Badshah Khan

As the violent excesses of Islamic extremist groups dominate the media, Heathcote Williams brings us a timely account of another face of Islam – the amazing life of Badshah Abdel Gaffar Khan, who founded a 100,000 man ‘Peace Army’ during India’s 1940s sectarian conflict. A devout and prayerful man, whose legacy as a spiritual guide lives on in the hearts of millions of Moslems, this Pashtun champion of world peace was a close friend of Mahatma Gandhi. BadshahKhna spent much of his life in jail for his political beliefs, and was tortured by the British; yet he lived well into his 90s, tirelessly committed to his ‘jihad’ of peace, kindness and gentleness, which Williams depicts with clarity and passion, deftly employing the sensitive economy of poetry.