Heroes of the Age

Moral Fault Lines on the Afghan Frontier
1. Auflage 1996
ISBN: 978-0-520-20064-7
Verlag: UCAL POD

Buch, Englisch, Band 21, 334 Seiten, Trade Paperback, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 228 mm, Gewicht: 435 g

Reihe: Comparative Studies on Muslim Societies

Much of the political turmoil that has occurred in Afghanistan since the Marxist revolution of 1978 has been attributed to the dispute between Soviet-aligned Marxists and the religious extremists inspired by Egyptian and Pakistani brands of "fundamentalist" Islam. In a significant departure from this view, David B. Edwards contends that—though Marxism and radical Islam have undoubtedly played a significant role in the conflict—Afghanistan's troubles derive less from foreign forces and the ideological divisions between groups than they do from the moral incoherence of Afghanistan itself. Seeking the historical and cultural roots of the conflict, Edwards examines the lives of three significant figures of the late nineteenth century—a tribal khan, a Muslim saint, and a prince who became king of the newly created state. He explores the ambiguities and contradictions of these lives and the stories that surround them, arguing that conflicting values within an artificially-created state are at the root of Afghanistan's current instability.

Building on this foundation, Edwards examines conflicting narratives of a tribal uprising against the British Raj that broke out in the summer of 1897. Through an analysis of both colonial and native accounts, Edwards investigates the saint's role in this conflict, his relationship to the Afghan state and the tribal groups that followed him, and the larger issue of how Islam traditionally functions as an encompassing framework of political association in frontier society.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Edwards, David B.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islam & Islamische Studien
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Moderne Philosophische Disziplinen Philosophische Anthropologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Maps

Acknowledgments

List of Significant Persons

1. INTRODUCTION

Beginnings

Recollecting the Past

Contested Domains

2. THE MAKING OF SULTAN MUHAMMAD KHAN

Myth and History

Fathers and Sons

Men and Women

Friends and Enemies

Coda: Jandad's Punishment

3. THE REIGN OF THE IRON AMIR

Mapping the State

The Once and Future King

The Armature of Royal Rule

Kingship and Honor

Coda: The Death of the King

4. THE LIVES OF AN AFGHAN SAINT

Twice-Told Tales

Fathers and Sons

Identity and Place

Discipline and Power

Benefit and Gratitude
Purity and Politics
Pirs and Princes
Coda: The Journey to Koh-i Qaf
5. MAD MULLAS AND ENGLISHMEN
A Passage to India
The Events of:1897 and Their Explanation
Waging Jihad
The Fault Lines of Authority
Tales of Jarobi Glen
Conclusion
6. EPILOGUE
Re: Posting on the Internet
Embedded Codes
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

David B. Edwards is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Williams College and Director of the Williams Afghan Media Project.