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A People BetrayedThe Impact of Islamisation on the Christian Community in PakistanChristians under IslamA PEOPLE BETRAYED The published version of Dr. Sookhdeo's PhD thesis makes for an informative read and is generally well-researched, consistent with its academic background. Several issues mark out the book's importance: first, the last serious study of the church in Pakistan published in the UK is now over 30 years old. This is, therefore, a welcome addition to Pakistan studies collections, giving voice to Christian scholarship on Pakistan where the Muslim voice currently dominates almost to the exclusion of all others. Second, the book is particularly timely, given the international focus on Pakistan following the events of September 11 2001 and the declaration of a 'War on Terrorism' which has focused on neighbouring Afghanistan and its links to Pakistan. Third, Dr. Sookhdeo's background in the region lends an informed passion to the work, which he hopes will encourage believers outside Pakistan to take more notice of those inside this Islamic Republic. However, events have moved quickly since '9/11' and some of the work's original aims have been achieved in new government ordinances, which the author has noted, but too late to alter his main argument. As to whether the changes are a result of internal minority pressure groups successfully influencing government policy or of international pressure for 'fair and free elections' remains to be seen. Dr. Sookhdeo's work thus serves as a review of the action, approaches and sufferings of some of the Christian community. Raising profileThe main aims of 'A People Betrayed' to raise the profile of the Christian community outside Pakistan, to increase understanding of the situation national Christians face and to begin to plug the wide gap in research on the Christian community in Pakistan, are on the whole achieved. So little of non-journalistic investigation is written on the Christians of Pakistan that it is probably best to describe A People Betrayed as one insider's view of a complex and diverse set of issues facing an under-privileged community. The book covers these issues in three main areas: first, a tracing of the history of Christianity in the Indian sub-continent. This section carries much potential but suffers from an over-arching effort to try to restore the status of the current-day Christians of Pakistan into a tradition of pre-Muslim Asian Christianity in order to establish the validity of their modern presence. It does seem that there is little evidence to support the thesis of an early indigenous church in North West India, least of all one with traceable lineage to the current community. Dr. Sookhdeo's stance is nonetheless laudable, as such a lineage would rebut many exclusivist Muslim claims to Pakistan. The paucity of available relevant material on Pakistan's pre-Muslim communities and their survival does detract from his well-meaning intention. The second area Dr. Sookhdeo focuses on is regional politics. The arrival of modern-day Pakistan, an analysis of Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Quaid-i-Azam), the political Founder of the modern nation, and the Islamic agenda that refocused the status of Christians following the arrival of Zia ul-Haqq, occupy a useful chapter. Finally, Dr. Sookhdeo spends three chapters uncovering the current challenges (which he sees as discriminations in the legal, political, socio-economic and religious arenas) facing the Christian community of Pakistan. Much of this is well documented and illustrated with examples. It is perhaps unfortunate that the tone is polemic, but as the title of the book indicates, Dr. Sookhdeo is on a mission to undo what he sees as a sense of betrayal of the Pakistani church by their non-Pakistani contemporaries. Twists and turnsOn the whole the style of the text makes the content quite accessible. However, the inherent complexity of Pakistani political analysis and its in-house jargon requires the reader to exercise diligence in unravelling its twists and turns. As the foreword by Lord Mackay of Clashfern points out: 'The book is one that may daunt the general reader with its detail (particularly the 'very full range of supporting references') but for those who wish to study and learn from what has happened in Pakistan it is a fund of knowledge.' It is this fund of references that makes the book useful both as a scholarly contribution to Pakistan studies and as a rebuttal of inaccurate Western journalism and Muslim opinion. Perhaps the victim of unfortunate timing, the book's conclusions as to the lack of a positive way forward are now superseded by the successful campaign for an end to the separate electorate system. The book therefore constitutes a genuine attempt to explode some of the myths about Christianity in Pakistan that the Western media and some indigenous Muslim authors would have the majority of us believe. It has an added pertinence given Pakistan's centrality to the political stage of the region and the global 'War on Terrorism'. As a new Christian work on this Muslim-dominated region it is well worth reading. Trevor HowardTrevor Howard, BA (Hons), MA (Ed), is a postgraduate researcher at the Centre for Islamic Studies and Muslim-Christian Relations, London Bible College, Green Lane, Northwood, Middlesex HA6 2UW. © Evangelicals Now - September 2002 |