Eqbal Ahmad Confronting Empire

Description

Edward W. Said once urged the legendary Eqbal Ahmad not to ‘leave your works scattered to the winds, or even recorded on tape, but collected and published in several volumes for everyone to read. Then those who don’t have the privilege of knowing you will know what a truly remarkable, gifted man you are.’

Unfortunately, Ahmad died suddenly before Said’s wish came to fruition. Now, for the first time, Ahmad’s most provocative ideas are available in book form.

In these intimate and wide-ranging conversations, Ahmad discusses nationalism, ethnic conflict, the politics of memory, and liberation struggles around the world.

Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, talking about Ahmad said,

‘[Eqbal Ahmad] was a shining example of what a true internationalist should be…. Eqbal was at home in the history of all the world’s great civilizations.

‘He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of states past and present, and he knew that states had a rightful role to play.

‘But he also knew that states existed to serve people, not the other way around, and he had little to do with governments, except as a thorn in their side.

‘To friends, colleagues, and students, however, he gave unstintingly of himself and his time… his example and his memory will inspire many to carry on his work.’

The book carries a foreward by the late Edward W. Said, who says ‘Ahmad was that rare thing, an intellectual unintimidated by power or authority… perhaps the shrewdest and most original anti-imperialist of Asia and Africa.

Author Biography

David Barsamian lives in Boulder, Colorado, and is the producer of the award-winning syndicated radio program Alternative Radio. A regular contributor to The Progressive and Z Magazine, Barsamian?s most recent interview books include ‘The Future of History: Interviews with Howard Zinn’ (1999) and ‘Class War: Interviews with Noam Chomsky’ (Pluto Press 1996).