Migrants and Militants: Fun and Urban Violence in PakistanBeing part of a violent community in revolt can be addictive--it can be fun. This book offers a fascinating inside look at present-day political violence in Pakistan through a historical ethnography of the Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQM), one of the most remarkable and successful religious nationalist movements in postcolonial South Asia. The MQM has mobilized much of the "migrant" (Muhajir) population in Karachi and other urban centers in southern Pakistan and has fomented large-scale ethnic-religious violence. Oskar Verkaaik argues that urban youth see it as an irresistible opportunity for "fun." Drawing on both anthropological fieldwork, including participatory observation among political militants, and historical analyses of state formation, nation-building, and the ethnicization of Islam since 1947, he provides an absorbing and important contribution to theoretical debates about political--religious and nationalist--violence. |
From inside the book
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... interpret ethnic vio- lence in East Africa . E. Valentine Daniel argues that the violence between the Tamil and the Singalese in Sri Lanka signifies a growing feeling of uncertainty about the boundaries of ethnic - religious identities ...
... interpret the MQM as a movement of an upcoming would - be middle class that tries to get access to state institutions and opposes economic discrimi- nation by the state . The argument has been most elaborately developed by Hamza Alavi ...
... interpretation of violence by young MQM sup- porters transforming themselves into full - time militants , martyrs , and " terrorists . " Chapter 6 , finally , looks at similar issues in more recent years . Having discussed young male ...
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