Nina Subin

LA 29.5.2010 15:00-15:20, Amazon-lava, Rautatientori, Esityskieli englanti

SU 30.5.2010 13:00-13:20, Amazon-lava, Rautatientori, Esityskieli englanti

Clash of Fundamentalisms: Tariq Ali puts the events of September 11 and the War on Terror into perspective, arguing that what we have experienced is the return of History in a horrific form. According to him, the visible violence of September 11 was the response to the invisible violence that has been inflicted on countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Palestine and Chechnya. In his book Clash of fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity he provides an explanation for both the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and new forms of Western colonialism.

Pakistan syndrome: Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world. It is the only Islamic state to have nuclear weapons. The country has been under military dictatorship for thirty-three years of its fifty-year existence. Yet it is the linchpin in the United States’ war on terror. With increasingly bold attacks by Taliban supporters in the border regions threatening to split the Pakistan army, and the only political alternatives being as corrupt as the regime they seek to replace, the chances of sustained stability in Pakistan look slim. The scion of a famous Punjabi political family, Tariq Ali has long been acknowledged as a leading commentator on Pakistan.

London-based Tariq Ali is a well-known writer, filmmaker and author of over two dozen books on world history and politics. He is an editor of New Left Review and contributes regularly to The Guardian, CounterPunch, and the London Review of Books.