FromLocalization to Globalization: Modern Cultural Hybridization of Centralized Sunni Islamic Indigenous Values

Abstract

This study examines how young Muslims negotiate centrally accepted Sunni Islamic
traditions while assimilating global modern cultural trends, and how Sunni Muslims
respond to these hybrid practices. Young participants’ justifications for integrating
modern elements into Sunni Islamic traditions reveal personalized interpretations of
religious teachings that often diverge from macro-level orthodoxy, generating cultural
divisions within society. The data was obtained by conducting semi-structured
interviews involving purposively selected university members, organizational
members, and senior citizens. The data were analyzed using content analysis that
provided two distinct themes which are: i) Youngsters' hybridization practices and
justifications for it; and ii) Pakistani society at large disapproves the youngsters'
hybridizing tendencies and its justifications. Findings suggest that young participants
selectively interpret Islamic principles to legitimize modern adaptations in dress,
ritual, and worship, reflecting liberal and global influences on everyday religiosity.
Senior citizens and community representatives view these reinterpretations as
inconsistent with Sunni orthodoxy and attribute them to the spread of Western cultural
norms and insufficient religious instruction among youth. The study offers insight into
how globalization, digital exposure, and local orthodoxy interact in shaping
contemporary Muslim identities within Pakistan’s Sunni Islamic traditions.