On this day 78 years ago, Sir Muhammad Iqbal, a highly respected Muslim poet, philosopher and politician, proclaimed a vision for a separate Muslim state in north-west India, as part of an address delivered in Allahabad to the All India Muslim League, of which he was president. According to Iqbal, there are certain legal concepts and religious ideals of Islam which require Muslims to live in a country which is run according to Islamic principles.
Islam is thus unlike Christianity. Although there have been numerous attempts at running Christian countries over the years, the predominant assumption within Christianity is that the government will be non-Christian so that Christianity will be counter-cultural. The New Testament gives no guidance on how to run a country, how to make laws, or what style of government is the most desirable.
Iqbal’s speech was the first articulation of the Two-Nation Theory, and formed the starting point for agitation by Muslims in India for their own independent. The agitation built up over the following decade into a frenzy, and when India gained independence from Great Britain, Pakistan became a separate country. The division of territory between India and Pakistan was controversial, leading to much bloodshed, and the border disputes and antagonism continue more than 60 years later.