The oldest religious-political party in Pakistan, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), will choose a new emir (leader) in early April who would serve for the next five years. Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, the current emir of the JI Karachi chapter, is one of the three names recommended by the party’s shura (decision-making executive council) and is notable for two reasons: he has given the party a new lease on life in the nation’s commercial center and given it a “liberal, progressive and secular Islamic” perspective.
JI has a worker to leadership ladder in place, unlike the majority of Pakistani political parties, where the highest positions are held by the party founder or members of their family. Hafiz is one of the few prominent politicians who hails from and benefits from the same system.
Big Picture examines his path from student activist to powerful man, assessing his influence on the party along the way.
Path to becoming the leader of the party
When Hafiz joined the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT), the student branch of JI, in 1988, he was 16 years old and embarked on his political career. He soon ascended through the ranks, drawn to the Islamic political doctrine espoused by JI founder Syed Abul Ala Maududi. Fascism and ethnic violence in Sindh’s port city and other metropolitan areas were on the rise at this time.
He had been assaulted, taken into custody, and involved in other cases by the time he turned 20. Battles with opposing student organizations sharpened his leadership skills, which helped him become the “nazim” (president) of his college and later the head of IJT Karachi and Sindh. By 1998, he had reached the national level, becoming the Nazim-e-Ala of IJT Pakistan.
