Pakistan: Conversion from Sunnism to Shi'ism, including procedure to convert and documentation issued to converts; the situation and treatment of Shia converts by society and authorities; state response (2022−December 2025)
1. Conversion from Sunnism to Shi'ism
1.1 Procedure to Convert
In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an associate professor of religion at Clemson University in the US, with publications on Islam in Pakistan, stated that converting from Sunnism to Shi'ism is "an internal process" involving, but not limited to, an individual's belief in Shia Imams and changes in their beliefs surrounding the status of the Prophet Muhammad's family (Associate Professor 2025-10-24). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a professor at the University of the Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan, with a research focus on Islamic law and human rights, indicated that "[i]n principle, there are no strict and predefined rules" for inter-sect conversions in Pakistan (Professor in Lahore 2025-10-29). The same source noted that "[g]enerally," conversions take place in the mosque belonging to the sect in question and are performed in front of a scholar or imam and the mosque's community (Professor in Lahore 2025-10-29). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the High Commission for Pakistan in Ottawa indicated that conversion requires "no formal or public ritual," adding that the process revolves around "personal choice, commitment or practice," and is "not a state matter" (Pakistan 2025-11-04).
1.2 Documentation Issued to Converts
According to the Associate Professor, documentation issued to converts can be a written statement produced by a Shia religious scholar confirming the conversion (2025-10-24). The same source added that such documentation "can be obtained upon request" from a Shia religious seminary (Associate Professor 2025-10-24). Pakistan's High Commission in Ottawa indicated that there is "no official documentation involved" (Pakistan 2025-11-04). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Director of Research for Pakistan and Afghanistan at the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) [1] noted that there is "no formal legal or ritual requirement to register a conversion," adding that "conversions are often informal and socially signalled rather than state-recorded" (CSOH 2025-11-10).
2. Situation and Treatment of Shia Converts by Society and Authorities
2.1 Society
The Associate Professor noted that the Shia community experiences acts of discrimination ranging from "micro-aggressions" to "targeted killing," and that such treatment "would also apply" to Shia converts (2025-10-24). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, Musawi [2], citing information received from their partner organizations, stated that the challenges faced by Shia converts "are not perceived as distinct or additional" when compared with those faced by the broader Shia community (Musawi 2025-11-04). For information on the situation and treatment of Shia Muslims, particularly in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, and Hyderabad, see Response to Information Request PAK201761 of January 2024.
In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London, with a research focus on Islam and politics in South Asia, stated that while the risk for Shia converts in regions where sectarian clashes occur "is likely to be very high," "the level of wider grassroots social risk" is "not extremely high" nationally (Professor in London 2025-11-02). However, the same source added that one's individual risk depends on one's specific circumstances (Professor in London 2025-11-02). For example, risks "could be very high" for "certain" individual converts belonging to families or residing in areas with "relatively strong religious or sectarian attachments" (Professor in London 2025-11-02). According to the CSOH Director of Research, Shia converts can experience "pressure" from their family and community depending on "sectarian sensitivities" (CSOH 2025-11-10). In an interview with the Research Directorate, a representative of the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) [3] noted that the treatment of Shia converts varies based on the presence of Shia-Sunni tensions in a given area (PIPS 2025-11-03). The PIPS representative added that the areas with the "most sectarian tendencies" among Sunni communities are "primarily" in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Quetta (2025-11-03). According to the same source, while terrorist organizations "[s]ometimes" target Shia communities, "they do not usually target converts" (PIPS 2025-11-03). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
The PIPS representative indicated that conversions "mostly cause family and social disputes" rather than broader "hostility" (2025-11-03). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a Pakistan-based correspondent for the Diplomat [4], who has published articles on extremism in Pakistan, stated that conversion is "taboo," adding that converts "often" have to exercise taqiyya, an Islamic practice that allows believers to conceal their identity or beliefs for self-protection (Correspondent 2025-11-06). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
According to the Associate Professor, Shia converts would "likely" not have identifiable Shia names and could "to a degree be spared from prejudice" (2025-10-24). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. Citing a "confidential source," a report by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes that "[i]n daily life," Shias are "often indistinguishable" from Sunnis, except "when they profess their faith and according to their surnames" (Netherlands 2024-07-05, Sec. 3.1.8.1). A report from November 2020 by the Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID) [5] indicates that "non-Hazara" [6] Shias do not have "distinguishable facial features that make them identifiable," noting that they share an ethnic identity with the Sunni majority (2020-12, 48).
2.2 Authorities
According to the CSOH Director of Research, conversions to Shi'ism are not criminalized under Pakistani law and the state does not consider the changing of one's theological affiliation within Islam as a form of apostasy (CSOH 2025-11-10). The same source noted the following:
While there is no explicit legal penalty for conversion, the enforcement patterns of blasphemy laws, combined with tolerance of sectarian rhetoric, can indirectly place converts at risk including threats of social and economic boycotts as well as threats of violence. (CSOH 2025-11-10)
Citing information from their network, Musawi stated that authorities "reportedly do not treat Shia converts as a separate group" [from non-converts] (2025-11-04). The Diplomat correspondent indicated that the Pakistani state views Shias and Sunnis as "equally" Muslim and, as such, it "does not actively suppress the rights of Shia or Shia converts" (Correspondent 2025-11-06).
The Associate Professor indicated that authorities' treatment of converts "likely mirror[s]" their treatment of Shias more broadly, noting the frequent accusations of state prejudice against Shias, and the "allege[d]" involvement of authorities in "anti-Shia violence" (2025-10-24). According to the Diplomat correspondent, the state "allows" an "anti-Shia atmosphere to flourish" (Correspondent 2025-11-06).
When asked about the treatment of converts by authorities, Musawi, which consulted "[s]ome representatives of law enforcement," stated that its sources "were not aware of" any mistreatment (2025-11-04). The same source noted that there is "limited public information regarding reported mistreatment of Shia converts" (Musawi 2025-11-04).
3. State Response
Information on state response to the treatment of Shia converts was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
According to the Diplomat correspondent, while law enforcement authorities, whose religious makeup reflects that of the general population, "might frequently let their sectarian biases impact their action," "tangible" mistreatment against Shia converts "would usually be countered by the authorities" (Correspondent 2025-11-06). In contrast, the Professor at SOAS University of London noted that "certain" converts who face "very high" risks due to their "[s]pecific" family or community circumstances, such as those who happen to encounter authorities with "strong religious or sectarian attachments," are "likely to receive little to no support from state authorities" (Professor in London 2025-11-02).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Notes
[1] The CSOH is a think tank based in Washington, DC with a mission to "understand, prevent, and combat" organized hate against "any group defined by characteristics such as religion, race, nationality, caste, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation" (CSOH n.d.). [back]
[2] Musawi is a Pakistani organization that advocates for legal and policy reforms to strengthen the rule of law, access to justice and human rights protection (Musawi n.d.). Musawi works with domestic and international partner organizations, including "independent human rights commissions, academic institutions and justice sector bodies" (Musawi n.d.). [back]
[3] PIPS is a "research and advocacy" think tank in Islamabad, Pakistan, that analyzes political, social and religious conflicts impacting national and international security (PIPS n.d.). [back]
[4] The Diplomat is an international affairs magazine focusing on the Asia-Pacific region (The Diplomat n.d.). [back]
[5] CREID is a "consortium" of NGOs, academics, and "faith or belief groups" that supports "freedom of religion or belief policies in poverty reduction and development programmes" in various countries (MRG [2022]). CREID is led by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) (CREID 2020-12, 1). IDS is a "global institution for development research, teaching and learning" located at the University of Sussex (UK [2025]). [back]
[6] For information on the situation and treatment of Shia Muslims, including Hazaras, particularly in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, and Hyderabad, see Response to Information Request PAK201761 of January 2024. [back]
References
Associate Professor, Clemson University, US. 2025-10-24. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH). 2025-11-10. Correspondence from the Director of Research for Pakistan and Afghanistan to the Research Directorate.
Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH). N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 2025-11-10]
Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID). 2020-12. Sadiqa Sultan, Maryam Kanwer & Jaffer Abbas Mirza. The Multi-Layered Minority: Exploring the Intersection of Gender, Class, and Religious-Ethnic Affiliation in the Marginalisation of Hazara Women. CREID Intersection Series Collection on Violence and Discrimination against Women of Religious Minority Backgrounds in Pakistan. [Accessed 2025-10-12]
Correspondent. 2025-11-06. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
The Diplomat. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 2025-11-06]
Minority Rights Group (MRG). [2022]. "Iraq and Pakistan: Promoting Religious Equality for Inclusive Development." [Accessed 2025-12-10]
Musawi. 2025-11-04. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
Musawi. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 2025-11-05]
Netherlands. 2024-07-05. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. General Country of Origin Information Report on Pakistan. [Accessed 2025-02-10]
Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS). 2025-11-03. Interview with a representative.
Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS). N.d. "Concept Note." [Accessed 2025-11-03]
Pakistan. 2025-11-04. High Commission for Pakistan in Ottawa. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
Professor, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London. 2025-11-02. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
Professor, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. 2025-10-29. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
United Kingdom (UK). [2025]. Charity Commission for England and Wales. "The Institute of Development Studies." [Accessed 2025-12-10]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: AGHS Legal Aid Cell; Al-Kawthar University; Asian Human Rights Commission; assistant professor at a university in the US with a research focus on sectarianism and Shia Islam; associate professor at a university in the UK whose research focuses on South Asian Islam; associate professor of Islam in South Asia at a university in Israel; Center for Law & Justice; Centre for Social Justice; The Council of Shia Muslim Scholars of North America; Gallup Pakistan; Human Rights Commission of Pakistan; Human Rights Watch; Islamic Research Institute; Journal of Shiite Studies; journalist in Pakistan that covers extremism and human rights in Pakistan; lecturer with expertise and publications on Islamic law at a university in the UK; Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen Pakistan; National Dialogue Forum; National Institute of Pakistan Studies; Newsweek Pakistan; Pakistan – Council of Islamic Ideology; Pakistan Legal Forum; PhD candidate at a university in the UK with publications on the treatment of Shia in Pakistan; professor with a focus on South Asian studies at a university in Switzerland; professor with a research focus on Islam in South Asia at a university in the US; research fellow with a focus on religion, law and politics in Pakistan at a university in Singapore; senior lecturer in religion at a university in the UK; Shia Rights Watch; steering committee member of the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief.
Internet Sites, including: AhlulBayt News Agency; Al Jazeera; American Muslim Bar Association; Amnesty International; Arab News; Armed Conflict Location & Event Data; Asia Times; Associated Press; BBC; Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Bitter Winter; CIVICUS; Dawn; Deutsche Welle; Eurasia Review; European Foundation for South Asian Studies; Freedom House; Gallup Pakistan; The Guardian; Hudson Institute; Human Rights Watch; India Today; International Crisis Group; Jarida Today; Live Encounters; Middle East Institute; Modern Diplomacy; Modern Tokyo Times; Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Center; Pakistan – Council of Islamic Ideology, National Assembly of Pakistan; Politico; SciencesPo Center for International Studies; Shia Rights Watch; The Standard [Pakistan]; ThePrint; UK – Home Office; UN – United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; UrduPoint Network; US – Department of State; Voice of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Voicepk.net; The Wire [India].