Religion, community resilience and countering violent extremism in Dir Valley, Pakistan

Shakeel Ahmed; Imran Ahmad Sajid; Beenish Ijaz Butt

doi:10.47264/idea.jhsms/2.2.16

Authors

Shakeel Ahmed Department of Social Work, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9537-6654
Imran Ahmad Sajid Department of Social Work, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0334-8198
Beenish Ijaz Butt Department of Social Work, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.jhsms/2.2.16

Keywords:

Religious Leaders, Violence Extremism, Community Resilience, Dir Valley, TTP, TNSM, CVE, Swat, community, religious leaders, community engagement, violent extremism, community resilience, radicalisation

Abstract

The post 9/11 terrorism and subsequent wave of violent extremism has generated a significant interest in the role of religion in both peace and conflict. Religion is a significant part of the lives of a significant majority the global population. This realization has led policy makers to seek ways in which religious leaders can and had impacted the community resilience towards violent extremism. Swat and Dir valleys have seen the brunt of violent extremism in the recent past. This extremism was generated and exploited by a few religiously motivated violent organizations. However, we believe there were religious leaders who opposed this surge of violent extremism in those specific communities. This research aims at finding out whether religious leaders mobilized the communities for countering violent extremism. In order to do that, a quantitative survey was designed whereby a community perception was measured. The data was collected from 180 respondents from both the districts of Dir valley, i.e., lower Dir and upper Dir. Our data shows that religious leaders played some role in building community resilience. In terms of bonding, they played a significant role. In terms of bridging, they also played a significant role. However, in terms of linking, the religious leaders played a little role.

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