Conceptualizing Extremism among the Pakistani Public: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis

Extremism remains a relentless and complex challenge to peace and social harmony in Pakistan, yet there is a lack of academic consensus on how this concept is understood and perceived by common citizens, and most of the existing theoretical frameworks have been developed in Western contexts. So, this qualitative study explores how extremism is conceptualized among the Pakistani public. A purposive sampling method was used to choose seven adults (aged 25-35 years) from diverse occupational backgrounds across Pakistan. Semi structured interviews was conduction by using a single focus group discussion to gather the data. The conversation was audio recorded, verbatim transcribed, and data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase thematic analysis framework. The research highlighted five main themes (a) Views about Extremism (b) Reasons of Religious Extremism in Pakistan (c) Traits of Extremists (d) Relationship between Religion and Politics (e) Suggestive Factors to deal with Religious Extremism. Participants described extremism as rigorous and dichotomous thinking rooted in fixed and inflexible beliefs, and largely attributed religious extremism to group-based religious education, poverty, illiteracy, and historical foreign intervention. Additionally, participants noted a politicization of religion and suggested better religious education, more effective political leadership, and constructive public opinion. These findings are significant for community-based deradicalization and public education campaigns and expand Western-derived theoretical models of extremism into an indigenous Pakistani setting.