The Promise Of Piety By Arsalan Khan

The Promise of Piety: Islam and the Politics of Moral Order in Pakistan by Arsalan Khan is an insightful exploration of how Islamic piety movements shape everyday life, politics, and morality in contemporary Pakistan. Drawing from rich ethnographic research, Khan examines the Tablighi Jamaat—one of the world’s largest Islamic revivalist movements—and highlights how ordinary Muslims seek to transform themselves, their families, and society through practices of piety.

The book goes beyond stereotypes of fundamentalism by showing how devotional practices, religious discourse, and spiritual discipline influence broader debates about politics, citizenship, and modernity. It reflects on the tensions between secular state structures and religious aspirations, making it a crucial contribution to the study of Islam, anthropology, and South Asian politics.

Essential for students of religious studies, anthropology, political science, and Pakistan studies, the book provides a deeply human and nuanced account of faith and its promises in shaping both personal lives and collective futures