Modern Sufis and the State: The Politics of Islam in South Asia and Beyond PDF
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Modern Sufis and the State RELIGION, CULTURE, AND PUBLIC LIFE RELIGION, CULTURE, AND PUBLIC LIFE Series Editor: Matthew Engelke The Religion, Culture, and Public Life series is devoted to the study of religion in relation to social, cultural, and political dynamics, both contemporary and historical. It features work by scholars from a variety of disciplinary and methodological perspectives, includ- ing religious studies, anthropology, history, philosophy, political science, and sociology. The series is committed to deepening our critical understandings of the empirical and conceptual dimensions of religious thought and practice, as well as such related topics as secularism, pluralism, and political theology. The Religion, Culture, and Public Life series is sponsored by Columbia University’s Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life. For a complete list of titles, see page 345. Modern Sufis and the State The Politics of Islam in South Asia and Beyond EditEd by KathErinE Pratt Ewing and rosEmary r. CorbEtt Columbia University Press New York Columbia University Press gratefully acknowledges the generous support for this book provided by a Publisher’s Circle member. Publication of this book was made possible in part by funding from the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life at Columbia University. Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex cup . columbia . edu Copyright © 2020 Columbia University Press All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Ewing, Katherine Pratt, editor. | Corbett, Rosemary R., editor. Title: Modern Sufis and the state : the politics of Islam in South Asia and beyond / edited by Katherine Pratt Ewing and Rosemary R. Corbett. Description: New York City : Columbia University Press, 2020. | Series: Religion, culture, and public life | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019051465 (print) | LCCN 2019051466 (ebook) | ISBN 9780231195744 (cloth) | ISBN 9780231195751 (paperback) | ISBN 9780231551465 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Sufis— Political activity— South Asia. | Sufism— Political aspect— South Asia. | Islam and politics— South Asia. | South Asia— Politics and government. Classification: LCC BP188.8.S64 M63 2020 (print) | LCC BP188.8.S64 (ebook) | DDC 322/.10954—dc23 LC record available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2019051465 LC ebook record available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2019051466 Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid- free paper. Printed in the United States of America Cover design: Noah Arlow Cover image: Sam Panthaky/Getty Images Contents Acknowledgments ix Note on Transliteration xi Introduction. Sufis and the State: The Politics of Islam in South Asia and Beyond KathErinE Pratt Ewing 1 Part i Sufism and Its Modern Engagements with a Global Order 1. Anti- Colonial Militants or Liberal Peace Activists? The Role of Private Foundations in Producing Pacifist Sufis During the Cold War rosEmary r. CorbEtt 27 2. From Taṣawwuf Modern to Neo- Sufism: Nurcholish Madjid, Fazlur Rahman, and the Development of an Idea VErEna mEyEr 40 3. Beyond Barelwiism: Tahir-u l- Qadri as an Example of Trends in Global Sufism marCia hErmansEn 57 vi 9 ContEnts Commentary on Part I: Ambiguities and Ironic Reversals in the Categorization of Sufism Carl w. Ernst 73 Part ii Sufis, Sharia, and Reform 4. Is the Taliban Anti-S ufi? Deobandi Discourses on Sufism in Contemporary Pakistan brannon d. ingram 81 5. Sufism Through the Prism of Sharia: A Reformist Barelwi Girls’ Madrasa in Uttar Pradesh, India Usha sanyal 92 6. Lives of a Fatwa: Sufism, Music, and Islamic Reform in Kachchh, Gujarat brian E. bond 106 Commentary on Part II: Sufis, Sharia, and Reform mUhammad Qasim Zaman 119 Part iii Sufis and Politics in Pakistan 7. “A Way of Life Rather Than an Ideology?”: Sufism, Pīrs, and the Politics of Identity in Sindh sarah ansari 127 8. Sufi Politics and the War on Terror in Pakistan: Looking for an Alternative to Radical Islamism? alix PhiliPPon 140 9. “Our Vanished Lady”: Memory, Ritual, and Shiʿi-S unni Relations at Bībī Pāk Dāman noor Zaidi 161 Commentary on Part III: The Problems and Perils of Translating Sufism as “Moderate Islam” shErali tarEEn 174 ContEnts = vii Part iV Sufism in Indian National Spaces 10. Is All Politics Local? Neighborhood Shrines and Religious Healing in Contemporary India Carla bEllamy 187 11. Sufi Healing and Secular Psychiatry in India hElEnE basU 199 12. Sufi Sound, Sufi Space: Indian Cinema and the Mise-e n- Scène of Pluralism raChana rao UmashanKar 215 Commentary on Part IV: Sufism in Indian National Spaces brUCE b. lawrEnCE 227 Conclusion: Thinking Otherwise rosEmary r. CorbEtt 233 Notes 243 Glossary 293 Bibliography 297 List of Contributors 317 Index 323 Acknowledgments T his book would not exist without the people who animate the Insti- tute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life (IRCPL) at Columbia Univer- sity. Not long after editor Katherine Ewing’s arrival at Columbia Uni- versity, Karen Barkey, who was then director of IRCPL, was organizing a series of conferences and workshops on Sufism as part of a larger project on “Reli- gious Toleration and Plural Democracies.” She encouraged Katherine to organize the 2015 conference “Rethinking Islam, Democracy and Identity in Pakistan and India: The Role of Sufism,” out of which this volume has emerged. Editor Rosemary Corbett was originally brought onboard as a postdoctoral fellow to help coordinate the overall project, which was generously funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, with the enthusiastic guidance of Toby Volkman. We would like to thank Jessica Lillien and Zachary Hendrickson for helping out at various stages of the project, and especially Walid Hammam for being there at every step of the way. He was an invaluable partner as Katherine took over the direc- torship of IRCPL. Bill Carrick of the South Asia Institute has also contributed in countless ways. In addition to the contributors included in the present volume, the confer- ence was enriched by the presence and contributions of Pnina Werbner, Thomas Gugler, Jamal Malik, Akbar Zaidi, Anand Taneja, Zahid Hussain, Rob Rozehnal, Souleymane Bachir Diagne, and Mamadou Diouf. Bruce Lawrence gave a keynote address. We would like to thank them all. Contributors to an early planning workshop entitled “Pluralism: Sufi Thought and Practices” included Cheikh Babou, Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Carl Ernst, Katharina Ivanyi, Karen Barkey, Mamadou Diouf, and Leonardo Villalon. Thanks also to x 9 aCKnowlEdgmEnts Columbia Religion Department PhD students Quinn Clark, Ilona Gerbakher, Zehra Mehdi, and Ebadur Rahman, who have been great conversation partners as their own research projects on related themes have developed along the way. Colleagues Gil Anidjar, Rachel McDermott, Jack Hawley, Courtney Bender, Brinkley Messick, and Gauri Visvanathan are among those who have made Columbia University a rich intellectual environment for the pursuit of this project. We thank Taha Poonawala and Fidahussain Yamani for their hard work on making transliterations across several languages as consistent as possible. We also thank Wendy Lochner of Columbia University Press for overseeing publi- cation of the book, and we thank the anonymous reviewers whose detailed and thoughtful comments have made this a better book. Katherine appreciates the steadfast support of her husband and intellectual companion, Thomas DiPrete, three loving daughters, the wonderful young men they have brought into the family, and Charlotte, who is the promise of the future. In the time between the convening of the conference from which this volume evolved and the book’s publication, Rosemary added another child to her family and also navigated the illness of her partner. There are simply too many people to thank for the tremendous support received during those years, but eternal gratitude will always be due David Kaiser for his unflagging faith, endless encouragement, and abiding love.
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