Haroon K. Ullah is a staff adviser to the US State Department and was a member of the late Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke's policy team on Pakistan and Afghanistan. His work focuses on democratization, security studies, and political party dynamics. He has a master's degree in public policy and international development from Harvard University and holds a joint PhD in political science and public policy from the University of Michigan.

• 1. Introduction 2. Islam and Democracy in Pakistan 3. Islamic Parties in Pakistan 4. Muslim Democratic Parties: Origins and Characteristics 5. Islamist Parties: Origins and Characteristics 6. Islamic Voters in Pakistan: Motives and Behavior 7. Political Strategy: When Extremism Works 8. Lessons Learned: How Pakistan Informs the Arab Spring and Afghanistan 9. Foreign Policy Implications and New Trends Appendix 1Appendix 2NotesSelected BibliographyIndex

Deftly written and superbly presented, Vying for Allah's Vote should be considered mandatory reading for anyone (especially U.S. congressional and administrative international relations policy makers) needing to understand the exploitation of Islamic fervor and fundamentalism to share and control political power in a fractured and conflicted contemporary Islamic state. Enhanced with the inclusion of illustrations, two appendices, extensive notes, a select bibliography, and an index ... especially recommended for academic library Pakistani and Islamic contemporary reference collections. Midwest Book Review The beauty of Dr. Ullah's thesis lies in his ability to distinguish between those Islamists in Pakistan and elsewhere who are interested in governing in a modern emerging world democratic setting as opposed to those who rely purely on ideology buttressed upon little apparent interest in governing unless they control all the reins of power. The former approach is pragmatic and positive. The latter is a delusion. Huffington Post A valuable study of Islamic parties in Pakistan, based on extensive research and informed by much theoretical literature. Choice Contains important analyses from an impressive collection of interviews and survey data, and forces a rethinking of the problems facing Pakistani political stability. Patterns of Prejudice