Religion and Politics in Muslim Society: Order and Conflict in Pakistan (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780521246354)

This analysis of Muslim unrest is based on an extended case study of northwestern Pakistan. Professor Ahmed examines power, authority, and religious status as the critical intermediary level of society: that of the district or Agency, which was the key unit of administration in British India. Amhed has joined his insights as anthropologist with his experience as a political agent in Waziristan to produce an innovative and detailed work. The book focuses on the emergence of a mullah in Waziristan who challenges the state. A religious leader's challenge of the state is not new; but contemporary Muslim society's widespread concern over these conflicts reveals that the influence of religion in a traditional society undergoing modernization is greater than many scholars have assumed. The author identifies three types of leaders: traditional leaders, usually elders; representatives of the established state authority; and religious functionaries. From this analysis he constructs an 'Islamic district paradigm, ' which he uses not only in making sense of contemporary Muslim society, but also in understanding some aspects of the legacy of the colonial encounter.

Author: Akbar S. Ahmed
ISBN-10: 0521246350
ISBN-13: 9780521246354
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 10/28/1983
Pages: 232
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.13lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.69d