A careful study of government regulation of Islam in Pakistan that reconsiders the role of the Council of Islamic Ideology in shaping Pakistani politics.

From debates about banning the veil in Europe to civic re-education programs for Muslim citizens in China, modern states increasingly seek to regulate Islamic expression, practice, and discourse. This book provides a systematic account of how interactions between public and private bodies direct the regulation and standardization of Islam in Pakistan, one of the largest Muslim-majority states in the world, by examining the institutional development of the Council of Islamic Ideology, a constitutional body tasked with issuing advice to the executive branch and legislature on the compatibility of laws with Islam. Drawing from rarely studied archival material and interviews with Council members and government staff, Sarah Holz studies the negotiation of religious expression, practice, and discourse through the framework of governance. Contrary to the common view of such councils as mere rubber stamps in the process of policymaking, Holz argues that the Council is an active player in the governance of Islam. Governance of Islam in Pakistan offers a novel contribution to South Asian and Near and Middle East studies.