Pakistanis Trust Ulama Over Politicians

By Aamir Latif, IOL Correspondent
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“Attempts by General Musharraf and his company to make the country a secular state will be foiled,” Siddiqui told IOL.

ISLAMABAD – A new poll has showed that the majority of Pakistanis still trust religious scholars over secular politicians, a fact experts see as a blow to President General Pervez Musharraf’s so-called policy of enlighten moderation.“This is not surprising. Even this survey had not been conducted, it is a known fact that Ulema enjoy the confidence of a majority of Pakistanis,” Dr Zameer Ahmed, a veteran sociologist, told IslamOnline.net.

He insists that General Musharraf does not understand the psyche of Pakistanis.

“They, to an extent, do not consider Ulema to rule them, but they definitely consider the religious scholars to guide them vis-à-vis their daily life,” said the expert.

A new survey by Gallop Pakistan, one of most prestigious survey firm in the Asian Muslim country, showed that about 71 percent of Pakistanis trust Ulema as compared to only 29 percent who consider secular politicians more trustworthy.

The majority of women interviewed reposed confidence on Ulema against politicians or any other section of the society.

 http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1169626712193&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout