Hate Speech Acts against the Shia Community: Focus on Pakistani Social Media Users

Abstract:

This study investigates how hate speech is used against Pakistan’s Shia community in social media domains. Pakistan is a Muslim-majority, multi-sectarian country, and misunderstandings on the basis of sectarian differences often result in conflicts and violence. Hate speech is one of the manifestations of sectarianism in Pakistan. Two major Islamic sects namely Shias and Sunnis live in Pakistan. Data collected through purposive sampling from social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter are qualitatively analyzed using Austin’s speech act theory and national and international legal provisions to report findings. Research findings reveal that Pakistan’s Shia minority community faces hate crimes in both online and offline domains; inspired by majoritarian rightist ideology, hate groups target the minority group violating Pakistan’s constitutional provisions that guarantee freedom of religion and association. It is concluded that a more comprehensive understanding of hate crime and social conflict must incorporate group interests and social freedom, and further research needs to be undertaken on other communities who suffer from hate speech acts in a range of contexts.

Keywords:

community; hate speech; legal provisions; minority; speech acts; Pakistan; Shia

Citation: Ameer Ali, Maya Khemlani David and Sardar Ali Shah (2023). Hate Speech Acts against the Shia Community: Focus on Pakistani Social Media Users. Horizon J. Hum. Soc. Sci. Res. 5 (2), 99–110. https://doi.org/10.37534/bp.jhssr.2023.v5.n2.id1210.p99