| Summary: | This study used a qualitative research design to analyse how religion and politics interacts in the case of blasphemy-related violence in Pakistan. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with a sample of Police Officers, and members of the Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities in Sukkur, Pakistan. This study finds that blasphemy-related violence occurs in a context where politics has been used to Islamize society, which is reflected in the state’s struggle with identity, antagonistic and disconnected relationship between communities, and an atmosphere of fear, intolerance and discrimination felt by minority communities in Pakistan. Through the islamization process, the state essentially mandated vigilante religious violence. This has morphed into blasphemy-related violence today, which continues to be tolerated by the state
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