Tariq Ali British-Pakistani journalist, historian, author Date of Birth: 21.10.1943 Country: Great Britain

1. Biography of Tariq Ali
2. Education and Political Activism
3. Political Criticism and Writing Career
4. Author and Political Commentator
5. Activism and Personal Life

Biography of Tariq Ali

Tariq Ali, a British-Pakistani journalist, historian, and author, was born in Lahore, British India (now Pakistan) in 1943. He was the eldest of three children in a Muslim family that belonged to an ancient feudal lineage. However, his father, journalist Mazhar Ali Khan, became interested in communist and atheist ideologies and distanced himself from the family. Despite this, Tariq grew up studying and practicing Islam, as his father allowed him to choose his own path. His mother, Tahira Mazhar Ali Khan, was a political activist.

Education and Political Activism

Tariq studied at Punjab University during a politically turbulent time in the country. He actively participated in student political rallies and demonstrations. He even organized a protest against military dictatorship in Pakistan, which led his family to send him abroad to England to avoid his imminent arrest. Tariq was enrolled in Exeter College, Oxford, where he studied philosophy, economics, and politics. In 1965, he was elected as the president of the prestigious Oxford Union, a renowned debating society in England. Despite being in Britain, Tariq remained politically active, particularly during the Vietnam War. He expressed solidarity with Vietnam and engaged in heated discussions with figures such as Henry Kissinger and Michael Stewart. In 1964, he met Malcolm X, and in 1967, he traveled to Bolivia to attend the trial of one of Che Guevara's comrades.

Political Criticism and Writing Career

During the 1960s, Tariq Ali began to criticize US and Israeli foreign policies, accusing the American government of supporting dictatorship in Pakistan. He published articles in the New Left Review and became the editor of The Black Dwarf in 1968. In 1974, he ran as a candidate for the International Marxist Group in the general elections in Sheffield. However, the International Marxist Group merged with the Labour Party in 1981, and Tariq gradually distanced himself from his revolutionary struggle, lending support to Tony Benn, the leader of the left-wing faction of the Labour Party.

Author and Political Commentator

Since the 1970s, Tariq Ali has regularly contributed to publications such as The Guardian, CounterPunch, and the London Review of Books. He has authored numerous books, including "Bush in Babylon" (2003), "Conversations with Edward Said" (2005), and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Axis of Hope" (2006), among many others. In total, Tariq Ali has written around 40 books that delve into controversial political and economic issues. He is also a vocal critic of the US invasion of Iraq. One of his notable works, "Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity," was published after the 9/11 attacks and explores the history and culture of Islam, as well as the influence of leading capitalist states on the religion.

Activism and Personal Life

In 2005, Tariq Ali participated in the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where he signed the Porto Alegre Manifesto alongside 19 other prominent anti-globalization activists. He currently resides in Highgate, London and is married to Susan Watkins, the editor of the New Left Review. Together, they have three children.