Stranger to History: A Son's Journey through Islamic Lands

I enjoyed this book. The author has a flair for description, so you can understand why his other books are novels. I loved his descriptions of people, how in a few short sentences he captured something peculiar and telling about appearances. It always made the book worth reading even in those few parts where it felt a little slow. That said, there is one thing I find hard to believe. How is it that someone growing up in Delhi can know "nothing" of Islam? He makes it seem like he grew up in Fiji or some island where you simply don't come across Muslims or Islam in any meaningful way. But in Delhi, you have mosques, classmates, shopkeepers, monuments, ghazals etc. etc. --- it is a living faith in the full sense of the word, exemplified by places like the Jama Masjid, to name only one. He is not someone who until this trip made at age 25 is naïve, being an intellectual, and so this innocence regarding Islam, the faith of his father, sounds a bit contrived to me, contrived to serve a book's publisher and a plot. In other aspects, however, it is well worth reading, if a bit superficial, at least in its treatment of history, which it could only dabble in given the main thrust and interest the book holds for the reader. The parts relating to his father and extended Pakistani family were the best, and these are artfully interspersed throughout the book. A good read by an objective yet intimate observer.

In a recent review for Poetry Magazine, the poet and journalist Austin Allen asserts that T. S. Eliot’s body of work “entices all of us, even the most Prufrockian schlub, to view history as personal—and to personify it as the source of our daily temptations and frustrations” (September 2015). Aatish Taseer, no schlub, Prufrockian or otherwise, in his 2011 memoir, Stranger to History: A Son’s Journey Through Islamic Lands, nevertheless has written a contemporary substantiation to Allen's claim.Taseer personifies the psychological world he grew up in, Punjabi, India, haunted by its pre-Partition past. A deeply serious person, tall, handsome, engaging, considerate, with an encyclopedic knowledge of Indian languages, culture and history, Taseer’s eyes, even at instances of high – or low – hilarity, are shadowed not only with his own past and its disillusionments, but with disenchantment, sorrow, in what he sees as the cultural fall of a century. He is taken with the idea of the 1947 split of Pakistan from India as a symbol of himself, or perhaps it works the other way around: perhaps he is a symbol of it. His eight-month journey through strongholds of the Islamic world – with only his British passport to defend him - and he dispassionately interviews locals as he goes – begins in Turkey, where politics and faith are purposely, sometimes heedlessly, insensibly divorced, proceeds through Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran, where politics and religion are one, and ends at ailing Pakistan – when he crosses on foot – demonstrating an admirable lack of prudence.Henry James, in his essay "The Art of Fiction,” offers this advice to writers: “Try to be one of the people on whom nothing is lost!” Taseer is not looking for corroboration of a position he already holds, but for understanding of the phenomena he observes, beginning with an alienated Muslim teenager in Britain, and ending with his deceptively unfettered father, the Pakistani businessman and politician who was assassinated by his own bodyguard in 2012: pretzel logic, irrationality, fanaticism, rebellion, and fear, all in relation to a history embattled with the present, a history that is ever eroding from consciousness. Taseer asks, What is the nature and source of this faith that has become, in the modern world, so deeply politicized? What has happened, if they still exist, to cultural Muslims, whom he defines in an article for the Huffington Post, but ends Stranger to History with a sense of separation from, as: “intellectuals, poets, writers [who] took great pride in the challenge that they, as men of learning, were obliged to present to men of faith. Long before dissent and irreverence came to be seen as a Western contamination, they had been an organic part of the Islam of the Indian subcontinent … [and are] now most endangered of endangered creatures: the atheist Muslim. A man, who though not religious, was nonetheless steeped in the culture of Indian Islam; an unbeliever, yes; but, by no means, deracinated … [who] represented a certain intellectual and cultural self-confidence … this kind of man had, in our time, all but disappeared … In a world of ever sharper polarities, the cultural Muslim, around till just the other day, had been edged out; he was, in some respects, the supreme casualty of the age” (November 2012).In the end, however, Taseer feels estranged, and herein is the source for the book’s title, even from this notion of the cultural Muslim. He is caught by conjunctions between Islam and “politics somehow,” a phrase lobbed at him during an interrogation in Iran, a phrase that strikes him as so calculatedly disingenuous that he turns it over and over in his head throughout the center of the book. Islam’s “small and irrelevant rules,” he concludes, “were turned on the people to serve the faith’s political vision. For the faith to remain in power in a complex [modern] society, it had to beat down the bright and rebellious members of that society with its simplicities.”Stranger to History is studded with winning observations. The game of cricket, so popular in the subcontinent, is “a dress rehearsal for war;” Iran’s police state is a “tyranny of trifles;” Punjab, bisected in Partition, retains unity in “language, song, poetry, clan affiliation, and a funereal obsession with certain tragic romances.” Ha.At times, however, Taseer loses track of his readers, his sense of audience, and although he is mostly careful to explain, he occasionally becomes mired in what is obvious to him, and will fall into sentences that are inexplicable: “In the end, the story could only be seen in its context, a vignette in Pakistan’s Hobbesian political life. The extreme shows of defiance – not signing the admission or not paying the ransom – could also come to seem like bravado rather than courage when the people who endured them saw them as training rather than injustice.” It’s these last four words I cannot unpack: training rather than injustice? However, this failure may be my own. Possibly, I just don't get it.But if I am right, abrupt summations like this one are the book’s only flaw. And although its publication was four years ago and concerns a world where there have been marked escalations in the troubles Taseer explores, it is important reading for those of us, West and East, who hope to better understand, and with knowledge become better able to act in ways that will help us circumvent more tragedy.“Decay is real,” Taseer told me in an informal interview, ruing society’s current disengagement with the past. As much as he may see intersection in his own plural history, including disconnection, as an analogy for what is happening in the larger social order, it is no stretch to see ourselves similarly. Our personal memories are shaded by our search for patterns. And the days of our ancestors live inside us, whether we recognize the fact or not.

A father writing a letter to a son expressing his unhappiness over a few things might seem quite normal and insignificant to most of us. However, one such letter triggered a chain of events in which a son traveled thousands of miles, spent more than 200 days in travel, understood what it means to be Muslim in the 21st century and came up with a beautiful book that educates one and all about the lives of the people in the Islamic heartlands of the world. Aatish Taseer, son of Salman Taseer (a politician in Pakistan) & Tavleen Singh (a highly respected journalist from India) had an upbringing that was unique and yeah, as the book says “fractured”. To understand his own religion, he takes up this journey. Well, what are the events that make him take this up ? Read them in the book. He starts in Istanbul, a city that was the citadel of Islam at one point of time, from there he travels to the war-torn Syria, from there to “Mecca” and then to Tehran before going to Pakistan. He also travelled through Yemen and Oman but the book does not cover that part of the journey. The journey was a quest to understand Islam and its followers, in a way the author wishes to find out what it is like to be a Muslim in the 21st century. So throughout the book we see the author interacting with the people and trying to understand the society, the govt and the religion in all the countries. The Government, the religion and the society at large 3 important factors aren’t they ? All these 3 are very important to any common man and how all 3 of them interact with each other is key for us to formulate our perceptions about the world we live in. The author devotes good time in making us understand how govt, society at large & religion are interacting with one another in the heartlands of Islam. This helps us understand the thought-process of the denizens in these lands and we get to see how they react to the seemingly good, bad and ugly things of the world. For example, as we travel to Istanbul with the author, we get to see how an otherwise very moderate and career loving person, an aspirant of higher education, a man who wanted to excel in commerce and markets, become a student of theology and exhibit right leanings, at times his words would sound slightly fearful. We feel pained when he explains that it all happened due to the inherent biases in the system. In Syria, we see how people perceive that news papers in the west are controlled by the State. How, the protests in front of the embassies turn violent and people do not buy the point that in the west, State and fourth estate are different. The author takes us to Abu Nour, a revered place of learning in Syria, where we end up witnessing how historical facts are distorted to suit individual interests and how people end up getting misguided due to the fiery sermons of a select few. To me the author’s stay in Tehran is one of the most interesting episodes in the book. A seasoned man who was part of the Islamic revolution in Iran is now seen lamenting at the state of affairs in the country. According to him , “Under the rule of Shah there was high dose of modernity but people were religious, there were pubs but the mosques too were full. With the modern govt, we see that the govt is enforcing religion but people are moving away from it. The mosques are empty“. This is one of the key takeaways from the book, isn’t it ? One cannot and should not force things on people what happens when you force stuff of people and commit non-religious acts in the name of religion? Well Iran and the angst of the people there serve as the perfect answer. Knowing about “the power of the State” via authors experiences @ Iran is definitely a fantastic reading experience. As we enter Pakistan along with Aatish, we get to see more. The description of Pakistan and the troubles and travails of people there make it a must read. The author takes us to Sind, Lahore and shows us a day in life of the people there. The way the author meets his father and the conversation that follows is something you ought to read. All in all an awesome work, the best part of the book is that it does not criticize the religion. It only depicts how people are viewing it. The State, individuals and groups have their own interests and view points, how does all this effect the commoner? do read the book for the answers. Two key take- aways for me from the book are(i) forcing things on people in the name of religion and adherence might prove disastrous for any nation.(ii) the experiences of people shape their views and hence gross generalizations based on religion are never correct. This book is indeed an eye opener and the readers learn a number of things from Aaatish Taseer’s journey. Aatish might have been a stranger to history some time ago , you will not be one once you read his book. Do pick the book it’s a real good and educating one. You will be happy that you read it.

Brilliant.

It takes a lot of guts to allow the world to look into the very core of you. In this society, where we don't express our feelings honestly due to the fear of being judged and dejected, this writer has shown extraordinary boldness in explaining every personal details, vulnerability of his life keeping his social stand intact. For this reason alone, he should be really congratulated. His writing style is also very interesting. Overall a good read.

STRANGER TO HISTORY – A son’s journey thru Islamic Lands – Aatish TaseerAatish Taseer has an interesting background. Son of Salman Taseer – a Muslim ( the same gentleman who was a Governor in Pakistan and shot dead some 3-4 years ago by his own security detail) and Tavleen Singh –a Sikh (journalist and political Commentator). He grew up in India amongst his Sikh relatives with little or no contact with his biological father till he was in his 20s.This book is his maiden attempt and seemed to have been written when he was in his mid to late 20s. Something tells me that with age and experience, he could be one of India’s greatest writers in the years to come.It is difficult to classify this book into a genre. At one level it is like a travelogue of his journeys to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Syria and Pakistan. At another level it is an intensely personal story of a son estranged from his father and his attempts to reconnect with a rather cold and distant man. Interwoven thru these two stories is his commentary on the young and restless in the Islamic World where faith, religion, state and governance are trying to coalesce and the youth are crying for expression and purpose and integration with the modern world in their lives beyond religion. The struggles of youth in coming to terms in a dynamic and changing world (which seems to be going regressing and going backwards ) and being enforced on the basis of a world order written centuries ago in the 21st century is lucidly detailed.Strongly recommended to all. And also watch out for his newer books.

Excellent narration. Close observation of people. Everyone must read.. I think I too was a stranger to history when I read this beautiful book. Hats off to Aatish Taseer.

The story of Ateesh Taseer was a fascinating mingling of personal history and that of Muslim countries.His writing style is also gripping even though it is so simple.