Episode description

Pakistan was conceived of as a country where Muslims could live free of Hindu domination and discrimination but was that the extent of the project? Was it meant to be a country in which Muslims could live safely or was the idea to establish an Islamic state? And is, in fact, an Islamic state the final goal of Muslims? Are there ways of blending the ideas of Islam with systems of government that do not take a view on religion and allow individuals to live their religious lives as they see fit? On this week’s Newshour Extra Owen Bennett Jones is in the Pakistani capital Islamabad to find out whether an Islamic state is possible in the modern world.

The guests this week are Zubair Safdar, Public Policy Analyst and Media Coordinator of the Jamaat-e-Islami political party, Dr Soumia Aziz, Lecturer in Islamic Studies at Islamic International University, Islamabad, and Mosharraf Zaidi, the leader of Alif Ailaan, a political campaign that helps to address Pakistan’s education crisis, and also a columnist and former government adviser.

Owen Bennett Jones was also speaking to lawyers Asma Jahangir and Justice Muhammad Raza Khan

(Photo: Pakistan's national flag Credit: Getty Images)