The Impact of Gulf Migration on the Practice of Islam: A Case Study of District Dir Lower, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

Migration has been a leading source of income for the people of district Dir Lower, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, since the 1970s. Migration impacts almost every aspect of human life. This paper discusses how the worst economic situation in the local area made people migrate to the Gulf countries. It further discusses the general impacts of migration on the lives of the local people, whereby it is evident that it has affected almost every sphere and has led to an increase in literacy rate and better quality of life. However, one of the most under-researched areas related to migration is its impact on the practice of Islam in the local area. There is a significant transformation in the religious practices of the migrants who have spent time in the Gulf, and most of them consider their version of Islam as pure and based on the actual teachings of the prophet.