self-reflection, meeting diverse people while maintaining the old tradition of fortune-telling in a changing Pakistan. The author introduces the book as a study on religious pluralism in Pakistan—defined as the co-existence and tolerance of multiple spiritual paths—and by so doing, hope for its survival. However, his discussion abruptly switches from generalized statements about Pakistani Muslims’ intolerance for Hindus and Christians to the Sunni Pakistanis’ intolerance for Shi’i Pakistanis. The sources at times are weak; for example, the author concludes that Pakistani Sunnis perceive Shi’is as heretics based on an anti-Shi’i posting on a Malaysian Islamic website. In another instance, he uses Pope Benedict XVI’s speech of Sept.12, 2006 to argue in favor of free speech and freedom of conscience being absent in Pakistani Muslims. The narrative throughout excludes how people from different educational and class backgrounds differ in their opinions on religious pluralism. Claims such as “I sampled mullahs-in-power on my trip to Peshawar” (p.199) hardly highlight any attempt to distinguish actors representing state and political power from other people. In some instances, the Saudi and Iranian governments’ influence on sectarian tensions is targeted, but no comments are made on the role of the Musharraf government, which was in power during the seven years period when the author was visiting the country. …