RELIGIOUS NATIONALISM AND CONFLICT - A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN ZIONISM AND PAKISTANI NATIONALISM
RELIGIOUS NATIONALISM AND CONFLICT - A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN ZIONISM AND PAKISTANI NATIONALISM

Summary/Abstract: For centuries religion has been a uniting factor amongst societies that has been instrumentalised by political leaders. However, the 20th century saw the creation of two states that used a blended form of religious nationalism, Israel and Pakistan . These two states may have been born out of different contexts and differ in the religious philosophies, but upon closer inspection share deeper similarities that are often overlooked because of to their differences. This paper will also seek to analyse the influence of these religious nationalisms on long-standing conflicts in their regions. In the case of Zionism, the longstanding Arab (Palestinian inclusive)-Israeli Conflict, and in the case of Pakistani Nationalism, the conflict over Kashmir and the establishment of Bangladesh from East-Pakistan. It is important to note that both Pakistan and Israel as States were created amid traumatic conflict that significantly influenced the conceptions of their respective forms of nationalism. This paper asserts that religious nationalism in both Israel and Pakistan has been used to start and perpetuate conflicts in both cases even if they started from more secular aspirations. The first section of this paper will focus on giving background for the comparative portion, which will cover the common call for a religious homeland, shift from secularism to more religious nationalism and use of language in order to unite their movements. These sections will also include an analysis in how they affect conflict.

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