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The central thesis of the book is that a progressive view of Islam, coupled with a political philosophy which encouraged Muslims to embrace modern skills and sensibilities, played a key role in the creation of the country. For Paracha, Iqbal is a key figure in the Muslim modernist movement, notwithstanding the later use of his writings by politicians on opposite ends of the spectrum.
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Paracha also devotes considerable space to the philosophy of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, emphasising the poet’s faith in ijtihad or reasoning and ijma or consensus. However, his notions of Muslim progressivism and his role - through the establishment of the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College (now Aligarh Muslim University) - in the emergence of a new Muslim elite who were adherents of the modernist philosophy, was vital to what eventually became the Pakistan Movement. Paracha then goes on to trace how these essentially social endeavours began to translate into political participation.Īs the author points out, Sir Syed was expressly opposed to the participation of Muslims in politics and was wary of any attempt to overtly oppose the British Raj. Paracha cites Sir Syed’s writings and activism in education as important elements that laid the foundation of Muslim modernism, which was expanded upon by other scholars such as Syed Ameer Ali and Chiragh Ali. He then proceeds to sketch a history of the origins of Muslim modernism, beginning with the icon of Muslim enlightenment in the late 19th century, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. Paracha begins by setting the context, in a 20-page section that essentially summarises the key argument. Nadeem Farooq Paracha’s latest book encapsulates the pivotal events that have shaped present Pakistani society and politics, but it should be read as a broad exposition and not an academic text Subsequently, as the new nation struggled through the first few years of its existence, institutional rivalries, tensions between secularists and religious political parties and repeated experiences with non-representative governments gave rise to what the author calls a more “myopic” view of Pakistani nationalism. The central thesis of the book is that Muslim “modernism”, or a progressive view of Islam, coupled with a political philosophy which encouraged Muslims to embrace modern skills and sensibilities, ultimately spawned the Pakistan Movement and played a key role in the creation of the country. Though a slim volume, Muslim Modernism covers a time span of over a century and debates some expansive ideas. His latest treatise, Muslim Modernism: The Case for Naya Pakistan, is perhaps the most ambitious. Lately, his pursuits have been more academic and he has taken his cultural and socio-political commentary to the next level, publishing three books in as many years. As a social commentator and an aficionado of pop culture, Paracha has few rivals. He tends to perfectly capture the stifling atmosphere of the time, as well as its divisive politics, social restrictions and senseless violence. Having grown up in the 1980s and having experienced the pains of adolescence in the Zia era, Nadeem Farooq Paracha’s articles and writings strike a chord with this reviewer.