Ayesha Jalal is Professor of History at Tufts University.
Absorbing...It is the latest and most authoritative statement on
Indian Jihadism. Jalal goes into the fascinating South Asian
history and theology of Jihad. This is a challenging book to
comprehend, but it is well worth it...Jalal brings Jihad into the
contemporary period, and the perversion of the concept of Jihad
amongst a minority of Muslims who have reinterpreted it as a
violent struggle...It is important reading for all
Muslims--especially here in the West--where one hears so much
erroneous claims and counter-claims on Jihadism. "Partisans of
Allah" is not only a book for education for Muslims, but the
information presented can here help to explain the true nature of
Islam to those outside the faith and to clarify the
misrepresentation on many subjects to the non-Islamic
world.--Geoffrey Cook"Muslim Media Network" (12/31/2009)
Jalal seeks to explain how the principles of Islamic ethics--within
the Muslim world itself--have been distorted and abused by
political, economic and social interests. She concentrates on South
Asia, where Muslims are in the minority and where they have faced a
nuanced battle, over many centuries, to reconcile inner faith with
temporal ambition. And she focuses on the most distorted principle
of all--that of "jihad."--Philip Delves Broughton"Wall Street
Journal" (04/04/2008)
To palliate a frail sense of identity and purpose, many people in
Pakistan have in recent years turned to the crusade known as jihad.
In her splendid and important book, Ayesha Jalal traces that
history to its origins through the words and deeds of Indian Muslim
scholars and intellectuals, many of global fame. With "Partisans of
Allah", she has contributed a rich intellectual and political
history of Islam in South Asia, spanning several centuries. She is
a talented historian of ideas, and at the outset of her
extraordinary story she makes several distinctions that will inform
her nuanced and thorough account.--Camille Pecastaing"New Republic
online" (01/05/2011)
While discussion of Islam tends to focus on the Arab world, Jalal
makes a compelling case for paying attention to south Asia, where a
Muslim minority has had a long and complex relationship with other
communities--each period of history seeing a shift in ideas of
jihad...One thing that "Partisans of Allah" makes clear is that
religious discourse within Islam fluctuates widely, and is entwined
with geopolitics...An erudite and thought-provoking study of the
interplay of religion and politics, with some particularly
interesting things to say about the history of south Asian Muslims'
focus on the "outer husk" of religion, often to the detriment of
"inner faith."--Kamila Shamsie"The Guardian" (06/21/2008)
While numerous books have appeared recently on the topic of Islamic
jihad, few have focused specifically on jihad in South Asia. Jalal
here examines the concept of jihad as it has been understood over
the past several centuries in that region. She notes that more than
a third of all Islamic people live in South Asia and that the
meaning of jihad has undergone significant changes there over time,
owing largely to political and social transitions...She provides a
more thoughtful and insightful perspective on jihad than can be
found in many other works.--John Jaeger"Library Journal"
(04/01/2008)
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