Dr. Mujib Rahman Rahimi, born in Qalaekona village of Khost District of Baghlan Province in north east of Afghanistan. He is a politician, diplomat, prominent writer, political analyst and translator.
He is a highly regarded politician, author and well-versed speaker. His academic work and interests mainly focus on the following areas: Discourse theory, political theory, philosophy, international relations, development, diversity, state formation and state failure, Islamic studies, Afghanistan, history and culture.
Rahimi was born and raised during the dislocatory years of codetta’s, internal strives, mass migrations and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. After the intensification of war, like many others, his family migrated to Pakistan in the 1980s to escape the conflict.
Rahimi obtained his high school degree from Emam Azam High School for Afghan refugees in Pakistan. This is where he successfully joined the Islamic International Union of Arabic Schools in Peshawar besides his regular school attendance and managed to learn Arabic language.
Rahimi obtained his bachelor’s degree (BA) in Political Science with distinction from the Islamic University for Science and Technology in Peshawar in 1992.
During his studies at the Islamic University for Science and Technology in Arabic, he managed to learn English.
In order to complete his master’s degree Rahimi joined the department of political science at the University of Peshawar. He managed to successfully obtain his first masters in Political Science and International Studies in 1995.
After completing his MA at Peshawar University, Rahimi joined the Islamic Heritage Translation Centre in Peshawar as a translator and among others, translated Hayat-e Sahaba, (the Life of the Companions of the Prophet) from Arabic to Persian in six volumes. This book has been reprinted more than ten times in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.
Rahimi moved to the UK in 1998, where in 2001 after the fall of the Taliban regime he joined the Afghan Embassy in London and served as a diplomat until 2006. During Rahimi’s work at the embassy he managed to author a book in 2 volumes on the life and struggles of the late National Hero of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud, which was published by Massoud Foundation in Kabul. He also was heavily involved in cultural activities of the embassy and played a significant role in Afghanistan’s development and reconstruction programs and strengthening the UK-Afghanistan relations.
After Rahimi completed his term of service at the Afghan Embassy in London, he decided to return to education and academia once more. To do so he joined the Department of Government at University of Essex and successfully completed his second master’s degree (MA) in international relations, political theory and development in 2007. Subsequently, in 2009 Rahimi joined the PhD program at Ideology and Discourse Analysis (IDA) at the Department of Government, University of Essex. He was awarded a PhD in politics in 2014 from the Department of Government, University of Essex. His PhD research at the University of Essex mainly focused on the issue of state formation and state failure in Afghanistan.
His PhD thesis submitted to the University of Essex under the title of: “Deconstructing the Official Discourse of State Formation in Afghanistan.” The thesis then published under the title: “State formation in Afghanistan: A Theoretical and Political History” by I.B Tauris, an internationally well-known London-based publisher, in September 2017.
Rahimi is a prolific author, writer and speaker. He regularly appears on TV, and Radio talks shows, commentary and interviews on national and international channels such as Tolo News, Ariana TV, BBC World Service, BBC Arabic, Farsi, and Pashto, Aljazeera, Radio Azadi, and Radio BBC, to discuss the current affairs in Afghanistan, international and regional issues. Rahimi has written numerous articles and essays to both national and international press covering wide range of issues; ranging from politics to philosophy and international relations.
Rahimi currently also chairs the Centre for Reform Studies (CRS) in Kabul. Besides his political engagements he is heavily involved in organizing seminars, conferences and delivering lectures and promoting scholarly debates related to religious revivalism, culture, history and philosophy.
In addition, Rahimi has been active in Afghanistan’s politics at different capacities. In 2009 he joined the presidential election campaign and supported the Change and Hope led by HE Dr Abdullah Abdullah. In 2014 after completing his PhD at University of Essex, Rahimi re-joined the Reform and Partnership Team at Afghanistan’s presidential election, one of the main electoral camps.
During the campaign he worked in various capacities, including spokesperson for the team. In the aftermath of the presidential election crisis in 2014 and the formation of the National Unity Government, Rahimi has been serving as a close aid/advisor to HE Dr Abdullah Abdullah, and Director of Communication and Spokesperson to the Office of the Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Rahimi has attended and regularly attends international and national conferences as well as seminars, and has delivered lectures and speeches on topics ranging from Afghanistan related issues, to history, security and culture.
Rahimi is committed to promoting democracy, human rights, women rights and the rule of law in Afghanistan. Rahimi, as an egalitarian, works for the establishment of a just and equal society in Afghanistan based on civic virtues. He is committed to a developed and progressive Afghanistan.
Rahimi is fluent in the following languages: Farsi, Pashto, English, Arabic and Urdu.
Published work:
1. The Life of the Companions of the Prophet (Hayat Sahaba), translated from Arabic to Farsi. The book is published in six volumes, 3000 pages, in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran in 1997, and since has been reprinted more than ten times.
2. The Impact of Constitutional Choice on Democratic Consolidation and Conflict Management in Divided Societies (Naqde bar Sakhtar-e Nezam), This book is Rahimi’s master’s dissertation, which has been translated and published in Farsi in Afghanistan in 2007. It has been reprinted five times. In this book, Rahimi argues that for a post-conflict country of ethnic minorities and culturally diverse such as Afghanistan, a parliamentary decentralized inclusive political system would guarantee political stability and inclusivity, compared to an exclusive presidential centralized political system with single winner and many losers.
3. State formation in Afghanistan: A Theoretical and Political History. This is originally his doctorate thesis that has been published by I.B Tauris, an internationally well-known London-based publisher, in September 2017. In this book Rahimi attempts to deconstruct the official narrative of state formation in Afghanistan, employing the discourse analysis theoretical framework. The book covers an extensive period of over 100 years of historical developments (1880 to 2010). He is the first academic to challenge the official discourse, problematize the hegemonic colonial episteme on Afghanistan in the Anglo-Saxon world, and open the space for a new plural and democratic horizon.
4. Ahmad Shah Massoud; Martyr of Peace and Freedom, (Ahmad Shah Massoud Sahid-e Rah-e Sulh wa Azadi), in Farsi, published in two volumes in Kabul, covering the life and struggles of the late National Hero of Afghanistan.
5. Essentially Contested Concepts, Published in Nibras Journal in Afghanistan in 2010.
6. Loya Jirga: Paradox of Tradition and Modernity, published in BBC Persian Experts Portal in 2011. (http://www.bbc.com/persian/afghanistan/2011/11/111116_l09_loye_jerga_legend_real)
7. Parliament: Privileges and Responsibilities, in the book, Afghanistan and Parliament, published by the Afghan Embassy in UK, in 2005.
8. The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Transition to Democracy, published in Payame Mujahid Weekly in Kabul in 2008, and also in the Journal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2013.
9. Deconstruction the Shia-Sunni Discourse: An Attempt for Review and Demystification, published in BBC Persian Experts Portal in 2013 (http://www.bbc.com/persian/blogs/2013/12/131216_l44_nazeran_shia_suni)
10. Presidential System and the US Model of Presidential System, in the book, the Constitution as a National Contract, published by the Afghan Embassy in UK, 2006.
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