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. |
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... party leader Altaf Hussain and the party symbol of a rectangular kite 70 FIGURE 3. Qila Ground being prepared for an MQM public manifestation 109 FIGURE 4. Billboard showing Altaf Hussain as an Arabian sheikh 113 FIGURE 5. Painting on a ...
... party , which provided dramatic electoral victories . It drew its strength from the discontents of urban male youth and had an appeal that cut across class lines . It espoused a " modern " and at times mystical Islam that was at once ...
... party was established that called itself the Muhajir Qaumi Movement ( MQM ) , or Muhajir Ethnic Movement . It soon became one of the most remarkable examples of political mobilization in postcolonial South Asia . The party suc ...
... Party PSF Pakistan Student Federation PTV Pakistan Television SNA Sindh National Alliance STPP Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party ( Sindh Progressive Party ) KASHMIR AFGHANISTAN Sehwan Sharif Karachi CHINA Migrants and Militants Introduction IV.
... party called the MQM or the Mut- tehida Qaumi Movement ( United National Movement ) . This party , for- merly called the Muhajir Qaumi Movement ( National Movement of Mu- hajirs ) , claimed to represent the Muhajir population of ...