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Dr. Shaukat Ali was a renowned
scholar and a prolific writer. Many of his books were published
in the USA and Pakistan. We may expect that this work will be in
refreshing contrast to some of the material on this vital
subject, which presents a falsified version of Islam.
On the subject of Islam and the
West, or Islam and the challenge of modernity, several books
have been published representing various shades of opinion. Some
try to reinterpret Islam in the light of western values and
others vice versa. But in this work, Dr. Shaukat Ali adopts an
entirely different approach, the need of the times, which is to
explore Islamic values from an indigenous standpoint. His view
is that it is neither the West, nor the challenge of modernity,
that threatens Islamic principles, but it is something inherent
in Islam itself that enables it to adjust to the changes wrought
by modern challenges. Following in the tradition of Allama
Mohammad Iqbal, poet-philosopher of Pakistan, an effort to meet
modern challenges may be treated not as an effort of getting
closer to western life, but as an effort to get closer to the
original spirit of Islam as manifest in the times of the Holy
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH. This very approach has been carried yet
further by Dr. Shaukat Ali.
In view of the critical nature and
complexity of the relationship between Islam and modernity it is
in the fitness of things to clarify the meaning and definition
of modernity. This volume would help us to understand the need
of modernization and the kind of challenges that are being
encountered by Muslim communities which constitute nearly one
fifth of humanity. Hence, the work can also be of great value
for researchers, teachers and readers. |
Dr. Shaukat Ali, Professor
Emeritus of Political Science at the University of
Massachusetts, Dartmouth, USA, and former Professor of the
Punjab University, visiting scholar at the Civil Services
Academy, NIPA, the Administrative Staff College and author of
several books on Islam, Politics and Pakistan expired in USA on
Friday 3 October 2003.
Dr. Shaukat Ali was born in
Lahore on March 10, 1923. He received his early education in
Dyal Singh School and subsequently did his Bachelors' degree
from Dyal Singh College, Lahore. He got his M.A. Degree in
History in 1947 and received his M.A. in Political Science in
1949. In 1950, he started teaching in Government College Lahore
as a lecturer in Political Science. In 1952, he joined the
department of Political Science, Punjab University as a
permanent member of the faculty. He worked at the Punjab
University till 1970 when he left for USA to work as an
Associate Professor of Political Science at the South-Eastern
Massachusetts University.
During his stay
in the United States, he authored several books and won several
academic awards and was listed among the outstanding Educators
of America in 1974. In recognition of his achievements and
scholarship, the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, USA,
conferred upon him the lifelong rank and status of Professor
Emeritus.
The following
are some of the important books to his credit:
A Trilogy on
the Case Approach; History Social Sciences and Behaviouralism;
Administrative Ethics in a Muslim State:
Politics of Oil in the Middle East; Intellectual Foundations of
Muslim Civilization; Pan-Movements in the Third World, Enduring
Themes in Administration; Corruption: A Third World Perspective;
Masters of Muslim Thought (2 Vols.); Nation Building Development
and Administration:
Contemporary Religious Thought in Islam; Millenarian and
Messianic Tendencies in Islamic History and Pakistan: A
Religio-Political Study.
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