Indian Muslims and Citizenship: Spaces for jihād in everyday life

223 Pages·2015·9.36 MB·English

by  Julten Abdelhalim

Indian Muslims and Citizenship
Through the creation of postcolonial citizenship, India adopted a hybridisation
of specific secular and western conceptions of citizenship. In this democratic
framework, Indian Muslims are observed on how they make use of the spaces
and channels to accommodate their Islamic identity within a secular one.
This book analyses how the socio- political context shapes citizens’ percep-
tions of multiple variables, such as their sense of political efficacy, agency, con-
ception of citizenship rights and belief in democracy. Based on extensive surveys
and interviews and through presenting and investigating the various meanings of
jihād, the author explores the usage of non- Eurocentric conceptual approaches to
the study of postcolonial and Muslim societies, in particular the meaning it
carries in the psyche of the Muslim community. She argues that through means
of argumentative and spiritual jihād, Indian Muslims fight their battle towards a
realisation of citizenship ideals, despite the unfavourable conditions of intra- and
inter-community conflicts.
Presenting new examinations of Islamic identity and citizenship in con-
temporary India, this book will be a useful contribution to the study of South
Asian Studies, Religion, Islam, and Race and Ethnicity.
Julten Abdelhalim obtained her PhD from Heidelberg University, Germany,
and is an Assistant Professor in Political Science at Cairo University, Egypt. She
is also a post- doctoral fellow at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany.
Routledge advances in South Asian studies
Edited by Subrata K. Mitra
South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg, Germany
South Asia, with its burgeoning, ethnically diverse population, soaring economies,
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rather than basing itself on any one orthodoxy, the series draws broadly on the
insights germane to area studies, as well as the tool kit of the social sciences in
general, emphasizing comparison, the analysis of the structure and processes, and
the application of qualitative and quantitative methods. The series welcomes sub-
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29 Indian Muslims and Citizenship
Spaces for jihād in everyday life
Julten Abdelhalim
Indian Muslims and
Citizenship
Spaces for jihād in everyday life
Julten Abdelhalim
First published 2016
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© 2016 Julten Abdelhalim
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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
Abdelhalim, Julten.
Indian Muslims and citizenship : spaces for jihad in everyday life / Julten
Abdelhalim.
pages cm. – (Routledge advances in South Asian studies ; 29)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Muslims–India–Social conditions. 2. Muslims–Political activity–
India. 3. Group identity–India. 4. Citizenship–India. 5. Jihad–Social
aspects–India. 6. Islam–Social aspects–India. 7. Community life–India.
8. Postcolonialism–India. 9. India–Social conditions–1947–
10. India–Politics and government–1977– I. Title.
DS432.M84.A2366 2016
305.6'970954–dc23 2015016115
ISBN: 978-1-138-85971-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-71702-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders for their permission
to reprint material in this book. The publishers would be grateful to hear
from any copyright holder who is not here acknowledged and will undertake
to rectify any errors or omissions in future editions of this book.
To my mother, a great jihādist
And strive hard in God’s cause with all the striving that is due to Him: it is He
who has elected you [to carry His message], and has laid no hardship on you in
[anything that pertains to] religion, [and made you follow] the creed of your fore-
father Abraham. It is He who has named you – in bygone times as well as in this
[divine writ] – “those who have surrendered themselves to God”, so that the
Apostle might bear witness to the truth before you, and that you might bear
witness to it before all mankind. So establish worship, pay the poor- due, and hold
fast to Allah. He is your Protecting friend. A blessed Patron and a blessed Helper.
(The Quran, Al- Hajj 22:78)
Contents
List of illustrations xi
Preface xii
1 Introduction: a Muslim researcher in a hybrid field 1
Brief remarks on positionality and limitations 4
Conceptual framework: jihād and youth 7
2 The quest for a community versus composite nationalism 13
Contending impacts of diverse notions of community:
Ummah as a myth? 13
The rise of Muslims’ discontent with the British 18
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: the introduction of Muslim
politics 23
Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani: ‘composite nationalism’
as jihād 26
Adjustment to the new status of being a ‘citizen minority’ 32
The experience of Kerala 37
Summary 40
3 The life- space context and hegemonic discourses 47
Political subcultures and impediments to Muslim politics 48
Political discourses: practising and participating in
democracy 53
Ideological discourses: otherness and Hindu nationalism 58
Discourses on socio- economic backwardness: discrimination and
marginalisation 70
The ideal of secularism and its predicaments in India 79
Summary 80