Awards

• Short-listed for British-Kuwait Friendship Society Book Prize in Middle Eastern Studies 2018
• Winner of John F. Richards Prize 2018 (United States)

Overview

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9780674971943

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Reviews

Ahmed presents a very compelling, accessible, and beautifully written argument in his book. Drawing on Turkish, Afghan, and British archival sources, as well as material in Persian, Ottoman Turkish, Arabic, and Urdu, he is highly successful in recovering modern Afghan history from its relegation to the periphery of the Muslim world.-- (02/01/2019) An outstanding example of how a study, written not from the Orientalist perspective but looking at Afghan leaders seeking to locate a nation state within an Islamic World context, could have disabused Western policymakers of a host of simplistic fallacies.--Sir Roger Tomkys, former ambassador to Bahrain This is an important contribution, especially in light of the paucity of historical studies that primarily focus on Turkey's role in Afghanistan after the Second World War. The result is an intriguing exploration of an intertwined and interdependent tripartite alliance among Afghans, Indians, and Ottomans that challenges the commonly held view of Afghanistan as static and isolated.-- (11/25/2019) This remarkable piece of research is based on archival materials in six different languages in six different countries...Among the themes that run through the work are: the role of an interlinked juridical network in fashioning Afghanistan's first constitution; the fact that the ulema and scholars of the time were flexible and imaginative enough to develop the constitution using Hanafi jurisprudential techniques; and that in the process they produced a form of Islamic modernism to match, if not surpass, those produced in Egypt and India. This is essential reading for those interested in the late Ottoman world, the modern history of Afghanistan, and Islamic modernism.-- (05/01/2019) The author's exhaustive research uses British, Indian, Afghan, and Turkish sources. This important book is very well resourced and well written. Its research and conclusions should lead to the rethinking of the historical role of Afghanistan.-- (05/01/2018) Afghanistan Rising restores a largely forgotten history of Muslim modernity that radiates from and converges in late 19th- and early 20th-century Kabul. Unparalleled archival research sustains Faiz Ahmed's story of diverse actors from Central, South, and West Asia who responded to Afghan rulers' novel efforts to build an independent Muslim constitutional monarchy. A powerful corrective to dominant narratives, Afghanistan Rising offers a compelling rethinking of the country's history and of broader Muslim legal and political modernity.--2018 John F. Richards Prize Committee of the American Historical Association Ahmed has given us a rich, detailed, and engaging account of how developments in and between the Ottoman Empire and British India are necessary--though not sufficient--to understand developments in Afghanistan's legal history. Afghanistan Rising is a book that should be engaged not only by scholars of Afghan or Ottoman history, but by anyone interested in the intricacies of Islamic law and the modern state.-- (09/01/2018) Afghanistan Rising uncovers the lost history behind the first constitution of Afghanistan and that country's evolution into a modern Islamic state. Ahmed provides highly original insights into Muslim legal history, modernization in non-European contexts, and transnational Muslim networks. Exploring the ideological and social factors that shaped Afghanistan during an age of turmoil and transformation, the work is conceived on a broad scale. This is a well-crafted, theoretically rich, tightly argued, and rigorously executed book. In addition, its lucid style makes for enjoyable reading.--M. Sukru Hanioglu, author of A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire A groundbreaking book that will reorient the way we think about not only Afghan modernity, but also political and legal thought in Muslim societies during the twentieth century. Ahmed describes the emergence of a modern Islamicate region during the age of imperial globalization and demonstrates the appeal of multiple governance models in the ideas exchanged within this region among different Muslim publics. More importantly, he shows how Afghan kings experimented with novel legal and political models to assert their legitimacy while establishing on the global stage Afghanistan's sovereignty as a modern nation state. The book persuasively shows us how Afghanistan's transformation exemplifies a model of Muslim modernity that was not Eurocentric.--Cemil Aydin, author of The Idea of the Muslim World: A Global Intellectual History

Afghanistan Rising uncovers the lost history behind the first constitution of Afghanistan and that country's evolution into a modern Islamic state. Ahmed provides highly original insights into Muslim legal history, modernization in non-European contexts, and transnational Muslim networks. Exploring the ideological and social factors that shaped Afghanistan during an age of turmoil and transformation, the work is conceived on a broad scale. This is a well-crafted, theoretically rich, tightly argued, and rigorously executed book. In addition, its lucid style makes for enjoyable reading.--M. S kr Hanioglu, author of A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire A groundbreaking book that will reorient the way we think about not only Afghan modernity, but also political and legal thought in Muslim societies during the twentieth century. Ahmed describes the emergence of a modern Islamicate region during the age of imperial globalization and demonstrates the appeal of multiple governance models in the ideas exchanged within this region among different Muslim publics. More importantly, he shows how Afghan kings experimented with novel legal and political models to assert their legitimacy while establishing on the global stage Afghanistan's sovereignty as a modern nation state. The book persuasively shows us how Afghanistan's transformation exemplifies a model of Muslim modernity that was not Eurocentric.--Cemil Aydin, author of The Idea of the Muslim World: A Global Intellectual History

This is an important contribution, especially in light of the paucity of historical studies that primarily focus on Turkey's role in Afghanistan after the Second World War. The result is an intriguing exploration of an intertwined and interdependent tripartite alliance among Afghans, Indians, and Ottomans that challenges the commonly held view of Afghanistan as static and isolated.-- (11/25/2019) The author's exhaustive research uses British, Indian, Afghan, and Turkish sources. This important book is very well resourced and well written. Its research and conclusions should lead to the rethinking of the historical role of Afghanistan.-- (05/01/2018) Ahmed presents a very compelling, accessible, and beautifully written argument in his book. Drawing on Turkish, Afghan, and British archival sources, as well as material in Persian, Ottoman Turkish, Arabic, and Urdu, he is highly successful in recovering modern Afghan history from its relegation to the periphery of the Muslim world.-- (02/01/2019) An outstanding example of how a study, written not from the Orientalist perspective but looking at Afghan leaders seeking to locate a nation state within an Islamic World context, could have disabused Western policymakers of a host of simplistic fallacies.--Sir Roger Tomkys, former ambassador to Bahrain This remarkable piece of research is based on archival materials in six different languages in six different countries...Among the themes that run through the work are: the role of an interlinked juridical network in fashioning Afghanistan's first constitution; the fact that the ulema and scholars of the time were flexible and imaginative enough to develop the constitution using Hanafi jurisprudential techniques; and that in the process they produced a form of Islamic modernism to match, if not surpass, those produced in Egypt and India. This is essential reading for those interested in the late Ottoman world, the modern history of Afghanistan, and Islamic modernism.-- (05/01/2019) Afghanistan Rising restores a largely forgotten history of Muslim modernity that radiates from and converges in late 19th- and early 20th-century Kabul. Unparalleled archival research sustains Faiz Ahmed's story of diverse actors from Central, South, and West Asia who responded to Afghan rulers' novel efforts to build an independent Muslim constitutional monarchy. A powerful corrective to dominant narratives, Afghanistan Rising offers a compelling rethinking of the country's history and of broader Muslim legal and political modernity.--2018 John F. Richards Prize Committee of the American Historical Association Ahmed has given us a rich, detailed, and engaging account of how developments in and between the Ottoman Empire and British India are necessary--though not sufficient--to understand developments in Afghanistan's legal history. Afghanistan Rising is a book that should be engaged not only by scholars of Afghan or Ottoman history, but by anyone interested in the intricacies of Islamic law and the modern state.-- (09/01/2018) Afghanistan Rising uncovers the lost history behind the first constitution of Afghanistan and that country's evolution into a modern Islamic state. Ahmed provides highly original insights into Muslim legal history, modernization in non-European contexts, and transnational Muslim networks. Exploring the ideological and social factors that shaped Afghanistan during an age of turmoil and transformation, the work is conceived on a broad scale. This is a well-crafted, theoretically rich, tightly argued, and rigorously executed book. In addition, its lucid style makes for enjoyable reading.--M. Sukru Hanioglu, author of A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire A groundbreaking book that will reorient the way we think about not only Afghan modernity, but also political and legal thought in Muslim societies during the twentieth century. Ahmed describes the emergence of a modern Islamicate region during the age of imperial globalization and demonstrates the appeal of multiple governance models in the ideas exchanged within this region among different Muslim publics. More importantly, he shows how Afghan kings experimented with novel legal and political models to assert their legitimacy while establishing on the global stage Afghanistan's sovereignty as a modern nation state. The book persuasively shows us how Afghanistan's transformation exemplifies a model of Muslim modernity that was not Eurocentric.--Cemil Aydin, author of The Idea of the Muslim World: A Global Intellectual History

Afghanistan Rising uncovers the lost history behind the first constitution of Afghanistan and that country's evolution into a modern Islamic state. Ahmed provides highly original insights into Muslim legal history, modernization in non-European contexts, and transnational Muslim networks. Exploring the ideological and social factors that shaped Afghanistan during an age of turmoil and transformation, the work is conceived on a broad scale. This is a well-crafted, theoretically rich, tightly argued, and rigorously executed book. In addition, its lucid style makes for enjoyable reading.--M. Sukru Hanioglu, author of A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire A groundbreaking book that will reorient the way we think about not only Afghan modernity, but also political and legal thought in Muslim societies during the twentieth century. Ahmed describes the emergence of a modern Islamicate region during the age of imperial globalization and demonstrates the appeal of multiple governance models in the ideas exchanged within this region among different Muslim publics. More importantly, he shows how Afghan kings experimented with novel legal and political models to assert their legitimacy while establishing on the global stage Afghanistan's sovereignty as a modern nation state. The book persuasively shows us how Afghanistan's transformation exemplifies a model of Muslim modernity that was not Eurocentric.--Cemil Aydin, author of The Idea of the Muslim World: A Global Intellectual History Afghanistan Rising uncovers the lost history behind the first constitution of Afghanistan and that country's evolution into a modern Islamic state. Ahmed provides highly original insights into Muslim legal history, modernization in non-European contexts, and transnational Muslim networks. Exploring the ideological and social factors that shaped Afghanistan during an age of turmoil and transformation, the work is conceived on a broad scale. This is a well-crafted, theoretically rich, tightly argued, and rigorously executed book. In addition, its lucid style makes for enjoyable reading.--M. Sukru Hanioglu, author of A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire

Author Information

Faiz Ahmed is the Joukowsky Family Distinguished Associate Professor of Modern Middle East History at Brown University.

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