Eqbal Ahmad: Critical Outsider in a Turbulent Age

239 Pages·2015·14.64 MB·English

by  Stuart Schaar

Eqbal Ahmad

S T U A R T S C H A A R
E Q B A L A H M A D
Critical Outsider in a Turbulent Age
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS N ew York
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu

Copyright © 2015 Stuart Schaar
All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schaar, Stuart.
Eqbal Ahmad : critical outsider in a turbulent age / Stuart Schaar.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-17156-4 (cloth : acid-free paper)
ISBN 978-0-231-53992-0 (e-book)
1. Ahmad, Eqbal. 2. Political activists—United States—Biography.
3. Political activists—Pakistan—Biography. 4. Journalists—Biography.
5. Political scientists—Biography. 6. Pacifi sts—Biography.
7. World politics—1945–1989. 8. World politics—1989– 9. Islam and politics—
History—20th century. 10. Social change—History—20th century. I. Title.
JC273.A49S34 2015
320.092—dc23
2015003669

Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America

c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

cover design: chang JAE LEE
cover image: eqbAL Ahmad at cornell university, 1996. (reproduced by permission of
Dohra ahmad)

References to Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired
or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
To the memory of my sister, Leona (1934–2005),
and to the good times we shared

CONTENTS
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1. Eqbal’s Life 25
2. Refl ections on Eqbal’s Life 67
3. Polemics 81
4. Islam and Islamic History 93
5. Imperialism, Nationalism, Revolutionary Warfare, Insurgency, and
the Need for Democracy 101
6. The Middle East and the Palestinian-Israeli Confl ict 113
7. India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh: The Problem of Nuclear
Proliferation and Views on Partitioning States 123
8. Critique of U.S. Foreign Policy, the Cold War, and Terrorism 141
Conclusion 149
Notes 159
Bibliography 187
Index 205

PREFACE
The sources for this book include many conversations
with Eqbal Ahmad over forty years, starting with the time we spent
together from 1958 to 1964 at Princeton University, in New York City,
and in North Africa, where we both conducted research for our doctor-
ates. Strangely but wonderfully, I kept our written correspondence from
this period, including carbon copies of the letters I sent him. They supply
not only chronology but also anecdotes of events in our lives.
I again became very close to him during 1970 to 1972 as a result of his
being indicted in the Harrisburg 7 case. As the initial treasurer of the
Harrisburg Defense Committee in New York City, I was privy to some
of the decisions made by the defendants and got to know all of them
except Phil Berrigan, who was imprisoned. I also paid legal expenses for
the lawyers on the case and in this way got to know Leonard Boudin and
Ramsey Clark. I used to love going down to Leonard’s offi ce on East
ix