Conversations with History: Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley
This interview is part of the Institute's "Conversations with History" series, and uses Internet technology to share with the public Berkeley's distinction as a global forum for ideas.
Welcome to a Conversation with History. I'm Harry Kreisler of the Institute
of International Studies. Our guest today is Ahmed Rashid, a journalist based
in Lahore, Pakistan. He has covered Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Pakistan
for more than twenty years. And he is the author of Taliban and most
recently Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia.
- Background ... influence of parents ... education ... impact of the sixties
- Being a Journalist in Central Asia ... becoming a journalist ... writing ... importance of history ... interdisciplinary
research
- Islam in Central Asia: Soviet Legacy ... collapse of the Soviet Union and Islamic revival ... consequences of Soviet
domination of Central Asia ... suppression of diversity within Islam ... export
of Islamic militants to Afghanistan
- Islam in Central Asia: Foreign Intervention
and Fundamentalism ... Pakistani foreign policy ... "strategic depth" ... Kashmir ... Saudi foreign
policy .. Islamization of dissident groups
- Fundamentalism versus Traditional Islam ... rise of the Taliban ... neo-fundamentalism without a sense of history ...
anti-Westernism ... secretive leadership ... rejection of ijtihad ...
perversion of jihad ... comparison with Leninist parties
- U.S. Foreign Policy ... isolationism ... overemphasis on military ... need for multidimensional
strategy ... unilateralism
- Pakistan's Future ... changes in the current regime ... murder of Daniel Pearl
- Heeding the Warning Signs of Fundamentalism ... events of 9/11 .. extremist groups ... failed states
- Conclusions ... importance of foreign policy debates ... multidisciplinary curiosity about
the world


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