By Tayyib Rashid

Dr. Craig Considine should be applauded for his effort to learn, understand and educate the public about Pakistanis in diaspora and advancing his relentless pursuit to build bridges of understanding, and tolerance. In doing so Dr. Considine adds another brick to the foundations of inter-racial peace in American society.

Islam, Race, and Pluralism in the Pakistani Diaspora is a great service to all Americans, Irish, and Pakistanis, bringing the reader into the minds and hearts of the Pakistani immigrants living in Boston, MA and Dublin, Ireland. It sheds light on the complexity of their lives and their internal struggle to form a cross-cultural identity in a hostile post 9/11 world of America and Ireland. The reader learns that Pakistanis are not a uniform group but are rather tremendously diverse in language, religion, and culture.

As an immigrant myself who migrated to America from Pakistan as a young child, I have never seen anyone capture the struggles and challenges of Pakistanis trying to find their place in the West more accurately and intimately than Dr. Craig Considine. I saw myself in the words and stories of the characters in this unique, well-researched, and well-written narrative, which is highly relevant for Westerners today. It would be wise for Americans and Irish to harness this Pakistani diversity and talent as an asset instead of shunning it aside as a potential threat.

This book also serves as yet another warning to Pakistani leadership to reflect upon their own failures and rampant corruption which prevents them from meeting the needs of the average Pakistani citizens. Such failure on their part is incentivizing migration of talented and brilliant Pakistani minds to Western nations. Pakistan would do well to adopt the Islamic qualities of western society to retain and recover this asset.

As a devout Catholic, Dr. Considine delivers upon the teaching of Jesus Christ that “Blessed are the Peacemakers” by writing this book.