TALHA WANI - Society moves forward only because of shared moral values and culture; this is the puritan mindset we have been brainwashed to believe. We believe that all the conflict in society is due to lack of homogeneity in ideologies and beliefs and the only way we could live peacefully is if we’re all the same. You know who else thinks that? Fundamentalists. We try to bring this fundamentalist mindset through the socialization of our children in specific ways e.g. school, religion etc. But something at the back of our heads always tries to tell us there is something wrong.
We can see that the ideology for a homogenous society is completely irrelevant in the 21st century. Take United States as prime example. Globalisation has become such a prevalent phenomenon in the past century that it has led to multicultural, multiethnic and multiracial societies where there is no such thing as ‘shared morality’. Society’s values have become more ambiguous as the merger of different societies has led to a plethora of different values and lives lived. We can see that in the prevalence of political parties representing diametrically opposed principles e.g. Republicans representing the right wing and Democrats representing the left wing in the United States.
These multicultural, multiethnic societies with varying values have resulted in more pluralistic and tolerant societies as well. Social integration within a pluralistic and diverse society breeds not only tolerance but the understanding of differences between peoples of various ideologies and ethnicities and the realisation of the trivial nature of many conflicts. An exposure to multiple views and opinions is essential for personal growth of people in the Muslim Word, just as every individual in western societies needs a Muslim friend.
However, conflicts have arisen in societies lacking homogeneity, though not necessarily due to their diversity. This has occurred all over Europe with the rise of anti-immigrant parties and tremendous support behind them - such as PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West) in Germany. They are guilty of the spread of Islamophobia, anti-Semitism etc. One can argue that this is a trait of a dysfunctional society due to the lack of shared consensus. However, one could also argue that this because of the conquest for a homogenous society and a puritan, separatist, fascist mindset rather than anything else. Moreover, a multiethnic/religious society may be the only one capable of social integration, but does not necessarily have it by definition. Social integration, or rather a lack of it, is to blame for the poor situation of law and order in Middle East and South Asia. Despite being home to various ethnicities, countries like Pakistan and Israel-occupied Palestine often take part in social segregation. Inter-marriages and associations of any sort are also a rarity. The persecution of Shias and Ahmadis in Pakistan, despite their very obvious presence, is one of the many examples.
Democracies and freedom of knowledge have allowed for people to be socialised in a variety of ways, meaning that a state becomes an amalgam of numerous ideologies and values, rather than representation of one, with society being governed by ever changing principals rather than fixed overarching ideologies (e.g. in the separation of church from state), rejecting the notion of a universal truth and monolithic societies while promoting democracy and democratic principles.
Thus, it has become evident that puritan mindsets and the conquest for shared consensus is not only a wild goose chase, but also detrimental to pluralism and the basis for intolerance in many portions of society - just look at your Television and this statement will be prove to be true on any day of the week.

The writer is an A-level student at Lahore Grammar School, and can be reached at talha.a.wani@gmail.com.