The Vanguard of the Islamic Revolution: The Jama'at-i Islami of Pakistan

by Vali Nasr

In this groundbreaking study, Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr examines the origins, historical development, and political strategies of one of the oldest and most influential Islamic revival movements, the Jama'at-i Islami of Pakistan. He focuses on the inherent tension between the movement's idealized vision of the nation as a holy community based in Islamic law and its political agenda of socioeconomic change for Pakistani society.Nasr's work goes beyond the exploration of a single party to examine the diverse sociopolitical roots of contemporary Islamic revivalism, challenging many of the standard interpretations about political expressions of Islam.

Genres: Pakistan, Islam, Religion, History, Nonfiction

301 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Son of renowned Iranian academic Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Vali Nasr was born in Tehran in 1960, went to school in England at age 16, and immigrated to the U.S. after the 1979 Revolution. He received his BA from Tufts University in International Relations summa cum laude. He earned his masters in International Economics and Middle East Studies from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1984, then went on to earn his PhD in Political Science from MIT in 1991.

Reviews

[Abdul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vali Nasr was given exclusive access to materials pertaining to the history and working of Jama'at-i-Islami and he wrote a well-balanced, objective book about the organization and its ideology. Decades later, I took it upon myself to write a history of the Jamaat in Urdu for an online website and this book provided an invaluable text.