Eqbal ahmad biography of michael
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Activist, journalist, and theorist, Eqbal Ahmad (1934–1999) was admired and consulted by revolutionaries and activists as well as policymakers and academics. In articles and columns published in such journals as the Nation, New York Review of Books, Monthly Review, and newspapers in Pakistan and Cairo, Ahmad inspired new ways of thinking about global issues. Whether writing on the rise of militant Islam, the conflict in Kashmir, U.S. involvement in Vietnam, or the cynical logic of Cold War geopolitics, Ahmad offered incisive, passionate, and often prophetic analyses of the major political events and movements of the second half of the twentieth century.
This work is the first to collect Ahmad's writings in a single volume. It reflects his distinct understanding of world politics as well as his profound sense of empathy for those living in poverty and oppression. He was a fierce opponent of imperialism and corruption and advocated democratic transformations in postcolonial a
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Eqbal Ahmad: Critical Outsider in a Turbulent Age 9780231539920
Table of contents :
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Eqbal’s Life
2. Reflections on Eqbal’s Life
3. Polemics
4. Islam and Islamic History
5. Imperialism, Nationalism, Revolutionary Warfare, Insurgency, and the Need for Democracy
Illustrations
6. The Middle East and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
7. India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh: The Problem of Nuclear Proliferation and Views on Partitioning States
8. Critique of U.S. Foreign Policy, the Cold War, and Terrorism
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Citation preview
Eqbal Ahmad
STUART SCHAAR
EQBAL AHMAD Critical Outsider in a Turbulent Age
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York
Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex cup.columbia.edu
Copyright © 2015 Stuart Schaar All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schaar, Stuart. Eqbal Ahmad : critical outsider in
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Recent Posts
It has been 20 years since Eqbal Ahmad bid farewell to this world.
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In 2011, in an article of his, the late Christopher Hitchens termed Pakistan “a land virtually barren of achievements.” inom read it and inom, a 16 year old, was outraged, seething with rage. It was then that inom decided to write a blog to show that the Pakistani nation had produced its fair share of achievements, pride and glory in every field. And so I began to do a little research of my own.
It was during the course of that research that I came across the name Eqbal Ahmad, “a distinguished intellectual, prolific writer and reporter, widely consulted by revolutionaries, journalists, activist leaders and policymakers around the world.”
I was fascinated. And even more so to read that the great Edward Said had penned a moving obituary for him in 1999. He wrote, and inom quote,
“Eqbal Ahmad brought wisdom and integrity to the cause of oppressed peoples.”
Who was this man that the likes of Edward