Islamic Minorities of South Asia

Islamicate South Asia has generated interest since 9/11 as never before. However, Islamic Minorities, specifically, is still a relatively neglected area of study in South Asian Islam, particullarly due to the tendency to look at Islam as a monolithic faith and Muslims as a monolithic population to the western world.

Islam and Islamicate South Asia have generated interest since 9/11 as never before. However, Islamic Minorities, specifically, is still a relatively neglected area of study in South Asian Islam. It may be due to the reason that there has been a tendency to look at Islam as a monolithic faith and Muslims as a monolithic population to the western world.

This book focuses on such Islamic Minorities as the Shias (dominant Isna Ashari/Twelver Shias), Ismaili Khoja, Dawoodi Bohra, and Ahmedia/Qadiyani communities and looks at them from the perspective of their interaction with Hindu cultures and traditions. Written in lucid language from a sociological perspective, it should be an important contribution to the field of "Lived Islam" or "Islam in Practice."

This book will be invaluable to all those interested in the religion, society, and culture of Muslim South Asia.

Autorentext

Nadeem Hasnain is a social scientist with a broad range of interests. He is a former Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Lucknow, India, Fulbright "Scholar in Residence," and Visiting Professor in the U.S. and Senior Fellow of the Indian Council of Social Science Research.

Inhalt

Introduction: Islam in South Asia and the Idea of "Lived Islam"

1 Contemporary Shades of Islam in South Asia

2 A Brief Socio-religious History of the Shias

3 Development of Shiaism in Indian Subcontinent

4 Mourning (Azadaari) and Martyrdom: The Defining Feature of Shia Identity

5 Network of Social Relationships: Caste, Family, Kinship, and Marriage

6 Economic and Political Life

7 Shia Women: Role Models and Changing Social Status

8 Impact of Ayatollah Khomeini's Revolution on the Shias of South Asia

9 Shia Festivals

10 Shias of Lucknow, Hyderabad, and Jammu and Kashmir

11 Fratricidal War: Islam's Existential Crisis

12 From Ijtihad to Ismah: Some Concepts in "Shia Islam"

13 Shia Communities in Pakistan

14 Ahmadi Community in Pakistan and its Persecution

Ismailism and Ismaili Communities

15 The Bohra

16 The Khoja