Sikander

It’s 1986. Seventeen-year-old Sikander dreams of studying and living in America. But enraged after a father-and-son confrontation over an unintended indiscretion about the family, he feels compelled to leave his comfortable Peshawar, Pakistan home. He soon encounters Afghan mujahideen fighters who persuade him to join their struggle against the occupying Soviets.

The tide of the conflict begins to turn with Ronald Reagan's stepped up supply of advanced weapons with which Sikander becomes increasingly familiar. Two years following Sikander’s arrival the Soviets finally commit to withdrawing and by now, Sikander also discovers romance. As his love blossoms and with the encouragement of his Afghan hosts he marries and he and his bride take a mule journey over the mountains to Pakistan, where he is warmly welcomed and reconciles with family.

With the war over, Sikander settles in Pakistan to become a successful entrepreneur there. The yearning to live in America continues to burn away at him and he works to fulfill his dream but it is rudely shattered on 9/11. His wife’s anguish together with his own concern for his Afghan relatives drive him to cross into Afghanistan to assist them. Despite a pro- and anti-Taliban rift in the family, Sikander persuades them to escape the war-ravaged country with him. The perilous journey, however, places Sikander himself on a collision course with the one country he’s always dreamed of—America.

“SIKANDER is an epic novel, reaching across the years of conflict in Afghanistan, from Soviet occupation to the post-9/11 years. Khan’s
depictions of everyday Afghan life, and the costs of the
continuous conflicts across the social classes provides
an eye opening look at something often glossed over in search of easy depictions of good and evil.”

– ROSS ROJEK, Sacramento / San Francisco Book Review

“At last, a Pakistani novelist attempting a novel of the scope and scale of Gone with the Wind. M. Salahuddin Khan’s SIKANDER is a sprawling, fast moving and gripping novel that takes the reader through several decades and through several continents. In the tale of SIKANDER, we experience the tribal conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the problems of adjustment of the community as a minority in America today. For those looking for a good read while also learning about the world we live in, I strongly recommend SIKANDER.”

– Ambassador AKBAR AHMED, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University

Former Ambassador for Pakistan to the UK, Playwright and Adviser to world leaders on modern Islam

Author of Journey into Islam: the Crisis of Globalization and Journey into America: the Challenge of Islam

“A story of our times, SIKANDER is an immersion into the culture and experiences of one of the largest tribes on earth, the Pashtuns of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is the story of a rite of passage from boyhood, to manhood, and ultimately to self-hood that transcends the politics of conflict and delves into the human dimension with all its capacities for love and hate, intolerance and forgiveness, cruelty and self-sacrifice. Intricate in detail and vast in scope, Sikander is a journey worth taking.”

– DUANE EVANS, Former CIA Officer and author of North from Calcutta

“Title character Sikander and those around him
shed light on a part of the world too little understood.
Although parts of the story focus on war, this is a book many readers will appreciate for its careful descriptions of people and places, including the beauty of the land. Sikander’s later life brings him to the U.S., a country he had greatly admired as a young man. Cultural differences are shared through Khan’s precise writing.”

– JULIE BROWN, Observer & Eccentric Newspapers

“SIKANDER describes a story of passionate, cultural collisions, infused with
old world romance and modern warfare. M. Salahuddin Khan provides
a breathless literary journey of Afghanistan, Pakistan
and America through the eyes of a dreamer.
Sikander’s story unveils how culture, politics and religion intersect and overlap each other.
Khan illuminates both the dark and the light of our intertwined world and SIKANDER is
a beautiful labor of love and passion for the heart and the mind.”

– SALMAN AHMAD, Founder of Rock Band “JUNOON,” author of Rock & Roll Jihad