Resistance and Control in Pakistan

by Akbar Ahmed

How can people in the West make sense of contemporary unrest in the Muslim world? Is Islamic fundamentalism to be understood purely in religious terms?

In Resistance and Control in Pakistan , one of the world's leading authorities on Islam, Akbar S. Ahmed, illuminates what is happening in the Muslim world today and assesses the underlying causes. He does this by telling the dramatic story of the revolt of the Mullah of Waziristan in northwest Pakistan and by placing it within the context of other movements occurring elsewhere in the Islamic world. He also examines the social structure and operative principles in Muslim society and scrutinizes the influence of religion in a society that is undergoing modernization. Till now, there has been little available literature on this topic. This book, written by an eminent scholar with an international reputation fills this gap, giving students of politics, sociology and Asian studies a revealing examination of the Muslim world today.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Akbar Salahuddin Ahmed, is a Pakistani-American academic, author, poet, playwright, filmmaker and former diplomat. He currently holds the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies and is Professor of International Relations at the American University in Washington, D.C.Immediately prior, he taught at Princeton University as served as a Visiting Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He also taught at Harvard University and was a Visiting Scholar at the Department of Anthropology. Ahmed was the First Chair of Middle East and Islamic Studies at the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. In 2004 Ahmed was named District of Columbia Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. A former Pakistani High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland, Ahmed was a member of the Civil Service of Pakistan and served as Political Agent in South Waziristan Agency and Commissioner in Baluchistan. He also served as the Iqbal Fellow (Chair of Pakistan Studies) at the University of Cambridge. An anthropologist and scholar of Islam. He completed his MA at Cambridge University and received his PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He has been called "the world's leading authority on contemporary Islam" by the BBC.

Reviews

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as part of a coursework package. I found it challenging, enlightening, and most of well very critically written. I think it is important for (more) people to read books that offer counter or more critical perspectives on current issues, rather than merely believing what the major broadcast networks and political pundits would like you to.

[Shayan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Islamic district paradigm has some problems.