Nonviolent Soldier of Islam

''Nonviolent Soldier of Islam'' is a biography of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890-1988), an ally of Gandhi's in the Indian independence movement. Originally written by Eknath Easwaran in English, foreign editions have also been published in Arabic and several other languages. The book was originally published in the United States in 1984 as ''A Man to Match His Mountains: Badshah Khan, nonviolent soldier of Islam''. A second edition was published in 1999 with the title ''Nonviolent soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan, a man to match his mountains''. Both editions include an afterword by Timothy Flinders. The 1999 US edition contains a new foreword by Easwaran, and an enlarged section of photographs of Khan. The book has been reviewed in magazines, newspapers, and professional journals. The book inspired the making of the 2008 film '' The Frontier Gandhi: Badshah Khan, a Torch for Peace''.Allan M. Jalon (2008, Oct. 19).
A Gandhi-like force for peace
" ''Los Angeles Times'' (retrieved 3 April 2010)

Topics covered

Both US editions of ''Nonviolent Soldier'' are divided into four major parts. Parts one through three tell the story of Khan's life up to Indian independence in 1947. Part four, by Flinders, contains an afterword that describes Khan's life after 1947, and also contains a chronology, as well as a glossary, bibliography, index, maps, and extensive notes on sources.

Reviews and influence

Reviews have appeared in the ''New York Post'', Bill McKibben (1989, May 21). "A guru who offers no guarantees: Easwaran teaches a practical method of self-mastery." ''New York Post'', pp. 4-5. Review of ''Gandhi the Man'', ''A Man to Match His Mountains'', ''Meditation'', '' The Mantram Handbook'', and ''Conquest of Mind''. the ''Washington Post'', the ''Christian Science Monitor'', the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''The New Yorker'', Bill McKibben (1984, Sep. 24). "Notes and Comment" (in "The Talk of the Town"; discusses Easwaran's ''A Man to Match His Mounts'', a biography of Abdul Ghaffar Khan). ''The New Yorker'', pp. 39-40. "A straightforward yet devoted biography.... By his example, hanasks what we ourselves, as individuals made from the same stuff as he, are doing to shape history" (pp. 39-40). '' Frontline (India)'',
and ''Kashmir Images''.; Worldcat states the journal "Provides local and regional news coverage for Srinagar, India"

In 1985, the ''Washington Post'' stated that "Eknath Easwaran's great achievement is telling an American audience about an Islamic practitioner of pacifism at a moment when few in the West understand its effectiveness and fewer still associate it with anything Islamic." A year later, after Badshah Khan had won the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor, the same paper again quoted from the book:

In the journal ''History Compass'', a review of resources for teaching about Afghanistan and Pushtu populations, stated that ''Nonviolent Soldier of Islam'' was a "highly readable book for the popular market hatincorporates some of the clearest discussions of an Islamic version of something akin to liberation theology.... its explicitly Gandhian perspective might serve as a useful counterpoint to colonial perspectives" (pp. 548–549).

In late 2001, the book was discussed in ''Whole Earth'' magazine, which stated that "Perhaps no time is more apt than now to study the life of Abdul Ghaffar Khan." (NB: ''Whole Earth'' magazine, ISSN 0749-5056, was preceded by ''Whole Earth Review'' and later ''Whole Earth Magazine''; in 2003 it was superseded by th
Whole Earth website
The book was also reviewed in '' Yes! Magazine'',Carolyn McConnell (2006),
Book Review: Nonviolent Soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan by Eknath Easwaran
, '' Yes! Magazine'', Issue 37 (Spring 2006) (ISSN 1089-6651), accessed 3 April 2010. and elsewhere.Aisha Muhammed (2002)
Islam and Nonviolence
review at ''Pace e Bene'' (NB: website states also published in ''The Wolf'', Winter 2002, and also anthologized in a 2009 book)Nick Megoran (2002, May 11), posted at Eurasianet.org
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The publisher quoted Mubarak Awad, director of the Palestinian Centre for the Study of Nonviolence in Jerusalem, as stating that "This book is a must for every Muslim. The life of Khan can change and will challenge many readers in the Middle East."Quoted from 1984 edition, inside front cover (paperback) or front flap (hardcover).

In late 2001, the book was reviewed in '' Frontline (India)'', and described as "crisply written, expertly organised and gripping.... aswaran's/nowiki> subtle grasp of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan's non-violent vision of humanity makes this a very exceptional and special book." The reviewer, who stated that "between 1969 and 1988 I was in his han's/nowiki> presence many times," noted that

In the ''National Catholic Reporter'', John Dear described ''Nonviolent Soldier'' as "the best introduction to Khan." (accessed 26 November 2010) Dear wrote that "over the past few months, as I have struggled to pray for and think about the suffering people of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, I have carried around a favorite book, Nonviolent Soldier of Islam."

The book inspired the making of the 2008 film '' The Frontier Gandhi: Badshah Khan, a Torch for Peace'', which won the top award for documentary films"MEIFF Announces Winners of 2009 Black Pearl Awards

retrieved 3 Apr 2010. at the 3rd Middle East International Film Festival at Abu Dhabi in 2009. The film's director, T. C. McLuhan, stated that, upon receiving the book's first edition in 1987 from an acquaintance, "I looked at it and thought, 'I don't know anything about this part of the world,' and three weeks later, at about 3 in the morning, I picked it up and felt all the electrons around me shift."

Editions

The original edition was published in English in 1984 by Nilgiri Press, and a year later by Random House. Foreign (non-English) editions have been published in Arabic,Eknath Easwaran (1987). ''A Man to Match His Mountains'' (1st ed.), translated into Arabic by Wadih Ibrahim Atta. Palestinian Centre for the Study of Nonviolence.
link to Google-translated Arabic page
accessed 3 April 2010.
Indonesian,Eknath Easwaran (2008).
Badshas Khan
'(Leo S. Perwira, trans.). Yogyakarta, Indonesia: Penerbit Bentang. Italian,Eknath Easwaran (1990). ''Badshah Khan. Il Gandhi musulmano'' (L. Armando, trans.). Italy: Sonda. (252 pages).Eknath Easwaran (2008).
Il Gandhi musulmano. Un'alternativa per Bin Laden
'. Italy: Sonda. (256 pages).
Korean,Eknath Easwaran (2003).
바드샤 칸(역사인물찾기 14) (Nonviolent Soldier of Islam)
' (김문호 immunho/nowiki>, trans.). Seoul, South Korea: Silcheon Munhak (via BookCosmos). , , (452 pages) and Turkish.Eknath Easwaran (2002).
Badşah han: islam'ın silahsız askeri (Badshah Khan: Nonviolent Soldier of Islam)
' (İhsan Özdemir, trans.). Istanbul, Turkey: Timaş yayınları. , (278 pages)

A second edition was published 1999 in the US by Nilgiri Press, and English-language editions have been published in India. The US editions are:
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Indian editions:
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See also

*'' Gandhi the Man'' (by same author, a biography of Gandhi)
*'' Bapu'' (contains record of a visit with Khan and a Khudai Kitmatgir camp)

References

{{Pashtun nationalism

1984 non-fiction books
1999 non-fiction books
Biographies (books)
Books about India
Works by Eknath Easwaran