Akbar Ahmed

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Akbar Ahmed
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
OccupationScholar
WebsiteOfficial website

Akbar Salahuddin Ahmed, is a Pakistani-American academic, author, poet, playwright, filmmaker and former diplomat.[2][3] He currently is a professor of International Relations and holds the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at the American University, School of International Service in Washington, D.C.[2][3][4] Akbar Ahmed served as the Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland. He currently is a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Immediately prior, he taught at Princeton University and served as a visiting professor at the

School of Oriental and African Studies in London.[2][5] He has been called "the world's leading authority on contemporary Islam" by the BBC.[8][9][10][11]

Ahmed received the

Purpose Prize in 2006 alongside Judea Pearl[8] and is frequently named in the annual book, The Muslim 500: The World's 500 Most Influential Muslims,[13] and was named a 2015 Global Thought Leader by The World Post and the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
.

Career

Civil service and academia

He studied at Burn Hall School (now

School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.[2][5] At certain points in his life Ahmed held important government positions such as Political Agent for the South Waziristan Agency/North West Frontier Province (1978-1980) and in Baluchistan was Commissioner for the three districts (1982-1988) and Commissioner of the Sibi Division (1989).[8][5][12] Ahmed was the founder and served as Director of the National Centre for Rural Development in Islamabad and also a Director of the Centre for Social Sciences and Humanities, University Grants Commission in Pakistan.[5][12][6] In 1988 Ahmed became the Allama Iqbal Fellow at Selywn College, Cambridge for five years and by 1993 he was appointed as the first Muslim Fellow.[3][5] He also was the first Pakistani to serve on the Council of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.[5]

Akbar Ahmed has held professorships at several North American educational institutions.

District of Columbia Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.[3] He also taught at the Quaid-i-Azam University in Pakistan.[5]

Prior to the Brookings quartet of studies, Ahmed's projects included the Jinnah Quartet and Living Islam. The Jinnah Quartet comprised a feature film Jinnah (1998), with Christopher Lee in the title role; a documentary, Mr. Jinnah: The Making of Pakistan (1997); a graphic novel, The Quaid: Jinnah and the Story of Pakistan (1997); and a biographical study, Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin (1997). Ahmed presented and narrated the six-part BBC TV series Living Islam (1993) and authored the accompanying book of the same name. Later, Ahmed served as Pakistani High Commissioner (ambassador) to the United Kingdom and Ireland from 1999 to 2000.

Research interests and literary works

Ahmed's research interests focus on

US drone operations in the Muslim world, its subsequent consequences and reputation of the USA being considered synonymous with the drone.[2][17] Ahmed has criticized some anthropologists for studying "Muslim groups without reference to the Islamic framework".[18] Other areas of research interest include Modernity and Muslims along with Islam and the concept of postmodernism in relation to Muslim societies, cultures, media and the West.[19]

Ahmed has co-edited several books with other academics.

American Muslims.[8] He has also written plays like Noor and The trial of Dara Shikoh which have been published and staged for audiences.[8] Ahmed's publications have been translated into other languages such as Indonesian and Chinese.[8] Functioning between both worlds, through his writing and broadcasting Ahmed has attempted to bridge the Muslim-West world divide and encourage communication between both groups.[5] He has expressed admiration of English translations of Islamic classics in assisting him to "discover the riches" of "Islamic cultural legacy" and "appreciate critically the beneficial impact of the West".[5]

Interfaith dialogue

In the aftermath of

Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington at the National Cathedral and Ahmed received the Herschel-King award for Interfaith Activism.[8] He has also been appointed as a Trustee of the World Faiths Development Dialogue by the Archbishop of Canterbury and has received the 2002 Free Speech Award from the Muslim Public Affairs Council based in Washington DC.[3] Ahmed has received accusations of being "a Zionist conspirator" and close to the West however he has felt that "dialogue, harmony, communication and debate" are for Islam and the West the key issues of engagement.[5]

Media appearances and advisory roles

Akbar Ahmed giving a speech at Chatham House, 2013

Ahmed has been interviewed by the BBC,

Oprah Winfrey Show.[4][8]

He has also served as an advisor to President

Prince Charles on Islam.[4] Ahmed has given lectures worldwide in places such as the US Congressional retreat in Greenbrier, West Virginia, the National Defense University in Washington DC, the State Department and the House of Lords in London.[4]

Books

  • The Flying Man, Aristotle, and the Philosophers of the Golden Age of Islam: Their Relevance Today" (2021).[22]
  • Journey into Europe: Islam, Immigration, and Identity (Brookings Press, 2018).
  • The Thistle and the Drone: How America's War on Terror Became a Global War on Tribal Islam (Brookings Press, 2013).
  • Suspended Somewhere Between: A Book of Verse (Busboys and Poets, 2011).
  • Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam (Brookings Press, 2010; Winner of the
    American Book Award
    ).
  • Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization (Brookings Press, 2007).
  • After Terror: Promoting Dialogue Among Civilizations Co-Edited by Brian Forst, (
    Polity Press
    , 2005).
  • Islam Under Siege: Living Dangerously in a Post-Honor World (Polity Press, 2003).
  • The Future of Anthropology: Its Relevance to the Contemporary World; Co-Edited by Chris Shore, (
    Athlone Press
    , 1999).
  • Islam Today: A Short Introduction to The Muslim World; (I.B. Tauris, 1998).
  • Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin; (Routledge, 1997).
  • Islam, Globalization and Postmodernity with Hastings Donnan; (Routledge, 1994).
  • Living Islam: From Samarkand and Stornoway (BBC Books, 1993).
  • Discovering Islam: Making Sense of Muslim History and Society; (Routledge, 1988).
  • Postmodernism and Islam: Predicament and Promise; (Routledge, 1992).
  • Resistance and Control in Pakistan; (Routledge, 1991).
  • Pakistan: The Social Sciences' Perspective; (Oxford University Press, 1990).
  • Toward Islamic Anthropology: Definition, Dogma, and Directions; (Vanguard Books, 1987).
  • Religion and Politics in Muslim Society: Order and Conflict in Pakistan; (Royal Book Co., 1987).
  • Pukhtun Economy and Society: Traditional Structure and Economic Development in a Tribal Society (Routledge, 1980).
  • Pieces of Green, the Sociology of Change in Pakistan, 1964–1974; (Royal Book Co., 1977).
  • Social and Economic change in the Tribal Areas, 1972–1976; (Oxford University Press, 1977).
  • Millennium and Charisma Among Pathans: A Critical Essay in Social Anthropology (Routledge, 1976)
  • Mataloona: Pukhto Proverbs (Oxford University Press, 1975).
  • Mansehra: A Journey (Ferozsons, 1973).

Plays

  • The Trial of Dara Shikoh (Saqi Books, 2009)
  • Noor (Saqi Books, 2009)

Films

  • Journey into Europe (Documentary, 2015)
  • Journey into America (Documentary, 2009)
  • Jinnah (Feature Film, 1998)
  • Mr. Jinnah: The Making of Pakistan (Documentary, 1997)
  • Living Islam (BBC Six-Part Series, 1993)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Akbar Ahmed". The Globalist. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  2. ^
    ISBN 9780520285774
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 9780745657851
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 9780739116128
    .
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Bennett 2005, p. 31.
  6. ^
    ISBN 9781134565344
    .
  7. ^ a b c Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology (1981). Symbols. Harvard University. Department of Anthropology. p. 9.
  8. ^
    ISBN 9781604864854
    .
  9. ^ "American university honours Dr Akbar Ahmed with 'Teacher of the Year' award". Pakistan Today. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  10. ^ Takar, Nafees (23 September 2015). "Islam, Identity and the West: A Conversation With Ambassador Akbar Ahmed".
  11. ^ "Pakistani-American professor wins 'teacher of the year' award - The Express Tribune". 15 May 2017.
  12. ^
    ISBN 9780803996038
    .
  13. ^ "Ahmed, Dr Akbar | The Muslim 500". themuslim500.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Global - Thought Leaders". Thought Leaders. Archived from the original on 18 November 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  15. ^ "ARMY BURN HALL COLLEGE ABBOTTABAD". hazara.com.pk. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  16. ISBN 9781137431554
    .
  17. ISBN 9780719099724
    .
  18. ISBN 9781444324419
    .
  19. ISBN 9781441100504
    .
  20. ISBN 9780199884513
    .
  21. ISBN 9781602581401
    .
  22. ^ "The Golden Age of Islam and Lessons for a Post-Covid World". 30 March 2021.

External links

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