The Pakistani Identity Constructed in Reaction to the Outside World

Abstract

In the past twelve years Pakistan has gone through a period of acute internal strife between the status quo and the emerging new religious/political ideologies. A number of reasons define the conflict: religious, social, economic, international. A very important element of the strife is the psychological attitude of Pakistanis towards their own state, religion and the world at large. The key elements of this psychological attitude are: inferiority/superiority complex vis‑à‑vis their Arab neighbours, India, and the Western world, and the commonly held belief in dangerous conspiracies that the world outside is constantly hatching against it. These two elements are enhanced by militant (jihadi) electronic and printed media creating a strongly skewed vision of the outside world.

Keywords

• Pakistan
• militant
• media
• Islam
• West
• conspiracy