Da’wa and Other Religions: Indian Muslims and the Modern Resurgence of Global Islamic Activism

311 Pages·2018·3.56 MB·English

by  Matthew J. Kuiper

Da‘wa and Other Religions
Da‘wa, a concept rooted in the scriptural and classical tradition of Islam, has
been dramatically re-a ppropriated in modern times across the Muslim world.
Championed by a variety of actors in diverse contexts, da‘wa – “inviting” to
Islam, or Islamic missionary activity – has become central to the vocabulary of
contemporary Islamic activism.
Da‘wa and Other Religions explores the modern resurgence of da‘wa through
the lens of inter- religious relations and within the two horizons of Islamic history
and modernity. Part I provides an account of da‘wa from the Qur’an to the
present. It demonstrates the close relationship that has existed between da‘wa
and inter- religious relations throughout Islamic history and sheds light on the
diversity of da‘wa over time. The book also argues that Muslim communities in
colonial and post- colonial India shed light on these themes with particular
clarity. Part II, therefore, analyzes and juxtaposes two prominent da‘wa organi-
zations to emerge from the Indian subcontinent in the past century: the Tablīghī
Jamā‘at and the Islamic Research Foundation of Zakir Naik. By investigating the
formative histories and inter-r eligious discourses of these movements, Part II
elucidates the influential roles Indian Muslims have played in modern da‘wa.
This book makes important contributions to the study of da‘wa in general and
to the study of the Tablīghī Jamā‘at, one of the world’s largest da‘wa move-
ments. It also provides the first major scholarly study of Zakir Naik and the
Islamic Research Foundation. Further, it challenges common assumptions and
enriches our understanding of modern Islam. It will have a broad appeal for stu-
dents and scholars of Islamic Studies, Indian religious history and anyone inter-
ested in da‘wa and inter-r eligious relations throughout Islamic history.
Matthew J. Kuiper (Ph.D., University of Notre Dame) is Assistant Professor of
Religious Studies at Missouri State University. His research and teaching inter-
ests include classical and modern Islam, inter-r eligious relations and the history
of the Indian subcontinent.
Routledge Islamic Studies Series
This broad ranging series includes books on Islamic issues from all parts of the
globe and is not simply confined to the Middle East.
For a full list of titles in the series: www.routledge.com/middleeaststudies/
series/SE0516
15 Political Liberalism in Muslim 22 The Teaching and Study of
Societies Islam in Western Universities
Fevzi Bilgin William Shepherd, Toni Tidswell,
Paul Trebilco and Paul Morris
16 Shari’a Compliant
Microfinance 23 Muslim Active Citizenship
S. Nazim Ali in the West
Mario Peucker and
17 Muslim Women Online Shahram Akbarzadeh
Faith and Identity in
Virtual Space 24 Refashioning Secularism in
Anna Piela France and Turkey
The Case of the Headscarf Ban
18 Early Orientalism Amélie Barras
Imagined Islam and the
Notion of Sublime Power 25 Islam, Context, Pluralism and
Ivan Kalmar Democracy
Classical and Modern
19 Muslim Women in Britain Interpretations
De- mystifying the Muslimah Yaser Ellethy
Sariya Contractor
26 Young Muslim Change- Makers
20 Salafi Ritual Purity Grassroots Charities Rethinking
In the Presence of God Modern Societies
Richard Gauvain William Barylo
21 Postcolonialism and Islam 27 Da‘wa and Other Religions
Theory, Literature, Culture, Indian Muslims and the Modern
Society and Film Resurgence of Global Islamic
Geoffrey Nash, Kathleen Kerr- Koch Activism
and Sarah E. Hackett Matthew J. Kuiper
Da‘wa and Other Religions
Indian Muslims and the Modern Resurgence
of Global Islamic Activism
Matthew J. Kuiper
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Matthew J. Kuiper
The right of Matthew J. Kuiper to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Kuiper, Matthew J., author.
Title: Da’wa and other religions : Indian Muslims and the modern
resurgence of global Islamic activism / Matthew J. Kuiper.
Description: New York, NY : Routledge, [2018] | Series: Routledge
Islamic studies series ; v. 27 | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017013075| ISBN 9781138054134 (hbk) | ISBN
9781315167015 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Da’wah (Islam)–History of doctrines. | Islam–Missions–
India–History. | Islam–Relations. | India–Religions–History. | Tablighi
Jama’at. | Islamic Research Foundation (Mumbai, India) | Naik, Zakir, 1965–
Classification: LCC BP170.85 .K85 2018 | DDC 297.7/4–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017013075
ISBN: 978-1-138-05413-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-16701-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
To my wife Laurie and our children, Justin, John and Abigail

Contents
Acknowledgments x
Note on transliteration and dates xii
Introduction 1
PART I
Da‘wa and other religions in scripture and history 15
1 Da‘wa and other religions in the scriptural sources of Islam 17
Da‘wa in the Qur’an: the Qur’an as inter- religious da‘wa 18
Da‘wa and other religions in the sīra and hadith 28
Da‘wa and other religions in the Islamic sources: overall
conclusions 41
2 Da‘wa and other religions in the pre- modern history of
Islam 50
The Arab/Islamic conquests and da‘wa 50
Da‘wa as religio- political summons: the ‘Abbasids and
Fatimids 53
Da‘wa in Sunni jurisprudence (fiqh) 58
Da‘wa through disputation: kalām and munāẓara 59
Dā‘īs within and beyond dār al- Islam 61
Da‘wa and other religions in pre-m odern Islamic history: overall
conclusions 66
3 Da‘wa and other religions in the modern world 73
Roots of the modern resurgence of da‘wa 73
Three major trends in modern da‘wa 78
viii Contents
Da‘wa and other religions in the modern world: overall
conclusions 98
PART II
Da‘wa and other religions in modern India:
two case studies 109
4 The Tablīghī Jamā‘at: background and context 111
Introducing the Tablīghī Jamā‘at 111
Sunni reformism in the religiously contested milieu of eighteenth-
to mid- nineteenth-century India 112
The late nineteenth-c entury response: Deoband, Saharanpur and
Nadwa 121
5 The formative history and inter- religious concerns of the
Tablīghī Jamā‘at 139
Genealogy and early life of Muḥammad Ilyās, 1885–1917 141
Factors leading to the founding of the TJ, 1910–1926 143
Founding the TJ, 1925–1944 149
Foundational texts of the TJ: an inter-r eligious reading 156
The Tablīghī Jamā‘at: overall conclusions 171
6 Zakir Naik and the Islamic Research Foundation:
background and context 182
Introducing Zakir Naik and the Islamic Research Foundation 182
A genealogy of da‘wa through “comparative religion” 184
‘Ali and Daryābādī: two additional influences 191
Naik’s hometown: Mumbai in the late twentieth century 194
7 The formative history and inter- religious concerns of Zakir
Naik and the Islamic Research Foundation 202
Zakir Naik: the making of an international dā‘ī of “comparative
religion,” 1965–1996 203
Establishing a repertoire, 1994–2000 210
Launching Peace TV and other ventures and networking,
2001–2015 226
Growing recognition and controversy, 2010–2015 231
Naik and the Islamic Research Foundation: overall
conclusions 237
Postscript: ban by India, 2016–2017 239
Contents ix
Conclusion 256
Bibliography 262
Index 288