Reviews
"Farahnaz Ispahani demonstrates that Pakistan's history is an extended cautionary tale: nations that marginalize their religious minorities commit a kind of slow-motion political suicide. In her powerful and often heart-rending account, politicians, generals, and extremist ideologues conspired in Pakistan's step-by-step religious homogenization almost from the country's birth, ultimately threatening not only religious minorities but the viability of the nation they thought they were 'purifying.'" --Timothy Samuel Shah, Associate Director of the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University "Purifying the Land of the Pure is an essential contribution to the literature on Pakistan, and fills an important gap in helping readers understand Pakistan's treatment of minorities. Ispahani provides a beautifully written and thoroughly researched look at a deeply sad and seemingly intractable political problem." --Stephen P. Cohen, Brookings Institution "Farahnaz Ispahani has written, fearlessly and eruditely, the chronicle of a country destroyed by its own intolerance. Her sobering study of the usurpation of pluralism by fanaticism in Pakistan is a cautionary tale also for other states and societies in which religious zeal is waging war against democratic aspiration. If Pakistan is ever to recover from its descent into extremism and violence, it will require the humane spirit exemplified by this book. Purifying the Land of the Pure is a brave and admirable book by a brave and admirable woman." -- Leon Wieseltier "[Ispahani] has a firm grasp of Pakistan's modern national narrative and keen insight into its intricacies." --Publishers Weekly, "Farahnaz Ispahani demonstrates that Pakistan's history is an extended cautionary tale: nations that marginalize their religious minorities commit a kind of slow-motion political suicide. In her powerful and often heart-rending account, politicians, generals, and extremist ideologues conspired in Pakistan's step-by-step religious homogenization almost from the country's birth, ultimately threatening not only religious minorities but the viability of the nation they thought they were 'purifying.'" --Timothy Samuel Shah, Associate Director of the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University "Purifying the Land of the Pure is an essential contribution to the literature on Pakistan, and fills an important gap in helping readers understand Pakistan's treatment of minorities. Ispahani provides a beautifully written and thoroughly researched look at a deeply sad and seemingly intractable political problem." --Stephen P. Cohen, Brookings Institution "Farahnaz Ispahani has written, fearlessly and eruditely, the chronicle of a country destroyed by its own intolerance. Her sobering study of the usurpation of pluralism by fanaticism in Pakistan is a cautionary tale also for other states and societies in which religious zeal is waging war against democratic aspiration. If Pakistan is ever to recover from its descent into extremism and violence, it will require the humane spirit exemplified by this book. Purifying the Land of the Pure is a brave and admirable book by a brave and admirable woman." -- Leon Wieseltier"[Ispahani] has a firm grasp of Pakistan's modern national narrative and keen insight into its intricacies." --Publishers Weekly, "Farahnaz Ispahani demonstrates that Pakistan's history is an extended cautionary tale: nations that marginalize their religious minorities commit a kind of slow-motion political suicide. In her powerful and often heart-rending account, politicians, generals, and extremist ideologues conspired in Pakistan's step-by-step religious homogenization almost from the country's birth, ultimately threatening not only religious minorities but the viability of the nation they thought they were 'purifying.'" --Timothy Samuel Shah, Associate Director of the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University "Purifying the Land of the Pure is an essential contribution to the literature on Pakistan, and fills an important gap in helping readers understand Pakistan's treatment of minorities. Ispahani provides a beautifully written and thoroughly researched look at a deeply sad and seemingly intractable political problem." --Stephen P. Cohen, Brookings Institution "Farahnaz Ispahani has written, fearlessly and eruditely, the chronicle of a country destroyed by its own intolerance. Her sobering study of the usurpation of pluralism by fanaticism in Pakistan is a cautionary tale also for other states and societies in which religious zeal is waging war against democratic aspiration. If Pakistan is ever to recover from its descent into extremism and violence, it will require the humane spirit exemplified by this book. Purifying the Land of the Pure is a brave and admirable book by a brave and admirable woman." -- Leon Wieseltier, "Farahnaz Ispahani demonstrates that Pakistan's history is an extended cautionary tale: nations that marginalize their religious minorities commit a kind of slow-motion political suicide. In her powerful and often heart-rending account, politicians, generals, and extremist ideologues conspired in Pakistan's step-by-step religious homogenization almost from the country's birth, ultimately threatening not only religious minorities but the viability of the nationthey thought they were 'purifying.'" --Timothy Samuel Shah, Associate Director of the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University"Purifying the Land of the Pure is an essential contribution to the literature on Pakistan, and fills an important gap in helping readers understand Pakistan's treatment of minorities. Ispahani provides a beautifully written and thoroughly researched look at a deeply sad and seemingly intractable political problem." --Stephen P. Cohen, Brookings Institution"Farahnaz Ispahani has written, fearlessly and eruditely, the chronicle of a country destroyed by its own intolerance. Her sobering study of the usurpation of pluralism by fanaticism in Pakistan is a cautionary tale also for other states and societies in which religious zeal is waging war against democratic aspiration. If Pakistan is ever to recover from its descent into extremism and violence, it will require the humane spirit exemplified by this book.Purifying the Land of the Pure is a brave and admirable book by a brave and admirable woman." -- Leon Wieseltier"[Ispahani] has a firm grasp of Pakistan's modern national narrative and keen insight into its intricacies." --Publishers Weekly
