Beacon Books – förlag

Greed remains central to modern ideas about human economic relations, and this has never been more pertinent than in the African context. In this stimulating and provocative book, Murove traces the advent of greed in African economics through colonial capitalism, and considers how its culture of expropriation and exclusion gave rise to the emergence of political capitalism in modern Africa.

In addition, he challenges economic practices employed in the political sphere of both Africa and the West, such as foreign aid, misdirected government policies and rampant corruption.

Refusing to be seduced by the popular rhetoric of African nationalism, Murove promotes critical interrogation of the idea that the problems faced by post-colonial Africa stem from colonialism alone. A work of intellectual honesty, Greed in Post-Colonial Africa makes a brave and vital contribution to the current discourse on greed in African economics, and will generate reflections on Africa’s development for general readers and researchers alike.

Ruminations comprises social criticism, political analysis and a biographical description of Tahir Abbas, a social scientist working on issues of ethnicity, social conflict, and politics. Born in Birmingham, UK, Abbas has lived and worked in London and Istanbul, and is now in The Hague, Netherlands. In this autoethnographic narrative, he examines the intersections of race, class, ethnicity, and Islam in the context of the British Muslim landscape through subjective experiences: growing up in Birmingham; navigating the precariousness of the education system; working in central government during the 9/11 attacks; and eventually becoming a leading expert in the field.

Praise for the book

At a time when Islam is mostly analyzed through dry statistics, theories and principles, Tahir Abbas reconnects with the memoir genre to provide a unique insight into his journey as a Muslim and an academic in different cultures and political contexts. Highly recommended.

Jocelyne Cesari

Professor of Religion and Politics at the University of Birmingham and Senior Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs Georgetown University

From being a Birmingham boy with Azad Kashmiri-Pakistani roots to becom- ing a Professor of Radicalisation in the Netherlands, Abbas sheds light on his journey of overcoming the obstacles on the road to his current destination of becoming a distinguished academic.

Alia Amir

Associate Professor of English Linguistics, Mid-Sweden University

Tahir Abbas' story is partly a biography of growing up in a racialised, gang-rid- den inner city where bullies mill across the schoolyard and narrow alleys, but it is also a reportage of a steadily changing Britain where race, the imperial past, so-called majoritarianism, and suspicions of the 'other' still anchor communal relationships.

Iftikhar H. Malik

Professor Emeritus at Bath Spa University

Tahir Abbas lets us peep into the family, social circles, mosque culture, and the hidden or not-so-hidden racism experienced by a British-Pakistani-Eng- lishman with ancestral roots in Kashmir ... For me, the book combines the wisdom of a teacher with the innocence of a student who is still 'reading' the world and does not shy away from sharing his ideas.

Samina Yasmeen

Professor and Director, Centre for Muslim States and Societies, University of Western Australia

Thought-provoking contemplations.

Ziauddin Sardar

Editor-in-Chief of Critical Muslim

A charming and challenging 'coming of age' memoir of a young Muslim boy and his journey into political manhood in a strange and hostile land. A must- read that lifts the veil on Islamophobia!

Heidi Safia Mirza

Professor Emerita of Race, Faith and Culture at Goldsmiths and Professor Emerita in Equalities Studies at the UCL Institute of Education

As a post-Brexit UK struggles to accept that global dominance through an empire is no longer possible and that society is truly multiracial, multicultural, and multi-faith, this book captures the reality of growing up with immigrant parents and contributes to the creation of the newer society that is gradually emerging.

Sally Tomlinson

Emeritus Professor at Goldsmiths and an Honorary Fellow in the Department of Education, University of Oxford

The richness of the subject is matched by the excellence of the writing. Profes- sor Abbas has reached a new level of literary attainment.

Akbar Ahmed

Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University

Ruminations comprises social criticism, political analysis and a biographical description of Tahir Abbas, a social scientist working on issues of ethnicity, social conflict, and politics. Born in Birmingham, UK, Abbas has lived and worked in London and Istanbul, and is now in The Hague, Netherlands. In this autoethnographic narrative, he examines the intersections of race, class, ethnicity, and Islam in the context of the British Muslim landscape through subjective experiences: growing up in Birmingham; navigating the precariousness of the education system; working in central government during the 9/11 attacks; and eventually becoming a leading expert in the field.

Praise for the book

At a time when Islam is mostly analyzed through dry statistics, theories and principles, Tahir Abbas reconnects with the memoir genre to provide a unique insight into his journey as a Muslim and an academic in different cultures and political contexts. Highly recommended.

Jocelyne Cesari

Professor of Religion and Politics at the University of Birmingham and Senior Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs Georgetown University

From being a Birmingham boy with Azad Kashmiri-Pakistani roots to becom- ing a Professor of Radicalisation in the Netherlands, Abbas sheds light on his journey of overcoming the obstacles on the road to his current destination of becoming a distinguished academic.

Alia Amir

Associate Professor of English Linguistics, Mid-Sweden University

Tahir Abbas' story is partly a biography of growing up in a racialised, gang-rid- den inner city where bullies mill across the schoolyard and narrow alleys, but it is also a reportage of a steadily changing Britain where race, the imperial past, so-called majoritarianism, and suspicions of the 'other' still anchor communal relationships.

Iftikhar H. Malik

Professor Emeritus at Bath Spa University

Tahir Abbas lets us peep into the family, social circles, mosque culture, and the hidden or not-so-hidden racism experienced by a British-Pakistani-Eng- lishman with ancestral roots in Kashmir ... For me, the book combines the wisdom of a teacher with the innocence of a student who is still 'reading' the world and does not shy away from sharing his ideas.

Samina Yasmeen

Professor and Director, Centre for Muslim States and Societies, University of Western Australia

Thought-provoking contemplations.

Ziauddin Sardar

Editor-in-Chief of Critical Muslim

A charming and challenging 'coming of age' memoir of a young Muslim boy and his journey into political manhood in a strange and hostile land. A must- read that lifts the veil on Islamophobia!

Heidi Safia Mirza

Professor Emerita of Race, Faith and Culture at Goldsmiths and Professor Emerita in Equalities Studies at the UCL Institute of Education

As a post-Brexit UK struggles to accept that global dominance through an empire is no longer possible and that society is truly multiracial, multicultural, and multi-faith, this book captures the reality of growing up with immigrant parents and contributes to the creation of the newer society that is gradually emerging.

Sally Tomlinson

Emeritus Professor at Goldsmiths and an Honorary Fellow in the Department of Education, University of Oxford

The richness of the subject is matched by the excellence of the writing. Profes- sor Abbas has reached a new level of literary attainment.

Akbar Ahmed

Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University

This is a collection of thirteen stories with recipes representing Balochistan's vast palate documented for the first time.

Many of these recipes are obscure for Pakistanis and are absent from the imagination of what is considered Pakistani food, expanding our understanding of what constitutes the cuisine of the country.

We enjoy and learn about unusual ingredients, invisible dishes, food for thought and nostalgic comfort food along the way, honouring culinary icons. More than the sum of these recipes and food stories, this cookbook opens up windows into this remote part of Pakistan. The reader is invited to feast, feel, taste and enjoy Balochistan's cuisine and more.

Nilofer Afridi Qazi is a public policy specialist with a background in film making. Born in Quetta, Balochistan, she has lived in over a dozen countries as a diplomat's daughter. The 2005 earthquake in Pakistan brought her back home. In 2012 she began her food mapping adventures across Pakistan's undocumented culinary landscape. Travelling across Pakistan's remote corners she spent time with many invisible chefs, unaware of their incredible food as heritage treasures, worthy of acknowledgement and above all celebration. Her work resulted in a documentary series called Pakistan on a Plate. All 53 episodes feature on her YouTube channel, niloferscorner. Culinary Tales from Balochistan is her first book. She currently lives in Islamabad.

This collection of essays is a tribute to the lifetime achievements of the erudite Muslim scholar-activist, Osman Bakar. Recognized as among the world's most influential Muslims, Osman is author and editor of close to three dozen books and hundreds of articles, many of which have been translated into several languages.

Featuring top scholars and activists such as Seyyed Hossein Nasr, John Esposito, and Anwar Ibrahim, this volume engages with the wide breadth of Professor Osman's writings while offering new pathways into the study of the nexus between knowledge, tradition, and civilization.