Moderate or militant : images of India's Muslims

Mushirul Hasan makes a valuable contribution to debates about the society, polity, and history of Indian Muslims in this book. Rejecting generalizations like Good Muslim, Bad Muslim and the clash of civilizations, this book presents Indian Islam as one that is rooted in its environment and that exists in a pluralist milieu. Hasan's agenda is to defend pluralism, secularism, and tolerance against skewed notions of Islam and Muslims that are being promoted by right-wing ideologies and some sections of the West. Hasan argues that not only have Hindu nationalist historiography and the hegemonizing Indian nationalist discourse ignored modern Indian Muslim thought, Western scholars of more orthodox forms of Islam have made misjudgements about Muslims based on prejudice. Moderate or Militant brings together Hasan's arguments on communalism, nationalism, education, and partition. Using the writings of modern Muslim thinkers like Aziz Ahmad and Mohammad Mujeeb, and many other seminal writings on nineteenth and early-twentieth century Indian Islam, Hasan tries to make a dent in the appalling ignorance about Islam and the culture associated with it that exists today. This book will be of interest to social scientists, public policymakers, and those interested in understanding Indian Muslims.

Mushirul Hasan makes a valuable contribution to debates about the society, polity, and history of Indian Muslims in this book. Rejecting generalizations like Good Muslim, Bad Muslim and the clash of civilizations, this book presents Indian Islam as one that is rooted in its environment and that exists in a pluralist milieu.

Hasan's agenda is to defend pluralism, secularism, and tolerance against skewed notions of Islam and Muslims that are being promoted by right-wing ideologies and some sections of the West. Hasan argues that not only have Hindu nationalist historiography and the hegemonizing Indian nationalist discourse ignored modern Indian Muslim thought, Western scholars of more orthodox forms of Islam have made misjudgements about Muslims based on prejudice.

Moderate or Militant brings together Hasan's arguments on communalism, nationalism, education, and partition. Using the writings of modern Muslim thinkers like Aziz Ahmad and Mohammad Mujeeb, and many other seminal writings on nineteenth and early-twentieth century Indian Islam, Hasan tries to make a dent in the appalling ignorance about Islam and the culture associated with it that exists today. This book will be of interest to social scientists, public policymakers, and those interested in understanding Indian Muslims.

Though Islam and Muslims form an integral part of the rich history and culture of India, their voice in present times is a muted one. Academic discourse in the West, which is increasingly engaging with Islam, thus chooses to largely ignore their existence. Much of what is written about India's Muslims, by Indian as well as Western scholars, tends to highlight the reactionary and strident over the moderate and normal. In this book Mushirul Hasan articulates a vision of Islam or rather the many different kinds of Islam, instead of the frightening monolith of popular perception, living in harmony with other faiths, and of Indian Muslims, inheritors of the great Indian civilization, living in a plural society. Engaging with the debates surrounding the society, polity, and history of India's Muslims, and using historical and literary sources, as well as the writings of modern Muslim thinkers like Aziz Ahmad and Mohammad Mujeeb, Hasan traces the development of contemporary ideas about Muslims from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, through British rule and the partition, to the present day. For Hasan, a truly secular reading of Indian history reveals Indian Islam as one that exists in a pluralist milieu Preface 1 Introduction 2 Of Bitter Passions 3 Let Colour Fill the Flowers, Let Breeze of Early Spring Blow * 4 Questioning Civilizational Fault Lines 5 Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom 6 Education and Faith 7 Partition A World Turned Upside Down 8 The Choices and the Roads Taken 9 Miles to Go, Promises to Keep Glossary Chronology Bibliography Index Engaging with the debates surrounding the society, polity, and history of India's Muslims, and using historical and literary sources, as well as the writings of modern Muslim thinkers, Hasan traces the development of contemporary ideas about Muslims from the mid 19th century onwards, through British rule and the partition, to the present day