Muslim Zion.

• Author: Dorschner, Jon P.
• Position: Book review

Muslim Zion: Pakistan as a Political Idea by Faisal Devji, Harvard University Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2013, ISBN 978-0-674-07267-1, 268 pp. (Hardcover edition), $21.95.

Faisal Devji is a unique individual within the academic realm, and his work, epitomized by Muslim Zion, reflects his unique worldview. Devji is an example of the "cosmopolitan citizen," who makes the entire world his own. Of Islamic and South Asian background, Devji was born and raised in Dar es Salaam, in what was formerly Tanganyika and is now part of the African nation of Tanzania. His undergraduate education is from the University of British Columbia in Canada, and his Ph.D. is from the University of Chicago in the United States. Although currently on the faculty of Saint Anthony's College at the University of Oxford in the UK, he also teaches and works regularly in the United States. As you would expect from a truly cosmopolitan citizen, he speaks ten European, South Asian, and African languages.

Although not stated in his official bio data, I suspect that his family originated in the Indian state of Gujarat (Gujarati is one of his languages) and belong to the Ismaili sub sect of Shia Islam. This is indicated by his previous position as the head of Graduate Studies at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London. Devji's academic focus has been to wrestle with the elements of the Islamic identity in the 21st Century, when Islam has been forced to face adherents advocating stark extremism and violent jihad. Although Devji is often described as a historian, he is truly multi-disciplinary in his approach, attempting to integrate philosophy and the humanities into his examination of the many dilemmas facing modern Muslims.

For readers expecting a straight history book, Muslim Zion can prove vexing at first. This is because Devji is serious when it comes to incorporating philosophy into his multi-disciplinary approach. He refers to a wide range of philosophers and quotes them extensively. Philosophy is a challenging discipline and disciplined reading is required to appreciate Devji's philosophical perspective.

The fascinating and often unfathomable story of Pakistan presents a quandary to present-day Islam and is particularly powerful to inhabitants of the South Asian subcontinent. The "partition" of British India into India and Pakistan is the most traumatic episode in the history of both countries. It cost hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. It uprooted...