Additional information
by John Butt (Author)
John Butt came to Swat in 1970 as a young man in search of an education he couldn't get from his birthplace in England. He travels around the region, first only with friends from his home country, but as he befriends the locals and starts to learn about their culture and life, he soon finds his heart turning irrevocably Pashtoon. Containing anecdotes from his life both before and since he shifted to Afghanistan, and with a keen and optimistic attitude towards becoming the best version of himself, John Butt tells a wonderful and heartfelt tale of a man who finds a home in the most unexpected place.
Back Jacket
I learnt a great deal from A Talib's Tale about Islam, Afghanistan and Pakistan. I am full of admiration for the writer's ability to fit into Pathan society. For his perseverance in studying Islam and his deep faith. i do hope that the book will get a wide readership because there is such a crying need for sympathetic interpretation of Islam. - Mark Tully, former BBC South Asia correspondent. The broad appeal of this book makes it an enticing text. It is not academic, yet insightful, and should be read by journalists and policy-makers...... Butt's honesty avoids the pitfalls of romanticising his experiences of Afghan society or the Deoband madrasa. This book is a deeply sympathetic, frank and funny account of a seriously important part of the world. - Dr.Haroon Sidat, Islam-UK Centre at Cardiff University. Fascinating from start to finish! A must read, especially if you're Pathan! - Wijhah Initiative, Cambridge, Ontario
Author Biography
John Butt was born in Trinidad in 1950. At the age of nine, he came to boarding school in England. His restless spirit did not settle down to life in England and in 1969, he took the hippie trail to India. In the Pashtoon border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, he converted to Islam and started a second education, as a traditional talib--student of Islam. Having become the first European to qualify from Darul Uloom Deoband--the pre-eminent institute of Islamic learning in South Asia--he later became a well-known broadcaster in his adopted Pashto language. He was renowned as the Man Who Brought The Archers--a well-known BBC radio soap opera--to Afghanistan. His adventures and encounters in between this extraordinary trajectory give a unique insight into Pashtoon history, the place the Pashtoons occupy in the sub-continent and some hints as to how present-day conundrums among the Pashtoons might be assuaged.
