Muslim Modernities Tabish Khair's Essays on Moderation and Mayhem

A secular world vs the Muslim world is the presumed order of the day and every individual inadvertently belongs to one camp or the other. Muslim Modernities is a collection of essays that embarks upon the difficult task of making our planet full of binaries a little less chaotic. From 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre, Iraq war, Danish Prophet cartoons, the arrest of Dr Haneef, to the Gujarat riots, Tabish Khair analyses all the issues objectively in the book.

While taking a look at some of the most controversial contemporary issues, Khair does not forget that a coin always has two sides, and that the entire blame cannot be transferred onto one side, be it the West or the Muslim world. He lays bare the threadwork that forms the basis of both and brings forth the hypocrisies that they subtly try to hide.

In a society where Muslims are seen as jihadis, he walks the tightrope between being considered a Muslim ‘sympathiser’ by liberal thinkers and Western critics, and a liberal violator by believing Muslims. He, however, stays clear of being typecasted and provides a viewpoint which is free of prejudices and based upon his understanding and experiences. Above all, these are extremely lucid essays by one of India’s most accomplished writers, essays that outline the personal journey of a human being struggling—and often succeeding—to make sense of our troubled world.

About the Author

Tabish Khair is an associate professor at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. Born and educated mostly in India, he is the author of a critically-acclaimed collection of poems. Where Parallel Lines Meet (Penguin, 2000) and the novel, The Bus Stopped (Picador, 2004), which was shortlisted for the Encore Award in the UK. His other novel Filming: A Love Story (Picdor, London) also received rave reviews. He has won the All India Poetry Prize and written or edited/co-edited several studies and anthologies, including Babu Fictions; Alienation in Contemporary Indian English Novels and Other Routes; 1500 Years of African and Asian Travel Writing.