Well, that sadly is true but trust me "wannabe Europeans" tag is lampooned against Pakistani's who have more 'open outlook'. Indeed that sentiment merely exposes the backward minds of such people. What you must keep in mind is that geography in many ways has been advantageous to Turkey. By being on the cusp of Europe you were exposed to the advances that European Renaissance and Age of Enlightenment. We remained in the dark. Whereas exposure innoculated you and helped to reform your society under Ataturk we remained in the dark. Until one day in walked the British invaders. That was a shock but instead of innoculating and adapting the post colonial period only gave us a reaction. A reactionery thinking that opposed any aspects of Enlightenment.
To be sure the British left behind a small class of educated and progressive individuels. Jinnah, Sir Allama Iqbal etc being good examples. Ayub Khan continued that tradition but by 1970s the reactionery group began to gain traction and the process picked pace as it soon began to recieve Saudi petro-dollars. Salafism mated with reactionery mullahs. The small progressive and powerful elite might have come out on top but the Cold War era geo-strategy favoured cultivating far right reactionery mullahs as a hedge against communists. The Rawalpindi Conspiracy had put the fear of god into the secular elite of a communist plot to take over. With US, Saudi patronage the mullahs were built up and the Afghan jihad of 1980s effectively consolidated the postion of the reactionery mullahs.
By this stage Pakistan had in fact almost fallen under the sway of mullah power. Although they have not ruled the country but their influence has penetrated (akin to Gulenists) into every aspect of the state. Even those who are not religious now are obliged to wear religion on the sleaves.
But I think we have passed the high water mark in about 2014. The ruling elite now understand that the state is in danger if they do not get a grip on the reactionery madness fuelled by salafism. The Pakistani Taliban's open war against the state has woken them up. But a aggregate inertia built up over four decades is not easy now to reverse. It will take time. I am confident in another generation Pakistan will be back on the path toward enlightenment. My confidence is hinged on two things.
The international climate now is not conductive to Islamism. The Cold War era habit of cultivating Islamists against communists is now thing of the past. Even Saudia is looking toward reforming.
Pakistan is now clearly aligned into a emerging Sinosphere. The $65 billion CPEC initiative by China is mainfestation of Chinese long term strategic banking on Pakistan. Pakistan is not seen exactly as a shining star in the west. It has India next door a country that is nearly seven times more populous and has the same asymmetry as Belgium/Germany. Pakistan needs to have a strong external ally. Right now China is the only emerging superpower that can fill that role and you see the dependency which will increase as we move forward on China. That country is a uber-athiest state.
Now think about oil and water. You think rampant salafism and Islamism can go with uber-athiesm? The Chinese will exert their influence and part of that is going to clash with the forces of Islamism. Over the long term Pakistan will be forced to adapt. No Pakistan will not go athiest but expect watering down of the forces of darkness in Pakistan. Certainly secularists like me look on with a
satisfied grin on how the 'ironclad' friendship will play out. Oil and water do not mix. Something has to give and I know who is going to have to give.
Read this thread
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/chin...tion-of-muslim-citizens.546917/#post-10296965 how China resolves the issue of Islamists and my post #15.
