Jihad, Hindutva and the Taliban

Jihad, Hindutva and the Taliban
Author: Iftikhar Haider Malik
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2005
Genre: History
ISBN:

Tracing the historical origins of the ideology of Jihad since the classical Islamic era, this book deliberates the more recent typologies of resistance during colonial and contemporary times. The intricate relationship in Afghanistan between the erstwhile Mujahideen and Western powers during the Cold War and its break-up following 9/11 has been examined in detail. The salience of Hindutva in India and demands for a Sunni state in Pakistan, simultaneous with similar espousals in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, reveal unique regional congruities on ideological issues. Issues of contested statehood and national identity have assumed an added significance, which this book addresses within a changed regional and global political context. Other than ideology and pluralism, the book also investigates problems of governance.

Interpretations of Jihad in South Asia

Interpretations of Jihad in South Asia
Author: Tariq Rahman
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2018-10-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 3110552019

In the wake of radical Islamist terrorist attacks described as jihad worldwide and in South Asia, it is imperative that there should be a book-length study of this idea in this part of the world. The focus of the study is the idea of jihad with its changing interpretations mostly those available in exegetical literature of key figures in South Asia. The hermeneutic devices used to understand the meaning of the Quranic verses and the Prophetic traditions relating to jihad will be the focus of this study. The main thrust of the study is to understand how interpretations of jihad vary. It is seen as being both defensive and aggressive by traditionalists; only defensive and mainly about moral improvement by progressive Muslims; and being insurrectionist, aggressive, eternal and justifying violence against civilians by radical Islamists. One purpose of the book is to understand how the radical interpretation came to South Asia. The book also explains how theories about jihad are influenced by the political and social circumstances of the period and how these insights feed into practice legitimizing militant movements called jihad for that period.

Terrorist's Creed

Terrorist's Creed
Author: R. Griffin
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2012-09-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1137284722

Terrorist's Creed casts a penetrating beam of empathetic understanding into the disturbing and murky psychological world of fanatical violence, explaining how the fanaticism it demands stems from the profoundly human need to imbue existence with meaning and transcendence.

Making Sense of Pakistan

Making Sense of Pakistan
Author: Farzana Shaikh
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2018-10-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0190062053

Pakistan's transformation from supposed model of Muslim enlightenment to a state now threatened by an Islamist takeover has been remarkable. Many account for the change by pointing to Pakistan's controversial partnership with the United States since 9/11; others see it as a consequence of Pakistan's long history of authoritarian rule, which has marginalized liberal opinion and allowed the rise of a religious right. Farzana Shaikh argues the country's decline is rooted primarily in uncertainty about the meaning of Pakistan and the significance of 'being Pakistani'. This has pre-empted a consensus on the role of Islam in the public sphere and encouraged the spread of political Islam. It has also widened the gap between personal piety and public morality, corrupting the country's economic foundations and tearing apart its social fabric. More ominously still, it has given rise to a new and dangerous symbiosis between the country's powerful armed forces and Muslim extremists. Shaikh demonstrates how the ideology that constrained Indo-Muslim politics in the years leading to Partition in 1947 has left its mark, skillfully deploying insights from history to better understand Pakistan's troubled present.

The Taliban

The Taliban
Author: M. J. Gohari
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2000
Genre: History
ISBN: 0195795601

A 1999 overview of Taliban rule in Afghanistan that describes the country's history; mujahideen; the Taliban's theological and political infrastructure; the economy, social order, and human rights; relations with neighboring countries; and the background and beliefs of Osama bin Laden.

Pashtun Identity and Geopolitics in Southwest Asia

Pashtun Identity and Geopolitics in Southwest Asia
Author: Iftikhar H. Malik
Publisher: Anthem Press
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2016-07-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1783084952

This book juxtaposes vital issues of Pashtun identity, state formation, Taliban on both sides of the Durand Line, Frontier Crimes Regulation, security prerogative and the civil societies of Pakistan and Afghanistan, which since 9/11, have been posited in a rather precarious geopolitics.

Politico-Military Strategy of the Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971

Politico-Military Strategy of the Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971
Author: Guru Saday Batabyal
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2020-12-20
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000317668

This book critically examines the politico-military strategy of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. What began as a power struggle and cultural conflict between West and East Pakistan, later compelled India to intervene—an intervention that decisively shaped and influenced the geo-politics of the region and the global order. This volume is a systematic study of the situation of events, operational art and tactics, cold war politics, international reactions, and their impact on the formulation of the national grand strategy of all three nations. The book discusses various key themes such as the creation of Pakistan and events leading to its secession, the military geography of East Pakistan, state of armed forces of India and Pakistan and India’s humanitarian intervention, the role of Mukti Bahini, and the ambiguous stance of the United Nations in the war. The book offers an appraisal of the performances of the opposing forces and reflects on the inevitability of war and its outcome. It also gives an overview of the state formation of the three nations, encompassing the defining moments of the modern history of these South Asian countries and highlighting the socio-economic progress they have made half a century after the liberation war. A compelling treatise in the history of politico-military strategy, this book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of politics and international relations, partition studies, modern history, military history, South Asian studies, international security, defence and strategic studies, language politics, Islamic history, and refugee and diaspora studies. It will also appeal to general readers interested in the histories of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India.

The Iraq War and Democratic Politics

The Iraq War and Democratic Politics
Author: Alex Danchev
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 520
Release: 2004-11-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 1134265689

The Iraq War and Democratic Politics contains the work of leading scholars concerned with the political implications of the Iraq War and its relationship to and significance for democracy. The book shuns simplistic analysis and provides a nuanced and critical overview of this key moment in global politics. Subjects covered include: * the underlying moral and political issues raised by the war * US foreign policy and the Middle East * the fundamental dilemmas and contradictions of democratic intervention * how the war was perceived in the UK, EU and US * the challenges of creating democracy inside Iraq * the influential role of NGOs * the legitimacy of the war within international law * the relationship between democratic government and intelligence.

The Routledge Handbook of War and Society

The Routledge Handbook of War and Society
Author: Steven Carlton-Ford
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 424
Release: 2010-10-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 1136919384

This new handbook provides an introduction to current sociological and behavioral research on the effects of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan represent two of the most interesting and potentially troubling events of recent decades. These two wars-so similar in their beginnings-generated different responses from various publics and the mass media; they have had profound effects on the members of the armed services, on their families and relatives, and on the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. Analyzing the effect of the two wars on military personnel and civilians, this volume is divided into four main parts: Part I: War on the Ground: Combat and Its Aftermath Part II: War on the Ground: Non-Combat Operations, Noncombatants, and Operators Part III: The War Back Home: The Social Construction of War, Its Heroes, And Its Enemies Part IV: The War Back Home: Families and Youth on the Home Front With contributions from leading academic sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, military researchers, and researchers affiliated with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), this Handbook will be of interest to students of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, military sociology and psychology, war studies, anthropology, US politics, and of youth. Steven Carlton-Ford is associate professor of Sociology at the University of Cincinnati. He recently served for five years as the editor of Sociological Focus. Morten G. Ender is professor of sociology and Sociology Program Director at West Point, the United States Military Academy. He is the author of American Soldiers in Iraq (Routledge 2009).