Religion and Politics in Muslim Society
Order and Conflict in Pakistan

Akbar S. Ahmed (Author)

9780521246354, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 October 1983

232 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.51 kg

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.

List of maps and figures
Preface
Abbreviations
Part I. Introduction: 1. Models and methods
2. Waziristan: land, lineage, and culture
3. History as an expression of agnatic rivalry
Part II. Observation: 4. Strategy and conflict in Waziristan
5. Order
ideology, and morality in Waziristan
6. Economic development and reinforcement of ideology in Waziristan
Part III. Participation: 7. The anthropologist as political agent
8. The political agent as anthropologist
9. Islam and segmentary societies: the problem of definition
Appendixes
Notes
References
Glossary
Index.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography [JHMC]