Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin [Hardcover]

Akbar Ahmed (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0415149657 | ISBN-13: 978-0415149655 | Edition: 1

Every generation needs to reinterpret its great men of the past. Akbar Ahmed, by revealing Jinnah's human face alongside his heroic achievement, both makes this statesman accessible to the current age and renders his greatness even clearer than before.

Four men shaped the end of British rule in India: Nehru, Gandhi, Mountbatten and Jinnah. We know a great deal about the first three, but Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, has mostly either been ignored or, in the case of Richard Attenborough's hugely successful film about Gandhi, portrayed as a cold megalomaniac, bent on the bloody partition of India. Akbar Ahmed's major study redresses the balance.

Drawing on history, semiotics and cultural anthropology as well as more conventional biographical techniques, Akbar S. Ahmad presents a rounded picture of the man and shows his relevance as contemporary Islam debates alternative forms of political leadership in a world dominated (at least in the Western media) by figures like Colonel Gadaffi and Saddam Hussein.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

August 1997 marked the 50th anniversary of India and Pakistan's independence from Great Britain. That hard-won independence, however, came with a high price: a bloody partition of the subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and the Muslim state of Pakistan. Almost as soon as Jawaharlal Nehru pronounced India a new nation, the butchery began--a bloodbath in which millions perished and for which there are still no exact figures. What Mohandas K. Gandhi was to India, Mohammed Ali Jinnah was to Pakistan--the architect of its statehood. In Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity, Akbar S. Ahmed shines the spotlight on a man whose character, he feels, has been distorted by the official Pakistani line. Though Jinnah was clearly interested in ensuring a homeland for Muslims, Ahmed's book makes clear that this London-trained lawyer was no Islamic fundamentalist. The author's take on Indian-Pakistani history, his account of Jinnah's involvement, and his ideas about the future of Pakistan and the Islamic world are both thought-provoking and important. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity virtually explodes with provocative ideas and new ways of looking at partition, at Jinnah, and at South Asia as a whole. [Ahmed] is passionate about his subject, but also able to stand back when necessary, especially when analyzing where Pakistan and the larger Islamic world are going.
–The New York Times Book Review

...Ahmed has written a discursive, provocative book.... a stimulating, and often arresting read.
–World Policy Journal

Ahmed's distinct contribution is his attempt to relate [Pakistani nationalism] to the larger subject of Islamic identity.
–Choice

Akbar Ahmed's book looks at Jinnah from Pakistani, Indian and Western perspectives. It reveals a highly complex figure little known in the annals of India'a independence movement, which included Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi F.A.O. Journal .

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (September 17, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415149657
• ISBN-13: 978-0415149655
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,733,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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28 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book every hindu should read!, April 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin (Hardcover)

First of all: I am a hindu. Even today it is painfull for me to see that our Mother India is divided. I used to detest Mr. Jinnah, like most other hindus. However, I reached a point when I realised that I had only read the hindu version of South Asian history. I needed to view our history through the eyes of a muslim. Jinnah cannot be blamed for his security measure i.e. his decision to demand a separate muslim state. Had the Congress treated Jinnah in a more civilized manner, Pakistan could have been avoided. But Nehru, clinging to his illusions, viewing himself as the new "Kaiser-E-Hind" did not make room for people who would threaten his position in the Congress Party. Just as he squeezed Netaji Bose out of the leadership, he saw to that Jinnah was shoved into to the darkness as well. I regret the creation of Pakistan, as would Jinnah. But one should not ignore the fact that Jinnah was the greatest Indian politician of the twentieth century. I don't agree with Mr. Akbar Ahmed on all issues, but there is no doubt that he has done a magnificent job. I really enjoyed the book.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jinnah's vision is relevant, October 21, 2001

By 

Eric T. Dean (Hamden, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin (Paperback)

The author asks two basic questions: (1) was Jinnah justified in demanding a 2-state solution (India and Pakistan as separate nations) upon the demise of British imperial control? (2) in view of chaotic conditions in Pakistan, including ethnic rivalries, corruption, periodic resort to military rule, and the threat of Islamic fundamentalism--is Jinnah relevant today (other than as a George Washington-type national icon)?

The author answers "yes" on both counts, i.e. that in demanding the establishment of Pakistan, Jinnah responded to the legitimate needs and aspirations of Muslims on the Indian subcontinent; and, secondly, that Jinnah's vision for Pakistan is relevant today. While not quite a "secular Moslem", Jinnah nonetheless definitely rejected the idea of theocracy or the overly zealous imposition of Islam on others. As a constitutional lawyer trained in Britain, he argued for a broad interpretation of community, in which the rights and interest of minorities and non-Muslims would be respected within the framework of a Moslem Pakistan.

The author laments that Jinnah died shortly after the foundation of Pakistan, and was not able to lead his nation through its formative years, but feels nonetheless that Pakistanis today could see the way to solutions to their many problems if they adhered to Jinnah's sense of moderation, tolerance, and wisdom.

While definitely sympathetic to Jinnah and Pakistan, the author's treatment of his subject is generally even-handed and fair-minded.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Still unconvinced about the need for Pakistan, March 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin (Paperback)

An interesting book, no doubt. The author is trying trying to convince us that the odds were stacked up against Pakistan from the beginning, and it never really had a chance. He talks about the ideals of Jinnah - clearly a good man, but was he misguided? I was unconvinced even after reading this book of the real need for Pakistan. There has been such a lot of blood split in both India, Pakistan and Kashmir and for what benefit? I believe tht much of this could have been avoided with a united sub-continent. The author finally outlines some of Pakistan's disasterous history since 1947 - just reinforcing my belief that Jinnah made one big mistake. Daniel Green 16/3/98 [e-mail]