What is Sectarianism?

Sectarianism is defined as: Narrow-minded beliefs that lead to prejudice, discrimination, malice and ill-will towards members, or presumed members, of a religious denomination. A denomination or sect is a division or grouping within a faith. Sects or Denominations within one faith share the same fundamental elements of the faith but have different practices or different interpretations of specific elements of that faith. According to another definition Sectarianism, according to one definition, is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion, class, regional or factions of a political movement. Members of a religious or political group may believe that their own salvation, or the success of their particular objectives, requires aggressively seeking converts from other groups; adherents of a given faction may believe that for the achievement of their own political or religious project their internal opponents must be purged. Sometimes a group that is under economic or political pressure will kill or attack members of another group which it regards as responsible for its own decline. It may also more rigidly define the definition of "orthodox" belief within its particular group or organisation, and expel or excommunicate those who do not support this newfound clarified definition of political or religious 'orthodoxy.'

Sectarian Conflict
The phrase "sectarian conflict" usually refers to violent conflict along religious or political lines such as the conflicts between Nationalists and Unionists in Northern Ireland OR It may also refer to general philosophical, political disparity between different schools of thought such as that between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Non-sectarians espouse that free association and tolerance of different beliefs are the cornerstone to successful peaceful human interaction.

Religious Sectarianism
A narrow-minded following of a particular belief by members of a denomination that leads to prejudice, bigotry, discrimination, malice and ill-will towards members, or presumed members, of another denomination. Sectarianism can occur in different ways, either at an individual, group, cultural or institutional level. A denomination is a division or grouping within a faith - for example, Protestants and Catholics within Christianity, Sunni and Shia within Islam, and Orthodox and Reform within Judaism. Denominations within one faith share the same basic (fundamental) elements of the faith but they have differing practices or differing interpretations of specific elements of the faith.

Sectarianism in Pakistan
Sectarianism between Salafis and Hanafis Sectarianism between Sunnis and Shias Causes of Sectarianism in Pakistan
Pakistan being the second largest country in the world where more than 95% population is Muslim. Pakistan has been a target of sectarianism and sectarian violence in Pakistan. It is not only Pakistan in the Muslim world where the Shia-Sunni divide is a cause of instability and crisis. Afghanistan, India, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and some of the Gulf countries are also a victim of the sectarian tussle. Historically speaking, the Shia-Sunni discord is centuries old originating in the bloody conflict among the successors of the last Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). That conflict became a source of division among Muslims on sectarian grounds. But, sectarian conflict in Pakistan is not merely limited to Shia and Sunni segments of society but has also permeated in the Sunni sect. Pakistan as the second largest Muslim country of the world is facing a daunting task of curbing intolerance, hate, extremism and violence targeting Shia or Sunni communities. The cycle of sectarian violence has also targeted the holy places and religious schools of both sects resulting in the shameful carnage of fellow Muslims. The Sunni population in Pakistan is 75-80 per cent of the total population while the Shia population is roughly 20 per cent. Since the early 1980s, when sectarian politics got an impetus in Pakistan till today, thousands of people have been killed in sectarian violence in different parts of the country. Countless suicide attacks at the religious sites of Sunnis and Shiites not only deepened religious schism but also led to the assassination of hundreds of professionals from the two sides. Sectarian groups, which emerged during 1980s and early 1990s, pursued a policy of annihilating each other.