THE ROLE OF MOSQUES AND RELIGIOUS CENTERS IN COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES FROM TWO CITIES OF PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Religious institutions are frequently called into preventative work on the basis that they are trusted, but little is known about how the individuals who attend them, operate them, or teach in them perceive that position. In Lahore and Multan, we interviewed 32 respondents, including eight young persons, eight community members, eight religious scholars and eight shrine caretakers or Auqaf workers. Interviews were recorded, translated and analyzed using basic inductive topic analysis based on the six stages outlined by Braun and Clarke. Four themes emerged: institutions as a trusted sanctuary that cannot function alone; credibility acquired through behavior; education and hospitality as daily prevention; limits that reside mostly outside the pulpit. The respondents did not discount the preventative significance of the mosques and shrines. They asked whether sermons, leader-dependent on donors, and the administratively strained shrines could tackle the issues that young people truly face. In Punjab, the ability to prevent seemed less about religious preaching and more about leadership integrity, youth relevance, inter-sect collaboration, and institutional autonomy.