ABSTRACT
Conventional wisdom holds that political parties in democracies will grow more moderate over time through their participation in the electoral and governing processes. This chapter examines the historical roots of the Muslim democratic movement in Pakistan, typifies the basic party organization and ideology, and looks closely at the historical and modern experience of the country's oldest and most influential Muslim democratic party, the Pakistani Muslim League. The historical origins of the Muslim democratic movement critically shaped the Muslim League's organization and structure. In the first decade of the twentieth century, the predominantly Hindu Indian National Congress started pressing the British for greater self-governance through India's fledgling government, where Indians had only limited representation and suffrage. Regional factionalism continues to be an issue for Muslim democratic parties because economic interests vary considerably between urban and rural parts of the country. Muslim democrats have also performed well in some provincial elections, although their strength is clearly nationally based.
