Islamic Eschatology and Prophetic Register: the Divine Source of Pakistan’s Identity

Abstract

Despite religion’s ubiquity, its role has long been ignored by international relations scholars. One of the reasons behind ignoring religion’s influence in international politics is the anti-religion sentiments based on the theory of secularization. The belief that religion is a thing of the past has hampered the explanatory prowess of international relations scholarship. This article aims to explain how faith informs Pakistan about its divine role in international politics. It is argued that Islamic eschatology is pivotal in contouring Pakistan’s religious identity which is pivotal to how Pakistan establishes its ties with its arch-rival India. Prophetic register that exists in Pakistan act as a call to action to reform the community on religious bases. This article concludes that the role of religious prophecy must be accounted for to better explain popular religious aspirations that constrain the policy option for policymakers both at the domestic as well as international level.