I suspect I do not share Sadanand Dhume’s understanding of ‘civilisation’ (that inevitably I-pointing word), the world economy or even, at times, Islamism. But I can do nothing but recommend his book, My Friend The Fanatic. It ranks among the best travelogue-type studies of Muslim societies in recent years, narrowly failing to make my top cut of Jason Burke’s On the Road to Kandahar and Pankaj Mishra’s Temptations of the West.
Dhume’s My Friend the Fanatic runs along parallel tracks—segments on the history and socio-politics of Indonesia (and Islamic fundamentalism in Indonesia), and segments based on Dhume’s travels in the country with Herry Nurdi, the title’s fanatic friend. Herry comes across as a complex, contradictory character—opinionated and open, prejudiced and justice-loving, an editor from the lower middle classes who is fascinated and repulsed by the upper classes, a fundamentalist who justifies militancy because he is convinced Muslims are under attack, a subscriber to the Arab cultural imperialist version of Islamism who nevertheless gives his daughters names from the Hindu epics.
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It is Dhume’s encounters with Herry that add impetus to the book. Dhume takes us across a fascinating country in the throes of change, and introduces us to artistes, sex writers, sorcerers, politicians, Muslim fundamentalists and a plethora of other characters. No matter how despicable the character, with tolerance and humour, Dhume manages to reveal a glimpse of his essential humanity: this is no mean achievement.
