Since the 1980s, scholars from across the disciplinary spectrum and from a variety of political vantage points have been analyzing the expanding presence of Islamic extremists in Pakistan. Particularly since the 2001 invasion and ongoing occupation of neighboring Afghanistan by the United States, the existence of violent extremists in Pakistan is a growing concern, often reduced to security issues; the strength, or lack thereof, of the Pakistani state; and attempts at identifying the culprits behind the rise of extremism, be it Pakistan's military dictator Zia ul-Haq in the late 1970s and 1980s, the Pakistan secret services (Inter-Services Intelligence), or conspiracy theories placing blame on India's intelligence agency (the Research and Analysis Wing). Rarely, however, do we get an inside perspective of the organizations, their inner workings, and the discourses they employ to legitimate their missions. Samina Yasmeen's Jihad and Dawah: Evolving Narratives of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamat ud Dawah provides just that and offers a unique and original perspective in the growing scholarship on Islamic extremism in Pakistan.
Situated within the changing contours of Pakistan's political landscape, Yasmeen offers a careful and extensive study of the various publications of Markaz Da'wah wal Irshad (MDI), its offshoots the Jamat ud Dawah (JuD) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and the writings of Hafiz Saeed, the movement's founder and ideologue. Yasmeen's focus on narrative analysis with special attention paid to discursive influences and the shaping of agency, contextualized by the shifting terrain of the geopolitics of the region, provides significant insights into the evolving nature of jihadism in Pakistan. From the first Afghan war following the Russian invasion in 1979, to the post-Soviet new world order, to 9/11 and the attack on the Indian parliament in 2001, to the Mumbai attack in 2008, Yasmeen traces how the discourses of jihad constantly evolved, adapting to and influencing the changing nature of sociopolitical realities in Pakistan.
Jihad and Dawah first provides the necessary context of Islam in Pakistan, or, more appropriately, the processes of Islamization where Pakistani citizens today find themselves “no longer living in a state for Muslims, but an evolving Islamic state” (p. 26). Chapter 2 provides the historical foundations of the MDI and its various associated organizations, including the LeT, a militant group principally focused on attacking India in Kashmir and, more infamously, carrying out the Mumbai attack of 2008. Yasmeen provides insights into various recruitment techniques, detailing how the LeT and MDI transformed jihad into a societal project and not just an individual endeavor (p. 68). The MDI received direct as well as tacit support from the Pakistani state, allowing it opportunities to penetrate deeper into Pakistani society.
Chapter 3 details the role of the LeT in the Kargil crisis of 1999 and the ensuing transformation in the MDI and LeT toward a greater focus on proselytizing (da'wah) rather than jihad. Hafiz Saeed placed greater attention on the attributes of a mo'min (true believer) whose inner faith blessed them “with the ability to respond to Allah's call and participate in jihad with an unquestioning passion, commitment and willingness to sacrifice life for the pleasure of Allah” (p. 131). The focus on mo'min allowed the MDI to redefine what it meant to be Muslim, from merely performing the acts of piety to carrying out Allah's will in the world.
The Mumbai attacks of late 2008 provide the foundation of another shift in the MDI, the focus of chapter 4. While under house arrest following the attacks, Hafiz Saeed wrote a commentary on the Qur'an's Surah Yusuf, reflecting on how true believers were attacked by their own people and saying that with patience and true belief, they would persevere (pp. 166–68). In an act of discursive reinvention, the MDI saw itself as above ordinary Muslims as well as sectarian differences and conflict, and as being the true vanguard of Islam, beyond reproach and criticism. According to its own manifestos, the MDI was no longer in debate with other Islamic sects or social movements, but rather saw itself as the definers of true Islam.
The final chapter details a further shift in the MDI and JuD, toward social activism. The earthquake in Kashmir and northern Pakistan in 2005 and the devastating floods of 2008 provided the organizations opportunities to evolve into humanitarian activism (p. 204). Through their social work, they garnered extensive symbolic capital that they translated into protection from the state as it cracked down on militant movements.
In Jihad and Dawah, Yasmeen significantly documents the shifts and transformations of the MDI and JuD through their own narratives. Yasmeen focuses solely on published materials, ignoring the more recent developments of social media and its employment by the organization. This then leads to an opening for further research. Overall, the book is a solid and important contribution to the study of social movements, Pakistan, and Islamic extremism, as well as to narrative studies. Rich in detail, it is a great resource for diverse scholars and a source for research. There are some minor editing issues with the text. These are particular noticeable when different transliterations are used for some Urdu words, most significantly in the spelling of Hafiz Saeed.
