Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin (Paperback)

by Akbar S. Ahmed (Author) "Islam gave the Muslims of India a sense of identity; dynasties like the Mughals gave them territory; poets like Allama Iqbal gave them a sense..." (more)
Key Phrases: communal rioting, sole spokesman, communal riots, Muslim League, Prime Minister, South Asia (more...)

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.

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

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

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

Ahmeds 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 .

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

The spleen vented in this book is one of its problems. So is its disorganization.... These drawbacks aside, Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity virtually explodes with provocative ideas and new ways of looking at partition, at Jinnah, at Pakistan and at South Asia as a whole. -- The New York Times Book Review, Barbara Crossette

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (September 17, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415149665
• ISBN-13: 978-0415149662
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #347,980 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 30 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 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, September 12, 1999

By A Customer

Mr. Ahmed's masterful effort is a breath of fresh air (along with Stanley Wolpert's biography, "Jinnah of Pakistan") in helping delineate the truth on one of the world's great leaders. Too often, Jinnah has been defamed, or his importance marginalized, by writers and movie makers. Thanks to some powerful propaganda, due in large part to the likes of Attenborough and Mountbatten, Mr. Jinnah was depicted as being a haughty, cold and stubborn man. The reality was considerably different. Jinnah was a man of incredible intelligence and foresight. He realized that the British and the Hindu leadership, led by Nehru, Patel and even Gandhi, could not be trusted to care for the welfare of India's Muslim population. No better evidence of this could be the fact that the princely state of Hyderabad was attacked from seventeen sides the day Jinnah died. Mountbatten had clearly demonstrated his bias toward Nehru and the Hindus, facilitated by his own wife, Edwina, having a torrid affair with Nehru. Jinnah, being a man of principle, pragmatism and prescience, provided for freedom, a home and safe haven for hundreds of millions of people.

10 of 13 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)

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.