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Dr Irfan Ahmad

Irfan currently teaches

• APG4336 / APG5336- Islam and Modernity
• ATS1355 - Fanatics and Fundamentalists: The Global Politics of Violence
• APG4329 / APG5329 - Political Islam
• APG4338 / APG5338 - Islam in south Asia

Biography

Irfan joined the School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash University as a Lecturer in Politics in March 2009, and is closely associated with the Centre for Islam and the Modern World (CIMOW). Prior to this, he taught anthropology and Muslim sociocultural formations at University of Amsterdam and Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Having earned his doctorate cum laude (from University of Amsterdam) in Anthropology in 2005 November, Irfan won the prestigious Rubicon Grant from Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) to work as a postdoctoral fellow at International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM), Leiden University.

Based on his doctoral dissertation, Irfan’s monograph Islamism and Democracy in India (published from the Princeton University Press) depicts the mutation of the Indian Islamist politics represented by Jamaat-e-Islami and Student Islamic Movement of India. By focusing on Islamism in South Asia (unlike in the Middle-East), this monograph does not only make a shift in the spatial imagination. Rather it raises different theoretical questions to deepen our understanding of politics and religious imagination. It invites us to rethink the complex interrelationships amongst the state, religion, modernity, pluralism, secular democracy, minority identity and radicalism. Islamism and Democracy in India, in the words of one editorial reviewers, “is the most important book written on Muslims in India in the last three decades”. The monograph skillfully combines the traditions of anthropology, Islamic studies and social movement studies. The South Asian edition of the book is published by Permanent Black, New Delhi, in the Indian Century Series. Read the author’s interview about the book published in The Hindu, Metro Plus New Delhi. February 08, 2010. Islamism and Democracy in India was short-listed for the International Convention of Asia Scholars (2011) Book Prize for the best study in the field of Social Sciences. The Turkish edition will be published in the middle of 2012.

Irfan’s postdoctoral research engages with the practices of critique in the contemporary Islamic movements and societies. Taking such practices as “immanent critique”, this project aims at unpacking the meanings, motives and effects of immanent critique in the Islamic traditions. In November, 2008, Irfan convened an international workshop on the theme of his postdoctoral research. Titled “Understanding Immanent Critique: Cultural Politics and Islamic Activism”, its aim was to map out the efficacy of the term “immanent critique” to understand the dynamics of Muslim cultures and societies in their diverse milieus –in Muslim-majority as well as Muslim-minority contexts. Two articles from this project have appeared in the journals Anthropological Theory and Modern Asian Studies. Irfan is writing a book manuscript based on this project.

For the next few years, Irfan’s research will focus on anthropological exploration of the premises and the working of liberalism, nationalism, theory and practices of democracy, the media, the subalternated collectivities and diverse forms of collective actions (social movements). In particular, Irfan is interested in the relationships between the media, terrorism and democracy. Through an in-depth examination of Indian Muslims, he aims to develop a comparative framework of understanding the religious and political life of Muslims minorities in South Asia and the West. A pivotal question for Irfan is how the figure of minority is fashioned and how this figure negotiates its identity in liberal, secular democratic nation-states such as those in the West and in India. The larger aim of this research is to attempt to offer a fresh framework of unraveling the workings and premises of the conjunctions amongst democracy, the media, nation and liberalism.

Irfan is particularly keen on supervising projects that broadly converge with his research interests.
Along with his academic research, Irfan also contributes to debates about contemporary issues in popular media. His articles have appeared in leading newspapers and magazine such as Al-Jazeera, The Times of India, The Pioneer, Himal: South Asian Magazine, Business Today, Mainstream, Radical Humanist, The Third Concept etc. Both English and non-English media (print as well as visual) have interviewed Irfan: Aksiyon: Haftalik Haber Dergisi(a Turkish weekly magazine), People TV, an important Indian TV channel, Filosofie (Dutch magazine of Philosophy), The Hindu, a leading Indian newspaper, The Caravan: A Journal of Politics and Culture, Dogudan, a Turkish journal, Hindustan (a leading Hindi newspaper), Tehelka the People’s Paper (an English Weekly from Delhi), and NRC Handelsblad (a leading Dutch newspaper).  Previously, he also wrote for a variety of Urdu media such as The Chhaon, Gulabi Kiran, Qaumi Tanzeem, Qaumi Awaaz, Rashtriya Sahara, Sangam, Sadaa-e-Aam etc. Two of his interviews about Secularism and the Gender Question are available on Youtube.

Irfan is the Reviews Editor of South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, and a member of its Editorial Committee. He is a member of Australia’s South Asian Studies Association. He is also the Associate Editor of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations (both from Taylor and Francis). In 2011, he was a Visiting Fellow, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Göttingen, Germany.

Qualifications

Ph.D. (cum laude)	2005	University of Amsterdam
M.Phil.	1999	Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
M.A.	1996	Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
BA (Hons.)	1994	Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
Matriculation	1988	Nawab Singh Uchchya Vidalaya, Sheoher, Bihar, India
Primary School	1979-83	Madrasa Islamia Arabia (Islamic Seminary), Dumri, Bihar

Research Interests

Social-cultural and Political Anthropology
Social Theories, Cultural Criticism
Democracy, the Media and Violence
Culture, Religion and Politics of Modern South Asia (especially postcolonial India)
Nationalism and Transnationalism
Islam, Muslim Sociocultural Formations
Intellectual History, Social Movements
Literature (Urdu) and Society

Publications

Book

Ahmad, Irfan. 2009. Islamism and Democracy in India: The Transformation of Jamaat-e-Islami. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

It was short-listed for the International Convention of Asia Scholars (2011) Book Prize for the best study in the field of Social Sciences.

The South Asian edition of the book is published by Permanent Black, New Delhi, in the Indian Century Series. The Açilim Kitap, Istanbul, will publish a Turkish edition of Islamism and Democracy in India in 2012. 

Reviews

“This is a major book”. – Francis Robinson,
Royal Holloway, University of London, and Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
 “Ahmad’s timely and important book… intervenes…with an unexpected and inspiring conclusion” and makes “impressive contribution…to…discussions concerning Islam and secularism in both the north and the south”. –American Anthropologist

It is an “illuminating book” with a “brilliant combination of microlevel ethnography and macrolevel Indian history” and “as a contribution to the literature on Islamism, secularism, and democracy, this book stands out as a fascinating political ethnography”. – American Ethnologist

“Ahmad’s book is an impressive analytical achievement, a convincing argument for
differentiation, and a well-written and accessible read”. – Contemporary South Asia

“It [Islamism and Democracy in India] is a seminal contribution to understanding the dynamics of Muslim politics…. The research is original, the style is lucid, and the narrative is absorbing.  … [I]t is a tremendous achievement. –Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs

“His “[Ahmad’s] work is finely crafted, eloquently argued and conceptually finessed”.
Dipnakar Gupta, in Biblio: A Review of Book

“The perspectives and arguments presented in this book surpass those previously published on the traditions and modernity of Islamism. Ahmad’s examination demonstrates one of the most fundamentally important aspects of Islamic dynamism…While a constellation of volumes exist on the nature of Islamism and the contemporary world, Irfan Ahmad’s examination is a successful addition by way of its intellectual precision [and] innovative analysis…”        Central European Journal of International and Security Studies  

“Irfan Ahmad’s Islamism and Democracy in India is an engaging exploration of the heartland of Jamaat-e-Islami in India… His lucidly written account takes us with him on his adventures in the field and brings us into an otherwise inaccessible world”. – Australian Book Review

“Among the recent works done [on this theme], this anthropological study is a milestone. On India, this is the first study of its kind which offers a firm foundation for future researchers”.   –‘ālami sahārā (Urdu), February 2011

“Ahmad has enriched Islamism and Democracy in India with an incredible amount of scholarship in his analysis of the incontrovertible distinction between Jamaat-e- slami’s moderation and SIMI’s radicalization….The currency of Ahmad’s erudition crystallizes the need to examine this question more broadly in the context of international policy”.
– Digest of Middle East Studies

"This is an outstanding historical and ethnographic account of one of the most influential Islamist movements in South Asia....It is essential reading for political scientists, sociologists, anthropologists, historians, and students of Islam." – Peter van der Veer, author of Imperial Encounters

“[T]his important book has earned much interest not only in India, as it somehow puts an end to the frequently asked question: Can Islam and democracy co-exist…?” – Nina zu Fürstenberg

“He [Irfan Ahmad] scoffs at established traditions, and questions common perceptions… He brings a different perspective, whether he is analysing attacks on Indians Down Under or writing about evolution of Jamaat-e-Islami”. – The Hindu

“This is the most important book written on Muslims in India in the last three decades. Ahmad traces the incremental shift of most adherents of Jamaat-e-Islami to moderation and participation in Indian democracy, showing that from its inception the movement has been thoroughly modern. He deals with an aspect of India that is frequently neglected and engages the main debates concerning the relation of Islam to democracy.” – Dale F. Eickelman, Dartmouth College

“This is an important and valuable contribution to our understanding of Muslim societies, providing us with a window into Indian Islamism by skillfully weaving politics, anthropology, and religion in innovative and insightful ways. What Ahmad shows is that Islamism in India has moved far beyond its founding discourses and invectives against secularism and democracy. This ethnography makes the material come alive and gives depth and context to the issues.” –Ebrahim Moosa, Duke University

“Islamism and Democracy in India is a work of thorough research and rigorous analysis…. It is by far the best book on Jamaat-e-Islami; thorough, courageous and honest”. – Frontline

“Irfan Ahmad's book could not be more timely or important. At a time when clichés about "Islamists" and "Islamic terrorists" abound, he demonstrates the ideological transformation of one of the twentieth century's most important Islamist movements, India's Jamaat-e-Islami, in support of active participation in a secular, plural democracy. Ahmad's work is essential reading not only for scholars, but for policymakers and concerned citizens alike." –Barbara D. Metcalf, University of Michigan

“It is abrilliant exposition of ideological and practical dilemmas faced by the Jama’at… I congratulate Irfan Ahmad for doing this study with diligence and objectivity expected of an honest scholar”. – Asghar Ali Engineer

“This is the work of a young scholar, who has read widely in intellectual history, political sociology, and cultural anthropology. Ahmad displays an enviable ability to synthesize the approaches and findings of these varied disciplines. … [T]his impressive first book adds enormously to our knowledge and understanding of this country’s largest and most vulnerable minority. … After reading this book, no one should ever be seen speaking or thinking in terms of the ‘putative fixity of Islamism’”. – Ramchandra Guha and Sunil Khilnani

“[T]his well-crafted study will be of great interest to scholars, students of Islam, and policymakers. – Choice

“Part of the importance of this book is its deconstruction of the idea that Islamist groups oppose secularism and democracy. …Islamism and Democracy in India addresses some key conceptual and methodological shortcomings in the literature on the subject. …The book should be read by those interested in political Islam not only in the context of international relations and security but also by scholars and students of political anthropology and the study of social movements”. – Journal of Sociology

“It is social science research at its best”. – TwoCircles.net.

“[Islamism and Democracy in India] quite stridently questions the conventional ways of dealing with the socio-political life of India’s Muslims …to offer an argument, which simply goes beyond the ‘fixed’ images of Muslim politics and for that matter ‘Islamism’….  [It] gives a new direction to the intellectual tradition established by Mohammad Mujib, Aziz Ahamd, T.N. Madan, Imtiaz Ahmad and Mushirul Hasan”. – South Asian History and Culture

Islamism and Democracy in India has earned highly favorable reviews (in English, French, Hindi, Malayalam & Urdu) in prestigious journals as well as semi- and non-academic media. Below is an incomplete list:

1. American Anthropologist (March 2011)
2. American Ethnologist (May 2011)
3. Anthropology Review Database
4. Australian Book Review (October 2010)
5. ‘Alami Sahara (in Urdu, 5 February 2011)    
6. Biblio: A Review of Books (December 2010)
7. Central European Journal of International and Security Studies
8. Choice (May 2010)
9. Contemporary South Asia (June 2011)
10. The Dawn (23 January 2011)
11. Digest of Middle East Studies (Spring 2011) 
12. Foreign Affairs (Capsule Rev. June 2010)
13. Frontline (12 March 2010)
14. Weekly Humshehri (2011, in Urdu)
15. International Journal of Middle East Studies (February 2011)
16. Journal for Islamic Studies (Oct. 2010)
17. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs (June 2010)  
18. Journal of Sociology (2010/2)
19. La Vie des idées (in French, April 2010)
20. Nai Dunia (in Hindi, 3 August 2010)
21. Parbodhnam (in Malayalam, 2010) 
22. www.resetdoc.org (May 2010)
23. Revue des mondes musulmans…(May 2011)
24. Secular Perspective (November 2010)
25. Seminar (December 2010)
26. South Asia (December 2010)
27. South Asian History and Culture (July 2010)
28. Twocircles.net (June 2010)
29. Islamism and Democracy in India has also been discussed in blogs, online discussions and other genres.  

Journal Articles

Ahmad, Irfan. 2012. “Theorizing Islamism and Democracy: Jamaat-e-Islami in India”. Citizenship Studies. 16(7):

Ahmad, Irfan. 2011a. “The Categorical Revolution: Democratic Uprising in the Middle East”. Economic and Political Weekly. 46(45): 30 – 35.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2011b. “Democracy and Islam”. Philosophy and Social Criticism. 37(4): 459 –470.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2011c. “Immanent Critique and Islam: Anthropological Reflections”. Anthropological Theory. 11(1): 107– 132.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2010. “Is There an Ethics of Terrorism? Islam, Globalisation, Militancy –Review Essay”. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 33(3): 487–498.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2009a. “Genealogy of the Islamic State: Reflections on Maududi’s Political Thought and Islamism”. Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute (NS) 15: S145– S162.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2009b. “The Secular State and the Geography of Radicalism”. Economic and Political Weekly. XLIV(23): 33– 38.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2008. “Cracks in the ‘Mightiest Fortress’: Jamaat-e-Islami’s Changing Discourse on Women”. Modern Asian Studies 42(2&3): 549–575.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2006. “The State in Islamist Thought”. ISIM Review. 18 (Autumn): 12-13. Reproduced in WLUML Dossier 28 (December 2006): 35– 39.

Ahmad, Irfan.  2005. “Between Moderation and Radicalization: Transnational Interactions of Jamaat-e-Islami of India”. Global Networks: A Journal of Transnational Affairs. 5(3): 279– 299.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2003a. “A Different Jihad: Dalit Muslims’ Challenge to Ashraf Hegemony”. Economic and Political Weekly. 38 (46): 4886– 91.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2003b. “India-Pakistan: Friendship as Enmity”. Economic and Political Weekly. 38 (31): 3231– 3233.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2002. “Timothy McVeighs of the Orient”. Economic and Political Weekly. 37 (15): 1399– 1400.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2001. “In Memoriam: Ali Sardar Jafri (1913-2000)”. The Annual of Urdu Studies. No.16: 405– 408. Reproduced from Seminar 2000, 494.

Book Chapters

Ahmad, Irfan. 2012a. “Cracks in the ‘Mightiest Fortress’: Jamaat-e-Islami’s Changing Discourse on Women”. In. Filippo Osella (ed). Islamic Reformism in South Asia. Delhi: Cambridge University Press.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2012b. “The Revolt of the Young: An Essay on Revolting Injustice”. In. Benjamin Soares and Adeline Masquelier (eds). The 9/11 Generation: Young Muslims in the New World Order. Santa Fe: SAR Press.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2010. “Genealogy of the Islamic State: Reflections on Maududi’s Political Thought and Islamism”. In. Filippo Osella and Benjamin Soares (eds). Islam, Politics and Anthropology. MA: Wiley-Blackwell and Royal Anthropological Institute. 138-55.

Ahmad, Irfan.  2009. “The Indian Jamaat-e-Islami Reconsiders Secular Democracy” In. Barbara D. Metcalf (ed.). Islam in South Asia in Practice: Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press: 447–456

Ahmad, Irfan.  2008. “Power, Purity and the Vanguard: Educational Ideology of the Jamaat-e-Islami of India”. In. Jamal Malik (ed.). Madrasas in South Asia: Teaching Terror? London: Routledge: 142– 164.

Ahmad, Irfan.  2004. “The Jewish Hand: The Response of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind”. In. Peter Van der Veer and Shoma Munshi (eds) Media, War and Terrorism: Responses from the Middle East and Asia. London and New York: Routledge Curzon: 137– 154.

Entries in Encyclopaedia

Ahmad, Irfan. 2012a. “Aligarh”. In. Gerhard Böwering, Patricia Crone, Wadad Kadi, Devine Stewart, Muhammad Qasim Zaman (eds). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2012b. “Mawdudi, Syed Abul Ala -1903-1979”. In. G. Böwering, P. Crone, W. Kadi, D. Stewart, and Qasim Zaman (eds). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2012c. “Jamaat-e-Islami”. In. Gerhard Böwering, Patricia Crone, Wadad Kadi, Devin Stewart, and Qasim Zaman (eds). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2012d. “Sir Syed Ahmad Khan”. In. G. Böwering, P. Crone, W. Kadi, D. Stewart, and Qasim Zaman (eds). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Selected Articles in Semi-Academic Journals and Internet

Ahmad, Irfan. 2008. “ ‘The Society of Suspicion’ and Anthropological Ethics”. Website of Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and Commonwealth,

February 04. http://blog.theasa.org/?p=49

Ahmad, Irfan. 2001a. “Bhutan’s Struggle for Democracy”. Radical Humanist. 64(10): 9-10.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2001b. “Communication”. Seminar. 498: 59– 62.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1999a. “RSS Versus the Jamaat”. World Focus. 232: 16– 19.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1999b. “Contextualizing Vande Matram”.Manushi: A Journal about Women and Society. 111: 29– 30.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1997. “Emergence of Sociology and its Relationship with Social Sciences”. Employment News. 22: 1– 2.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1996a. “Communication”. Seminar. 438: 66– 67.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1996b. “UN at Fifty”. Third Concept. 107: 13– 15.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1995. “Looking for the End of the Tunnel”. Social Reality. 1(2): 64– 66.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1994. “Population and Development”. Mainstream. 32(43): 11– 13.

Articles in Magazines and Newspapers

Ahmad, Irfan. 2011. “The (In)visible in Indian Terrorism”. Al-Jazeera (English) 16 September. 

Ahmad, Irfan. 2006a. “Don’t Blame SIMI”. The Times of India. Edit Page. New Delhi. September 25.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2006b. “Freedom from Bigotry”. The Times of India. Edit Page. New Delhi. February 21.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2000. “Mera India/ Bharat Mahaan”. Business Today. January 7: 30– 31.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1999. “Private Armies Ruling the Roost”. The Pioneer. February 1.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1998a. “Global Bully in Washington”. The Pioneer. New Delhi. September 6.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1998b. “Only the Legacy Remains”. Himal: South Asian Magazine. 11(2): 31– 33.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1998c. “Muslim Votes and BJP’s Dilemma”. The Pioneer. New Delhi. February 20.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1997. “A New Agenda for Muslim Radicals”. The Times of India. Edit Page. New Delhi. April 1.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1996a. “Cricket and Suicide”. The Times of India. Edit Page. New Delhi. April 9.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1996b. “The Ethics of a Beauty Contest”. The Pioneer. Delhi. November 6.

Conference Reports

Ahmad, Irfan. 2007. “Abdulkader Tayob’s Farewell Conference”. African Association for the Study of Religions Bulletin. May-November: 15– 17.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2000. “Across the Seas”. India International Center Diary. April-May: 4– 5.

Articles in Urdu Magazines and Newspapers

Ahmad, Irfan. 2000. “Kashmir aur Musalmaanon ka Mustaqbil”. Rashtriya Sahara (New Delhi). September 11. Edit Page.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1994. “Deen aur Seyaasat”. The Qaumi Tanzeem (Patna). January 20. Edit Page.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1992. “Ahle Jamia ke Naam Khat”. The Qaumi Awaaz (New Delhi). May 22.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1991a. “Faiz ki Shaaeri mein Insaan Dosti ka Paigham”. Gulabi Kiran (Delhi). July: 7– 8.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1991b. “Bangladesh aur Jamhooriat”. The Sadaa-e-Aam (Patna). January 30.

Ahmad, Irfan. 1989. “ Nehru aur Qaumi Yekjehti”. The Chhaon (New Delhi). November: 42– 44.

Reviews

Ahmad, Irfan. 2011. “Haunting the West: Plural Narratives of a Singular Figure” (J. Brockopp, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Muhammad). Australian Book Review.  March. 56–7.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2010. “Unfinished Modernity” (Abdulkader Tayob’s Religion in Modern Islamic Discourse). Biblio: A Review of Books. November-December: 23–4.

Ahmad, Irfan.  2004. “Agency Denied” (Review of Padma M. Sarangapani’s Constructing School Knowledge: Ethnography of Learning in an Indian Village. International Institute of Asian Studies Newsletter. November: 35.

Ahmad, Irfan.  2001a. “Is Islam Anti-Modern?”(Review of Bruce Lawrence’s Shattering the Myth: Islam Beyond Violence. Biblio: A Review of Books: 6(9&10): 10– 11.

Ahmad, Irfan.  2001b. Review of T. Mitchell (ed.) Questions of Modernity. Anthropological Review Database. July 12. Electronic Document. http://wings.buffalo.edu/ARD/showme.cgi?keycode=1473

Ahmad, Irfan.  2000. Review of J. Markoff’s Waves of Democracy. Contributions to Indian Sociology (n.s.). 34 (1): 143.

Ahmad, Irfan.  1999. “Beyond Citizenship: Construing Culture and Power” (Review of T. K. Oommen’s Citizenship, Nationality and Ethnicity: Reconciling Competing Identities). Mainstream. 37(11): 31– 32.

Ahmad, Irfan.  1997. “Demystifying the Nation and Nationalism” (Review of G. Aloysius’ Nationalism Without a Nation in India). Mainstream. 35(41): 30– 33.

Interviews

Ahmad, Irfan.  2010a. Interview with BBC (Urdu), broadcast during night on 20 December, 2010.

Ahmad, Irfan.  2010b. Interview with ResetDoc’s Nicolai Eberth “Secularizing Secularism”, available on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjQOdUUvTww

Ahmad, Irfan. 2010c. Interview with ResetDoc’s Nicolai Eberth “The Struggle of Modern Muslim Women for a Fair, Equalitarian Understanding of Islam”. http://www.resetdoc.org/stories/index/00000000145

Ahmad, Irfan. 2010d. “Gandi için siyaset araçtı, amaç değil”. Aksiyon: Haftalik Haber Dergisi. May 30.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2010e. 30-minute interview for People TV, India, with V. Ramakrishnan on my book for “Walk the Talk” program. Telecast on 20 February, Saturday.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2010f. “A Prism is His Own”. The Hindu, Metro Plus. New Delhi. February 08. P. 1. Interview about my book Islamism and Democracy in India. 

Ahmad, Irfan. 2009. “Hindistan Musluman larinin Turkiye Algisi Uzerine”. Dogudan. 2(9): 76–93. In Turkish.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2008. “Westers Verzet in Een Islamitische Jasje”. Filosofie. January: 14–17. In Dutch.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2007. “Need to Understand the Internal Openness”. Hindustan (a leading Hindi newspaper) New Delhi. July 21.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2006. “7/11 Terror Trial: The Flaming Cog in a Big Design”? Tehelka the People’s Paper (an English Weekly) New Delhi. July 29.

Ahmad, Irfan. 2005. “Democratie als Geschenk van Allah (Democracy is the Gift of Allah)”. NRC Handelsblad. Rotterdam, The Netherlands. November 29 (in Dutch). 

Selected Conference/Workshop Papers

November 23 2011
“How Not to Talk About Secularism and Islam”. Paper at the conference Ethics in a Multi-Faith Society: Muslims and Christians in Dialogue, held at and organized byAustralian Catholic University, and Australian Intercultural Society, Melbourne  

October 20 2011
“Anthropology of Nationalism, Nationalism of Anthropology: Notes on the Idea and Practice of Indian Anthropology”. Anthropology Colloquium, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

September 27-28, 2011
“Kafka in India: A Short Essay on Three Big Ts –Terrorism, Treason, Technology”. Paper at the conference Islam in Modern South Asia organized by Institute of South Asian Studies, Singapore.

September 16, 2011
“Re-theorizing Democracy and Islam”. Public lecture at Centre for the Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies, University of Western Sydney, Australia.

June 16-17, 2011
“In Defense of Ho(s)tel: Islamophobia, Domophilia and the West”, paper at Globalization, Illiberalism, the West and Islamconference, Monash University Prato Campus, Italy.

April 28-30, 2011
“De-Democratization in Muslim Societies”. Paper at the conference Spirited Voices from the Muslim World: Islam, Democracy, Gender Rights, University of Sydney, Australia.

April 2-8, 2011
“The Revolt of the Young: An Essay on Revolting Injustice”. Paper at the advanced seminar The 9/11 Generation: Young Muslims in New World Order, SAR, New Mexico, USA.

December 18-19 2010
“Democracy, Theo-democracy, Nation: Re-reading Maududi and  Jamaat-e-Islami”. Paper at Transcending Binaries: Conference on Islam & Politics in South Asia. Dhaka, Bangladesh. 

October 27, 2010
“Islam and Democracy: Some Anthropological Reflections”. Paper at Australian National University. Department of Anthropology.

July -05-08, 2010
“Writing Anthropology of India: Notes on Methodological Nationalism”. Paper at the 18th Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia, University of Adelaide, South Australia.

May 19-24, 2010
“Islam and Democracy: Some Anthropological Reflections”. Paper at the conference Realigning Liberalism: Pluralism, Integration and Identities organized under the banner “Philosophers Bridge the Bosphorous” by Reset Dialogue on Civilizations, Istanbul Bilgi University, Istanbul.

March 22-23, 2010
“Writing Anthropology of India: Preliminary Notes on Methodological Nationalism”. Paper at the workshop Studying Spaces of Non-Existence: Methodological Concerns, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia

February 11, 2010
Ahmad, Irfan. "Culture and Critique”. Seminar at the Centre for the Study of Social System, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

December 2-6 2009
Ahmad, Irfan. “An Outline of Abul Kalam Azad’s Cosmopolitan Theology”, 108th Annual Conference of American Anthropological Association, Philadelphia; Panel on Muslim Cosmopolitanism and the End/s of Secularism? Movement, Identity, and Contemporary Reconfigurations.

December 01, 2009
Ahmad, Irfan. "Islam and Democracy in India: Some Anthropological Reflections". Michigan State University, Lansing, USA. Invited Talk based on my book Islamism and Democracy in India.

July-18-19, 2009
Ahmad, Irfan. "In Defense of Hotel: Notes on Why Islamophobia Should Be Read as Homephilia". Conference on Islamophobia: Fear of the Other. Monash University, Melbourne.

November 28-29 2008
Ahmad, Irfan. “Outline of a Theory of Immanent Critique”. International Workshop on “Understanding Immanent Critique: Cultural Politics and Islamic Activism”, Leiden, The Netherlands

July 9-11 2008
Ahmad, Irfan. “Genealogy of the Islamic State: Reflections on Maududi’s Political Thought and Islamism”, 20th European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies, Manchester, UK

October 19-20 2007
Ahmad, Irfan. “The Show Boy, Hindus’ Imam, an Apostate, or a Nationalist? A Preliminary Outline of Abulkalam Azad’s Cosmopolitan Theology”. Contemporary Muslim Cosmopolitanisms Conference, Cambridge University.

September 06 2007
Ahmad, Irfan. “How Practice Transforms Theory: Immanent Critique and Jamaat-e-Islami’s Changing Discourse”. Weekly seminar at Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

May 25 2007
Ahmad, Irfan. “Genealogy of the Islamic State: Reflections on Maududi’s Political Thought and Islamism”, Conference on Cool Passion: The Political Theology of Conviction, University of Amsterdam.

December 01 2006
Ahmad, Irfan. “Cracks in the ‘Fort of Islamic Culture’: Jamaat-e-Islami’s Changing Discourse on Women”, South Asia Seminar, Department of Anthropology, University of Sussex, UK.

November 15 2006
Ahmad, Irfan. “Cracks in the ‘Fort of Islamic Culture’: Jamaat-e-Islami’s Changing Discourse on Women”, 105th Annual Conference of American Anthropological Association, San Jose, California; Panel on Islam, Politics and Modernity: Anthropological Perspectives.

October 13-15 2006
Ahmad, Irfan. “ ‘If We Don’t …Wage Jihad, What Will We Do?’ Explaining Radicalization of Young Islamists in India”, Conference on Youth and the Global South: Religion, Politics and the Making of Youth in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, Dakar, Senegal.

April 6-9 2006
Ahmad, Irfan. “Erosion of Secularism and Explosion of Jihad: Explaining Islamist Radicalization in India”, Panel on “Ideology of Transformation, Transformation of Ideology: The Many Faces of the Jamaat-e-Islami in South Asia” for Conference of the Association for Asian Studies, San Francisco.

February 20 2006
Ahmad, Irfan. “Is Genre Sovereign: Poetry and Limits of Islamism?” Public Culture Colloquium, Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin.

May 26-27 2005
Ahmad, Irfan. “Between Moderation and Radicalization: Transnational Interactions of Jamaat-e-Islami of India”, Workshop on Islamic Reform Movements in South Asia, SOAS, University of London.

May 19-21 2005
Ahmad, Irfan. “Familiar Discourse in an Unfamiliar World: Conflict, Protest and Democratization in a Tahriki Madrasa of North India”, International Workshop on Islamic Learning in South Asia, Erfurt University, Germany.

October 25 004
Ahmad, Irfan. “Should Ideology Remain an Orphan in Movement Theories: Ideological Mutation and Islamist Movement in India?”  Workshop with James Jasper on Protest: Theory and Practice after the Paradigms, ASSR, University of Amsterdam.

November 21 2003
Ahmad, Irfan. “ ‘Ninety Nine Percent Individuals of this Qaum are Ignorant of Islam, Ninety Five Percent Are Deviant...’ Discourse of Purity and Purity of Discourse”, Dutch Anthropological Association Conference, 105th year, Leiden. Panel: Postcoloniality and the Search for Purity.

May 6 2003
Ahmad, Irfan. “Understanding Religious Nationalist Movement in India: How (Ir)relevant is the Contentious Politics Model”, Workshop with Sidney Tarrow on Contentious Politics: Identity, Mobilization and Transnational Politics, University of Amsterdam. 

July 15-28 2001 
Ahmad, Irfan. “Mapping Religious Nationalism: The Jamaat-e-Islami in India”, Summer Institute Workshop on Public Spheres and Muslim Identities, Wissenschaftskolleg Zu, Berlin.

May 28 2001  
“Politicize Islam, Islamize Politics: Electoral Process and the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind”, Conference on Cultures of Voting held at Centre d’Etudes et de Recherché Internationales, Paris.

Research/Workshop Grants

Awarded grants (in 2008) to organize an international workshop “Understanding Immanent Critique: Cultural Politics and Islamic Activism”, from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, The Netherlands, Forum, an important Dutch non-governmental organization, and Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development, a key Dutch organization for intercultural exchange

Awarded Rubicon Grant (in 2006) by Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research for Postdoctoral Research

Awarded Full Doctoral Fellowship (in 2000) by the University of Amsterdam

Postgraduate Supervision

PhD Candidates currently being supervised
Student	Topic	Supervisor/s
Kim Chan	Contrasts in Development: China and India, 1950 – 1980	Main Supervisor: Dr. Irfan Ahmad Associate Supervisor Dr. Warren Sun
Ayse Guc	Socio-Anthropological Analysis of Intercultural Dialogue, Merdin	Associate Supervisor: Dr. Irfan Ahmad Main Supervisor: Dr. Ismail Albayrak, Co-supervisor: Dr. Marian de Souza
Mahsheed Ansari	Prophethood and The Prophet: A Critical Study of Muhammad Iqbal and Said Nursi	Main Supervisor: Dr. Slaih Yucel Associate Supervisor: Dr. Irfan Ahmad
Usep Abdul Matin	The Use of Hadith Literature by Traditional Islamic Intellectuals in Indonesia	Dr. Irfan Ahmad/Prof Greg Barton / Dr Julian Millie
Michele Huppert	Religious Fundamentalisms in the 21st Century: Solutions to the Problems of Identity in a Globalised World?	Main Supervisor: Dr. Michael Janover Co-Supervisor: Dr. Irfan Ahmad
Cemen Polat	The Gulen Movement’s Educational Philanthropy: Schools as Social Business Enterprises	Main Supervisor: Prof Greg Barton Co-Supervisor: Dr. Irfan Ahmad
MR Mark Stone	Neither Shall They Grieve: A Study of the Spiritual Basis of Islamic Pluralism	Main Supervisor: Dr. Slaih Yucel Associate Supervisor: Dr. Irfan Ahmad
Amrah Abdul Majid	Islamic Rituals and Practices in the Novels by Muslim Women Writers in the West: Agency, Resistance and Hybridity	Main Supervisor: Dr. Faridullah Bezhan Associate Supervisor: Dr. Irfan Ahmad

MA Candidates currently being supervised
Student	Topic	Supervisor/s
Trevor Walsh	Yoga In Melbourne! How is This Possible?	Main Supervisor: Dr. Irfan Ahmad Associate Supervisor: Dr Wendy Smith
Jonathan Major	The Great Powers and the Islamic World: The Husayn/McMahon Correspondence, 1915	Main Supervisor: Dr. Irfan Ahmad

Honours and MA Dissertation Candidates (completed)
Student	Topic	Level
Sinem Doyran	(Re)presenting Islam: A Critical Analysis of Australian Discourses after 9/11	MA Major
Reem Hakem	For Love of Islam or Nation? The Shaping of Multi-Identity for Muslims in the West	MA Minor
Damien Lewis	The Significance of Cyber Terrorism: A Case Study of Stuxnet	MA Minor
Nicholas Newland	The Conquering Charismatics: Charismatic Leadership and Dynastic Rule in Postcolonial South Asia	Honours
Nicholas Burris	Islam and the Dynamics of Global Politics: Contextualizing the Radicalization of Lal Masjid, Pakistan	Honours
Arthur Lau	The Kashmir Conflict: Media’s Portrayal Before and After 9/11	Honours

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