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Nonviolent Soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan: A Man to Match His Mountains
The story of the great Muslim peacemaker Badshah Khan, who joined Mahatma Gandhi in nonviolent resistance to British rule in India.
Khān Abdul Ghaffār Khān (Badshah Khan or Bacha Khan) came from a Pathan society that was steeped in a tradition of blood revenge, but Khan raised a nonviolent "army" of 100,000 men and joined Mohandas Gandhi in civil disobedience to British rule in India.
Easwaran’s biography of Khan is a comprehensive account of the man who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 and who embodied the nonviolent tradition within Islam. Under Khan's leadership, the Pathans proved that it is often those who are capable of great violence who have the courage to stand unarmed against injustice. Khan's story of hard-won victory offers inspiration for nonviolent solutions to today's world struggles.
Easwaran, author of Gandhi The Man , is one of the twentieth century's great spiritual teachers and an authentic guide to timeless wisdom. His books on meditation, spiritual living, and the classics of world mysticism have been translated into twenty-six languages. His Bhagavada Gita, Upanishads and Dhammapada are the best-selling translations in the US, and over 2 million copies of his books are in print.
This book is for anyone seeking to understand more fully what Islam can mean in the world of today.
Khān Abdul Ghaffār Khān (Badshah Khan or Bacha Khan) came from a Pathan society that was steeped in a tradition of blood revenge, but Khan raised a nonviolent "army" of 100,000 men and joined Mohandas Gandhi in civil disobedience to British rule in India.
Easwaran’s biography of Khan is a comprehensive account of the man who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 and who embodied the nonviolent tradition within Islam. Under Khan's leadership, the Pathans proved that it is often those who are capable of great violence who have the courage to stand unarmed against injustice. Khan's story of hard-won victory offers inspiration for nonviolent solutions to today's world struggles.
Easwaran, author of Gandhi The Man , is one of the twentieth century's great spiritual teachers and an authentic guide to timeless wisdom. His books on meditation, spiritual living, and the classics of world mysticism have been translated into twenty-six languages. His Bhagavada Gita, Upanishads and Dhammapada are the best-selling translations in the US, and over 2 million copies of his books are in print.
This book is for anyone seeking to understand more fully what Islam can mean in the world of today.
274 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
About the author
Eknath Easwaran
165 books580 followersEknath Easwaran (1910–1999) is the originator of passage meditation and the author of more than 30 books on spiritual living.
Easwaran is a recognized authority on the Indian spiritual classics. His translations of The Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads, and The Dhammapada are the best-selling editions in the USA, and over 1.5 million copies of his books are in print.
Easwaran was a professor of English literature and well known in India as a writer and speaker before coming to the United States in 1959 on the Fulbright exchange program. In 1961, he founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, based in Tomales, California, which continues his work today through publications and retreats.
His 1968 class on the theory and practice of meditation at UC Berkeley is believed to be the first accredited course on meditation at any Western university. For those who seek him as a personal spiritual guide, Easwaran assured us that he lives on through his eight-point program of passage meditation.
"I am with you always”, he said. “It does not require my physical presence; it requires your open heart."
Please visit bmcm.org for a fuller biography.
Easwaran is a recognized authority on the Indian spiritual classics. His translations of The Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads, and The Dhammapada are the best-selling editions in the USA, and over 1.5 million copies of his books are in print.
Easwaran was a professor of English literature and well known in India as a writer and speaker before coming to the United States in 1959 on the Fulbright exchange program. In 1961, he founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, based in Tomales, California, which continues his work today through publications and retreats.
His 1968 class on the theory and practice of meditation at UC Berkeley is believed to be the first accredited course on meditation at any Western university. For those who seek him as a personal spiritual guide, Easwaran assured us that he lives on through his eight-point program of passage meditation.
"I am with you always”, he said. “It does not require my physical presence; it requires your open heart."
Please visit bmcm.org for a fuller biography.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 5, 2008
You know that part of Pakistan where bin Laden is said to be hiding? The Pashtun people who live there are notoriously tribal and insular, "victims of their own distorted sens e of honor". But read about Badshah Khan, a peaceful Pashtun who worked with Mahatma Gandhi and raised an "army" of 100,000 Pashtuns to practice peaceful resistance. It might change your view of what's possible between peoples.
January 10, 2012
It is a sad fact that I had never heard of this man until last night when, after reading Rumi and participating in Naqshabandi dhikr, I was handed this book by a dear brother and one of my oldest friends. I am a fighter and train daily for combat. But I believe in peace and respect non-violence on principle. I have always looked for contemporary Muslim heroes who combine the early Meccan non-violent means of the Prophet Muhammad, Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa salam, with the spirit of the noble warrior. Badshah Khan did this, in a way that exemplifies the spirit of the warriors of the earliest generations of Islam in a way that those "jihadis" who, in their neo-Kharajite understanding of Islam, transgress our laws of warfare, and leave a devastation of innocents in their wake, will never understand.
Nearly finished with the book, it brings me to tears and makes me remember the beautiful strength of the Beloved of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, every time I open it.
In one of the most memorable insights I have ever had into the character of the Beloved of Allah, peace and blessings of God be upon him, Dr. Abdullah Al-Kadi, a descendant of the Prophet, Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa salam, was giving a lecture at our Muslim camp in Yosemite, and he said, "The Prophet Muhammad, Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa 'ala alihi wa salam, never even struck anything in anger--like this!"--and he slapped the chair in front of him with both hands. Shaikh Abdullah is one of the most noble human beings I have ever seen or spent time with, and this ten seconds or so from his lecture has resonated in my mind and heart ever since--for those who know me, know the volcano inside me. But, as a poet I love once said, "volcanoes give birth to green islands."
I listened yesterday to a lecture by Shaykh Ibrahim Osi-Efa where he was expounding upon the martial prowess of Sayyedina 'Ali, Karam Allahu wajhu, and one of the points that impressed me most did not just involved the men he slew in hand-to-hand combat when necessary, but the fact that once-hardened men were transformed by the example of the Prophet Muhammad, Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa salam, to the point that when they stepped upon an ant, it would bring them to tears out of compassion. We use words like "Muslim" and "Islam" to name ourselves and our beliefs, but our hearts and minds fall very short. When we become "religious", we preach rules and platitudes, but the early believers....their hearts spoke, and the words that arose from the light of their hearts touched, transformed, and illuminated hearts.
Forgive these Sunday musings, but we are all caught in the same struggle. And we long for a peace where every pain, every love, every longing, every joy, every heartbreak, every failure, every salvation....all meet--in the truest love for the One.
Nearly finished with the book, it brings me to tears and makes me remember the beautiful strength of the Beloved of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, every time I open it.
In one of the most memorable insights I have ever had into the character of the Beloved of Allah, peace and blessings of God be upon him, Dr. Abdullah Al-Kadi, a descendant of the Prophet, Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa salam, was giving a lecture at our Muslim camp in Yosemite, and he said, "The Prophet Muhammad, Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa 'ala alihi wa salam, never even struck anything in anger--like this!"--and he slapped the chair in front of him with both hands. Shaikh Abdullah is one of the most noble human beings I have ever seen or spent time with, and this ten seconds or so from his lecture has resonated in my mind and heart ever since--for those who know me, know the volcano inside me. But, as a poet I love once said, "volcanoes give birth to green islands."
I listened yesterday to a lecture by Shaykh Ibrahim Osi-Efa where he was expounding upon the martial prowess of Sayyedina 'Ali, Karam Allahu wajhu, and one of the points that impressed me most did not just involved the men he slew in hand-to-hand combat when necessary, but the fact that once-hardened men were transformed by the example of the Prophet Muhammad, Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa salam, to the point that when they stepped upon an ant, it would bring them to tears out of compassion. We use words like "Muslim" and "Islam" to name ourselves and our beliefs, but our hearts and minds fall very short. When we become "religious", we preach rules and platitudes, but the early believers....their hearts spoke, and the words that arose from the light of their hearts touched, transformed, and illuminated hearts.
Forgive these Sunday musings, but we are all caught in the same struggle. And we long for a peace where every pain, every love, every longing, every joy, every heartbreak, every failure, every salvation....all meet--in the truest love for the One.
August 11, 2013
This fascinating book tells the story of Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a contemporary and close associate of Mahatma Gandhi. Khan was a Pathan leader from what the British called the North-West Frontier Province (now part of Pakistan), who formed a nonviolent “army” of 100,000 Pathans as part of the movement against British colonial rule. His followers persisted in their tenacious non-violent struggle even though the British used much harsher methods to repress it than they typically used in less isolated areas that were more accessible to Western journalists. Despite Khan’s phenomenal achievements at a pivotal time in history, he is little-known in the West today – an obscurity that is completely undeserved.
The book is well-written and engaging, carefully documented but never dry. Eknath Easwaran is primarily known for his work on the spiritual life, and the book conveys a passionate engagement not just with the history of Khan’s life and its political impact, but also with deeper questions about the nature of nonviolence and its potential for individual and social transformation. A must-read for anyone interested in non-violence, popular liberation movements, South Asian and Middle Eastern history, spiritually-based social activism in general, and activism rooted in Islam in particular.
P.S. The book also mentions that Khan advocated for the rights of women. “God makes no distinction between men and women,” he said. “…You are today oppressed because we men have ignored the commands of God and the Prophet.” I would have loved to see this aspect of his work explored in more detail; but I realize there may have been limited documentation of it available.
The book is well-written and engaging, carefully documented but never dry. Eknath Easwaran is primarily known for his work on the spiritual life, and the book conveys a passionate engagement not just with the history of Khan’s life and its political impact, but also with deeper questions about the nature of nonviolence and its potential for individual and social transformation. A must-read for anyone interested in non-violence, popular liberation movements, South Asian and Middle Eastern history, spiritually-based social activism in general, and activism rooted in Islam in particular.
P.S. The book also mentions that Khan advocated for the rights of women. “God makes no distinction between men and women,” he said. “…You are today oppressed because we men have ignored the commands of God and the Prophet.” I would have loved to see this aspect of his work explored in more detail; but I realize there may have been limited documentation of it available.
September 16, 2010
This is an amazing story, I usually do not like reading history, but this is so well written and flawlessly told. Also, it's a part of the history of my country I was never aware of. Pakistanis have an equivalent of Gandhi, and we don't even know it!
January 12, 2019
When reading this book one would quickly realise why the legend of Badshah Khan has been silenced. It brings forth a confusing (to the modern, non-muslim reader) vision of a slandered religion. But - whomever will read this book will undoubtedly gain a very refreshing view of not only Islam but of a non-violent, communal, effective, uncompromising way to handle a revolutionary struggle.
January 30, 2009
Short biography (just over 200 pages of text...there is a large photo section and indexes and notes) about "The Frontier Gandhi" as he was called by his contemporaries. Badshah Khan, a devout Muslim, worked tirelessly with Gandhi in the nonviolence/satyagraha movement against Bristish rule and imperialism. Khan was from what is now the Northwest Frontier Province in Pakistan and was a Pashtun. He raised a nonviolent army of around 100,000 Pashtuns to actively struggle for independence for India (and against partition.) He died at 98 years old, spending over half of his life in prison and in exile. He was jailed by the British authorities and the newly formed Pakistani government. He lived in exile in Kabul, Afghanistan for many years as well. He eventually died in Peshawar, Pakistan but elected to be buried in Afghanistan. Along with Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., Badshah Khan is one of the beacons of 20th Century nonviolent struggle. His story deserves to be known more widely.
June 22, 2018
Impressive...
‘‘Thus, within less than a year of the night that Mountbatten handed over the reins of power to India and Pakistan, Mahatma Gandhi had been assassinated by a Hindu who feared he was pro-Muslim and Badshah Khan had been jailed by an Islamic government that claimed he was pro-Hindu. The irony could not have been more complete. Two of India’s foremost men of God had been sacrificed in the name of religion.’’
"If Badshah Khan could raise a nonviolent army out of a people so steeped in violence as the Pathans, tere is no country on earth where it cannot be done."
July 27, 2016
An inspiring story of a man who formed a non-violent army of 100,000 Pashtuns against the British rule and imperialism, called the "Servants of God" which was entirely based upon the Islamic Principles of universal brotherhood and the service of God through the service of His Creatures. Bacha Khan (king Khan) also known as "Frontier Gandhi" showed in his life a face of Islam which the world seldom see.
June 6, 2016
During this Ramadam, I am reading about Badshah Khan, a non-violent Muslim leader who respected and followed Mahatma Gandhi. They became fast friends. My reading taught me about India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan in a way that is inspiring, dreadful, and helpful. I encourage you to find this short book and dive right in. It's what the world needs now.
October 15, 2008
This is the most amazing chronicle of Nonviolence I've ever heard about. Absolutely mind blowing, this guy and his movement in the NW frontier of India/Pakistan/Afghanistan is truly unfathomable. I cannot describe it.
August 14, 2014
iseng beli buku terbitan bunyan ini saat pameran, dan baru tamat kmrn bc-ny (dlm 3 hr),
benar" berkesan, buat merenung jauh...tak bnyk manusia spt ini...4 jempol buat beliau....
slh satu manusia terbaik dlm sej...tp tak bnyk yg mengenalnya termsk jg saya...
benar" berkesan, buat merenung jauh...tak bnyk manusia spt ini...4 jempol buat beliau....
slh satu manusia terbaik dlm sej...tp tak bnyk yg mengenalnya termsk jg saya...
October 26, 2021
The US's 20-year debacle in Afghanistan could've been avoided if our leaders had read this book before plunging into an unwinnable forever war. (Haha, just kidding. Even if they had read this book, they wouldn't have cared.)
Seriously, though, this story demonstrates why Western imperial powers keep trying and failing to impose themselves through violence on the tiny, strategically important piece of the world that is home to the Pashtuns. It's never worked, and it never will.
Everyone knows at least the broad strokes of Gandhi's satyagraha campaign to drive the British out of India. Almost no one—myself included, until a few days ago—knows that he was joined in this cause by a Muslim from the blood-soaked mountains of what is now Afghanistan. Badshah Khan did the unthinkable: he united the tribal, blood-feud-obsessed Pashtuns (or Pathans as they were known then) into a coherent, organized, 100,000 man-and-woman army. This army opposed the mighty British Empire and proved that the courage of the Pathan was not bravado, but ran bone-deep—because this army faced the cannons, rifles, lathis, and jail cells of the British completely unarmed and determined not to hurt anyone.
There is no word to describe the British governance of the Frontier apart from Fascist. It was a police state where unarmed civilians were routinely beaten, jailed without charge, or shot, strict curfews were imposed, citizens were paid to inform on each other, the media was silenced, and the local resident ruled as an autocrat. Massacres were a regular occurrence, along with the pillaging and burning of villages. No one seems to really know how many people the British murdered there during the long freedom struggle, because no outside observers were allowed to see. It's ironic that the British were fighting Nazis on one continent while behaving like Nazis on another.
The British and Pathans probably could have gone on killing one another indefinitely. It took a movement of nonviolence to break the cycle. It took some of the most violent people on earth embracing nonviolence wholeheartedly. The greatest act of courage is not to be hurt and retaliate—as the US did after 9/11—but to not retaliate. This idea is so radical that it was never even suggested here in America after the 9/11 attacks. But the "savage," bloodthirsty Pathans of the frontier found the courage to do it. I wonder if we ever will?
Seriously, though, this story demonstrates why Western imperial powers keep trying and failing to impose themselves through violence on the tiny, strategically important piece of the world that is home to the Pashtuns. It's never worked, and it never will.
Everyone knows at least the broad strokes of Gandhi's satyagraha campaign to drive the British out of India. Almost no one—myself included, until a few days ago—knows that he was joined in this cause by a Muslim from the blood-soaked mountains of what is now Afghanistan. Badshah Khan did the unthinkable: he united the tribal, blood-feud-obsessed Pashtuns (or Pathans as they were known then) into a coherent, organized, 100,000 man-and-woman army. This army opposed the mighty British Empire and proved that the courage of the Pathan was not bravado, but ran bone-deep—because this army faced the cannons, rifles, lathis, and jail cells of the British completely unarmed and determined not to hurt anyone.
There is no word to describe the British governance of the Frontier apart from Fascist. It was a police state where unarmed civilians were routinely beaten, jailed without charge, or shot, strict curfews were imposed, citizens were paid to inform on each other, the media was silenced, and the local resident ruled as an autocrat. Massacres were a regular occurrence, along with the pillaging and burning of villages. No one seems to really know how many people the British murdered there during the long freedom struggle, because no outside observers were allowed to see. It's ironic that the British were fighting Nazis on one continent while behaving like Nazis on another.
The British and Pathans probably could have gone on killing one another indefinitely. It took a movement of nonviolence to break the cycle. It took some of the most violent people on earth embracing nonviolence wholeheartedly. The greatest act of courage is not to be hurt and retaliate—as the US did after 9/11—but to not retaliate. This idea is so radical that it was never even suggested here in America after the 9/11 attacks. But the "savage," bloodthirsty Pathans of the frontier found the courage to do it. I wonder if we ever will?
September 8, 2023
This is the Saint & Man of peace for our time! Read his AutoBio The Frontier Gandhi and everything else about him and by those who knew him. Our whole world needs to listen and take his example and message to heart. NOW!
January 10, 2023
A Man to Match Hid Mountains is one of my favorite books. Very inspiring!
September 17, 2010
Mungkinkah sebuah peperangan terjadi tanpa harus bermandikan darah ? rasanya tidak mungkin sekali !. Perang dimana pun terjadi, pasti selalu memakan korban yang tidak berdosa, dan tumpahan darah yang tidak sedikit.
Rasanya nama Badshah Khan tidak familier di telinga kita. Badshah Khan (Rajanya Khan), terlahir dari keluarga pashtun (ningrat) dalam kondisi ekonomi yang berkecukupan dan orang tua yang mencintai kedamaian, diperbatasan barat laut Pakistan dan Afganistan. Dengan nama asli Abdul Gaffar Khan, Gaffar kecil menghabiskan masa mudanya di kampungnya yang indah dan tentram, tapi tidak bisa lepas dari adat dasar kaum sekitarnya yang menjadikan balas dendam sebagai warisan turun temurun dari nenek moyangnya.
Pada saat Inggris berkuasa di daerah India termasuk perbatasannya, Gaffar kecil mulai tergugah hati nuraninya terhadap penjajahan pada negerinya. Masyarakat disekitarnya begitu bodoh, miskin, dan gampang sekali termakan hasutan Inggris, membuat Gaffar semakin geram terhadap penjajahan dan sekaligus benci terhadap masyarakatnya yang terbelakang. Dengan tekad yang kuat, sedikit demi sedikit ia mulai membangun sekolah untuk masyarakat miskin disekitarnya. Semakin lama, gerakan membangun dan membantu masyarakat desa membuat pihak Inggris merasa tidak tenang. Berulang kali Gaffar masuk penjara dengan tuduhan yang tidak jelas, tapi semuanya ia jalani dengan penuh keikhlasan.
Ngefans berat dengan Mahatma Gandhi, membuat Gaffar terus menerus meneladani Gandhi yang ia panggil dengan sebutan SANG GURU. Gaffar sejujurnya mengerti sekali akan kemana arah perjuangan Gandhi saat itu. Melawan kezaliman tanpa kekerasan. Slogan Gandhi itu yang akhirnya membuat Gaffar membentuk pasukan Khudai Khidmatgar (Pelayan Allah).
Dengan warna kostum merah bata, Gaffar terus menerus mengkampanyekan gerakan anti kekerasan. Keluar masuk kampung, bergabung dengan masyarakat miskin, dan terus menerus meneriakkan slogan anti kekerasan, membuat sosok Gaffar dikenal oleh masyarakat, hingga akhirnya ia digelari dengan Badhshah Khan (Rajanya para Khan).
Tanpa disadari kampanye yang ia dengungkan berlangsung selama 80 tahun. Dan pasukan Khudai Khidmatgar pun terus bertambah. Meskipun pihak Inggris terus menerus melakukan tindakan kekerasan, tapi pasukan ini tidak membalas sedikitpun dengan kekerasan.
Rasanya, tindakan Badhshah Khan ini harus mulai kita renungi bersama, bagaimana dunia sekarang sudah terlalu penuh dengan kekerasan. Nyawa manusia pun sudah seperti binatang, manusia gampang sekali tersulut emosi, saling membunuh dan menyakiti.
2 pelajaran penting yang dapat diambil dari buku ini :
1. Badhshah Khan berhasil menanggulangi gelar kebiadaban sukunya yang terkenal dengan kebengisannya dan kekejamannya, yang sudah turun temurun tercap padanya sukunya.
2. Ia bersama dengan Gandhi sukses membawa India menuju kemerdekaannya. Meskipun setelah kepergian Gandhi, India berperang melawan Afganistan dalam memperebutkan wilayah Kashmir, yang pada akhirnya nanti malah terjadi peperangan agama antara Islam dan Hindu.
Rasanya nama Badshah Khan tidak familier di telinga kita. Badshah Khan (Rajanya Khan), terlahir dari keluarga pashtun (ningrat) dalam kondisi ekonomi yang berkecukupan dan orang tua yang mencintai kedamaian, diperbatasan barat laut Pakistan dan Afganistan. Dengan nama asli Abdul Gaffar Khan, Gaffar kecil menghabiskan masa mudanya di kampungnya yang indah dan tentram, tapi tidak bisa lepas dari adat dasar kaum sekitarnya yang menjadikan balas dendam sebagai warisan turun temurun dari nenek moyangnya.
Pada saat Inggris berkuasa di daerah India termasuk perbatasannya, Gaffar kecil mulai tergugah hati nuraninya terhadap penjajahan pada negerinya. Masyarakat disekitarnya begitu bodoh, miskin, dan gampang sekali termakan hasutan Inggris, membuat Gaffar semakin geram terhadap penjajahan dan sekaligus benci terhadap masyarakatnya yang terbelakang. Dengan tekad yang kuat, sedikit demi sedikit ia mulai membangun sekolah untuk masyarakat miskin disekitarnya. Semakin lama, gerakan membangun dan membantu masyarakat desa membuat pihak Inggris merasa tidak tenang. Berulang kali Gaffar masuk penjara dengan tuduhan yang tidak jelas, tapi semuanya ia jalani dengan penuh keikhlasan.
Ngefans berat dengan Mahatma Gandhi, membuat Gaffar terus menerus meneladani Gandhi yang ia panggil dengan sebutan SANG GURU. Gaffar sejujurnya mengerti sekali akan kemana arah perjuangan Gandhi saat itu. Melawan kezaliman tanpa kekerasan. Slogan Gandhi itu yang akhirnya membuat Gaffar membentuk pasukan Khudai Khidmatgar (Pelayan Allah).
Dengan warna kostum merah bata, Gaffar terus menerus mengkampanyekan gerakan anti kekerasan. Keluar masuk kampung, bergabung dengan masyarakat miskin, dan terus menerus meneriakkan slogan anti kekerasan, membuat sosok Gaffar dikenal oleh masyarakat, hingga akhirnya ia digelari dengan Badhshah Khan (Rajanya para Khan).
Tanpa disadari kampanye yang ia dengungkan berlangsung selama 80 tahun. Dan pasukan Khudai Khidmatgar pun terus bertambah. Meskipun pihak Inggris terus menerus melakukan tindakan kekerasan, tapi pasukan ini tidak membalas sedikitpun dengan kekerasan.
Rasanya, tindakan Badhshah Khan ini harus mulai kita renungi bersama, bagaimana dunia sekarang sudah terlalu penuh dengan kekerasan. Nyawa manusia pun sudah seperti binatang, manusia gampang sekali tersulut emosi, saling membunuh dan menyakiti.
2 pelajaran penting yang dapat diambil dari buku ini :
1. Badhshah Khan berhasil menanggulangi gelar kebiadaban sukunya yang terkenal dengan kebengisannya dan kekejamannya, yang sudah turun temurun tercap padanya sukunya.
2. Ia bersama dengan Gandhi sukses membawa India menuju kemerdekaannya. Meskipun setelah kepergian Gandhi, India berperang melawan Afganistan dalam memperebutkan wilayah Kashmir, yang pada akhirnya nanti malah terjadi peperangan agama antara Islam dan Hindu.
August 7, 2014
Nonviolent Soldier of Islam by Eknath Easwaran:
Badshah Khan & Mahatma Gandhi, Allies in a Revolution of Human Spirit, Pioneers in a Culture of Peace.
Nonviolent Soldier of Islam expands the reader’s horizons and gives him a greater understanding of what Mahatma Gandhi’s meant by nonviolence. Badshah Khan, Ghandi’s close friend and an ethnic Pathan, helped him in India’s struggle for Independence. Incidentally, Pathan’s are those people’s who now occupy Afghanistan, a people that have a deep faith in God and a legendary contempt for fear and cowardice. The book points out that the word nonviolence is really a misnomer and the true term should be transviolence in which the power of passions such as anger, hatred, and fear are reshaped into a potent fighting force. Ghandi coined his own term for it, he called it satuagraha. The word has a double meaning. Satuagraha is the struggle for truth and the force that is generated in that struggle. In no sense does Ghandi’s nonviolence mean passive resistance. Passive resistance has negative energy and is used by those who do not have the courage for violence. Ghandi said, “My creed of nonviolence is an extremely active force,” “It has no room for cowardice or even weakness.” Badshah Kkan’s “Servants of God” exemplified what Ghandi meant by transviolence. Read the book it is enlightening. Today’s Middle East could certainly benefit from Ghandi’s potent ideas.
Badshah Khan & Mahatma Gandhi, Allies in a Revolution of Human Spirit, Pioneers in a Culture of Peace.
Nonviolent Soldier of Islam expands the reader’s horizons and gives him a greater understanding of what Mahatma Gandhi’s meant by nonviolence. Badshah Khan, Ghandi’s close friend and an ethnic Pathan, helped him in India’s struggle for Independence. Incidentally, Pathan’s are those people’s who now occupy Afghanistan, a people that have a deep faith in God and a legendary contempt for fear and cowardice. The book points out that the word nonviolence is really a misnomer and the true term should be transviolence in which the power of passions such as anger, hatred, and fear are reshaped into a potent fighting force. Ghandi coined his own term for it, he called it satuagraha. The word has a double meaning. Satuagraha is the struggle for truth and the force that is generated in that struggle. In no sense does Ghandi’s nonviolence mean passive resistance. Passive resistance has negative energy and is used by those who do not have the courage for violence. Ghandi said, “My creed of nonviolence is an extremely active force,” “It has no room for cowardice or even weakness.” Badshah Kkan’s “Servants of God” exemplified what Ghandi meant by transviolence. Read the book it is enlightening. Today’s Middle East could certainly benefit from Ghandi’s potent ideas.
Want to read
August 23, 2012The many close-minded or uniformed individuals who can see nothing other than Islam as a religion of hate and violence may be quite surprised by the story of Badshah Khan and the Pathan (a cultural group of Islamic individuals mostly in the hills of what now is Pakistan, but was India most of Kahn's life). Khan was a close friend of Gandhi who was a formidable advocate of non-violence in his own right.
The Pathan, Khan's people, were a particularly violent cultural group. Contrary to prejudices, their violent tendencies were cultural, not religious. Khan relied upon deep faith in Islam to develop an Army of non-violent soldiers. Gandhi and Kahn did much work to promote harmony between Islam and Hinduism, which had great success despite a number of failures.
This book tells the life story of Kahn, particularly as it relates to the non-violent resistance that played such an important role in India winning its independence. The story is quite inspiration and enlightening. The readers gets a sense of what it is like to be truly committed to non-violence.
Throughout the book there are many touching stories of the successes and challenges of the non-violent movement. Reader's also get a glimpse into the deep friendship between Gandhi and Kahn. Badshah Khan is an inspiration to Muslims and people from all the major religions.
The Pathan, Khan's people, were a particularly violent cultural group. Contrary to prejudices, their violent tendencies were cultural, not religious. Khan relied upon deep faith in Islam to develop an Army of non-violent soldiers. Gandhi and Kahn did much work to promote harmony between Islam and Hinduism, which had great success despite a number of failures.
This book tells the life story of Kahn, particularly as it relates to the non-violent resistance that played such an important role in India winning its independence. The story is quite inspiration and enlightening. The readers gets a sense of what it is like to be truly committed to non-violence.
Throughout the book there are many touching stories of the successes and challenges of the non-violent movement. Reader's also get a glimpse into the deep friendship between Gandhi and Kahn. Badshah Khan is an inspiration to Muslims and people from all the major religions.
May 22, 2016
the amazing story of a leader in the Pathan warrior tradition who seeks out and is persuaded by Gandhi to embrace nonviolence in his efforts against the British occupation -- he dispels the myths that nonviolence is only for the gentle, or that it has no place in Islam. . .
June 12, 2009
If you're feeling like Islam seems hopelessly mired in fundamentalist violence and intolerance, read this surprising account of a contemporary, friend, and collaborator of Gandhi's, Badshah Khan.
December 31, 2008
Miraculously true story of a Pashtun ally of Mahatma Ghandi; his story is never in the usual history books. Find out why.
November 2, 2011
To all those who when they look at afghanistan, who look at Pakistan and think of nothing but terrorism..this is your answer!
July 25, 2011
This is an amazing biography of a Muslim follower of Gandhi and his efforts to spread non-violent education in Afghanistan.
September 2, 2012
Amazing story of a Muslim man of non-violence who learned from Gandhi and led the formation of a non-violent "army" called the Servants of God in what is now Pakistan.
October 22, 2015
It is a tragedy that the world knows Gandhi's name but doesn't know his Muslim companion Badshah Khan. Read this to correct your deficiency.
October 28, 2013
Terrific story of an inspiring life.
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