ebook img

The Deoband Madrassah Movement: Countercultural Trends and Tendencies PDF

262 Pages·2015·1.835 MB·English
Save to my drive
Quick download
Download
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.

Preview The Deoband Madrassah Movement: Countercultural Trends and Tendencies

The Deoband Madrassah Movement DIVERSITY AND PLURALITY IN SOUTH ASIA The Diversity and Plurality in South Asia series, wide in scope, will bring together publications in anthropology and sociology, alongside politics and international relations, exploring themes of both contemporary and historical relevance. This diverse line in the social sciences and humanities will investigate the plurality of social groups, identities and ideologies, including within its remit not only interrogations of issues surrounding gender, caste, religion and region, but also political variations, and a variety of cultural ideas and expressions within South Asia. Series Editor Nandini Gooptu – University of Oxford, UK Editorial Board Christophe Jaffrelot – CERI/CNRS, France Niraja G. Jayal – Jawaharlal Nehru University, India Raka Ray – University of California, Berkeley, USA Yunas Samad – University of Bradford, UK John Zavos – University of Manchester, UK The Deoband Madrassah Movement Countercultural Trends and Tendencies Muhammad Moj Anthem Press An imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company www.anthempress.com This edition frst published in UK and USA 2015 by ANTHEM PRESS 75–76 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HA, UK or PO Box 9779, London SW19 7ZG, UK and 244 Madison Ave #116, New York, NY 10016, USA Copyright © Muhammad Moj 2015 The author asserts the moral right to be identifed as the author of this work. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. 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 Moj, Muhammad, author. The Deoband madrassah movement : countercultural trends and tendencies / Muhammad Moj. pages ; cm. – (Diversity and plurality in South Asia) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-78308-388-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-1-78308-389-3 (papercover : alk. paper) 1. Deoband School (Islam) 2. Islam and politics–Pakistan. 3. Islamic religious education–Pakistan. 4. Islamic fundamentalism–Pakistan. I. Title. II. Series: Diversity and plurality in South Asia. BP166.14.D4M65 2015 297.8’3–dc23 2014046372 ISBN-13: 978 1 78308 388 6 (Hbk) ISBN-10: 1 78308 388 3 (Hbk) ISBN-13: 978 1 78308 389 3 (Pbk) ISBN-10: 1 78308 389 1 (Pbk) Cover image © danishkhan / iStockphoto.com This title is also available as an ebook. In memory of my loving parents Alive, they were close to me Departed, they are closer CONTENTS Preface ix Prologue xi Chapter 1. The Deoband Madrassah Movement: Research Context 1 1.1 Madaris in Islam 1 1.2 A Brief History of the DMM 5 1.3 The DMM and Social Movements 13 1.4 The DMM in a Countercultural Context 19 1.5 Research Methodology and Approach 25 Chapter 2. Origin of the DMM: Seeds of a Counterculture 29 2.1 Shah Waliullah’s Movement 29 2.2 The Link between Waliullah’s Movement and the DMM 43 2.3 The DMM’s Initial Ascetic Approach 45 2.4 The Countercultural Character of the DMM 53 Chapter 3. The DMM in United India: Activist Countercultural Trends 61 3.1 The End of the DMM’s Ascetic Approach 63 3.2 The DMM’s Entry into Active Politics 70 3.3 The Countercultural Politics of Deobandi Leadership 75 3.4 Deobandi Opposition to the Pakistan Movement 79 Chapter 4. T he DMM in Pakistan: Countercultural Politics and Extremism 91 4.1 The Evolution of the DMM in Pakistan 91 4.2 The DMM’s Shifting Stances in Politics 98 4.3 The Rise of Extremism in the Deobandi Movement 104 4.4 Countercultural Tendencies in the DMM since 1947 112 viii THE DEOBAND MADRASSAH MOvEMENT Chapter 5. Deobandi Islam: Countering Folk Islam and Popular Custom 119 5.1 Different Interpretations of Bidah 120 5.2 The DMM and Dominant Beliefs and Practices in Pakistan 123 5.3 The DMM against Folk Islam 127 5.4 Deobandi Opposition to Non-religious Sociocultural Practices 148 Chapter 6. T he DMM versus Mainstream Society: Viewpoints of Deobandi Journals and Students 155 6.1 The DMM versus Popular Customs and Practices 157 6.2 The DMM versus the Mainstream Political System 165 6.3 The DMM versus the Mainstream Educational System 173 6.4 The DMM versus Women’s Role in Society 179 6.5 A Comparison of Madrassah and Mainstream Students 185 Epilogue 195 Appendix I: The Deobandi Stance vis-à-vis Muslim Groups other than the Barelwis 203 Appendix II: Countercultural Exposition of the Deobandi Taliban 209 Appendix III: Interview Guide 213 Glossary of Islamic Terms 215 References 225 Index 237 PREFACE This book explores the history and evolution of Deobandi Islam, a South Asian Sunni sect whose origin dates back to 1866 when a madrassah movement was launched in the small North Indian town of Deoband. Since its inception, Deobandi Islam has survived and spread mainly through its madrassah network, which has produced Deobandi prayer leaders, preachers and politicians on the one hand and has paved the way for the creation of extremist Deobandi organizations like the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangwi on the other. The latter role of the Deobandi movement makes it all the more relevant in the present scenario, whereby a global wave of extremism and terrorism has seriously threatened world peace. Unlike the existing literature that has studied the Deobandi movement in the context of political Islam and religious reform, this book endeavours to interpret this madrassah- based movement from a countercultural perspective. By employing an offbeat approach, this book tries to explain the background of the perennial confict between the Deobandi sect and mainstream Muslim society in the subcontinent. An attempt has also been made to identify the countercultural currents in the 150-year-long history of the Deobandi movement. In addition to that, a comparative analysis of the values and attitudes of the students of a Deobandi madrassah and a mainstream educational institution has been included to underline the countercultural mindset of Deobandi Islam. In its concluding section, the book looks at some probable scenarios with respect to the future of Deobandi Islam as a counterculture. The main objective of this work is to understand Deobandi Islam from a different perspective. This work is expected to be of ample interest and importance to the intelligentsia and academia on the one hand and politicians and policymakers on the other. By giving an insight into the making of the mindset of the Deobandi Taliban, this work also hopes to add considerable value to the ongoing policymaking process vis-à-vis the future of the Pak-Afghan region, especially after the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan. While working on this book, I immensely beneftted from the effcient editorial oversight and valuable secretarial support offered by Anthem Press. In thanking the publishing staff for their efforts on my behalf, I do not, of course, absolve myself of responsibility for the shortcomings of this work.

See more

The list of books you might like

Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.