Heroes of the Age

Moral Fault Lines on the Afghan Frontier

David B. Edwards

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English

University of California Press
01 November 1996

Asian history; Ethical issues & debates; Islamic studies; Anthropology

Series: 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."

By: David B. Edwards
Imprint: University of California Press
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: 21
Dimensions: Height: 225mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9780520200647
ISBN 10: 0520200640
Series: Comparative Studies on Muslim Societies
Pages: 334
Publication Date: 01 November 1996
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

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

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

Reviews for Heroes of the Age: Moral Fault Lines on the Afghan Frontier

Making a virtue of necessity is perhaps the most important lesson an ethnographer has to learn, and David Edwards has learned it brilliantly. Unable to pursue his planned research in Afghanistan due to the ongoing warfare there, he was obliged to remain in the refugee camps of Pakistan. There, dispossessed Afghan men, seeking to retain some purchase on their past, told stories of great heroes and epic battle of the last century. Edwards provided an audience for these narratives and uses them as the centerpiece for his striking portrait of this much brutalized society. . . . The whole book is well structured, gracefully written, and convincingly done. I envy Edwards's ability to convey the central ethical options of Pashtun men so skillfully. . . . In this fine book David Edwards has raised disturbing and important questions about the very nature of culture and of morality. -- American Anthropologist