Indian Muslim Minorities and the 1857 Rebellion: Religion, Rebels and Jihad

ISBN-13: 9781784538552 / Angielski / Twarda / 2017 / 240 str.

Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

Opis

While jihad has been the subject of countless studies in the wake of recent terrorist attacks, scholarship on the topic has so far paid little attention to South Asian Islam and, more specifically, its place in South Asian history.

Seeking to fill some gaps in the historiography, Ilyse R. Morgenstein Fuerst examines the effects of the 1857 Rebellion (long taught in Britain as the "Indian Mutiny") on debates about the issue of jihad during the British Raj. Morgenstein Fuerst shows that the Rebellion had lasting, pronounced effects on the understanding by their Indian subjects (whether Muslim, Hindu, or Sikh) of imperial rule by distant outsiders. For India's Muslims their interpretation of the Rebellion as jihad shaped subsequent discourses, definitions and codifications of Islam in the region. Morgenstein Fuerst concludes by demonstrating how these perceptions of jihad, contextualized within the framework of the 19th Century Rebellion, continue to influence contemporary rhetoric about Islam and Muslims in the Indian subcontinent.

Drawing on extensive primary source analysis, this unique take on Islamic identities in South Asia will be invaluable to scholars working on British colonial history, India and the Raj, as well as to those studying Islam in the region and beyond.

Spis treści

Introduction Religion, Rebels, and Jihad Theoretical Framing A Note on Language Chapter Outline 1 1. The Company, Religion, and Islam Religion before Rebellion “Watershed Moment”: the Great Rebellion Greased Cartridges and Chapatis: the Anxiety of Religious Conspiracy Muslim Memories of the Great Rebellion Conclusions 2. Suspect Subjects: Hunter and the Making of a Muslim Minority Bound to Rebel: Making Muslims a Minority Indian Musalmans and Hunter: Author of Empire Laws, Literalism, and All Muslims: Hunter’s Claims Favorable Ruling, Unfavorable Interpretation Conclusions 3. “God save me from my friends!”: Syed Ahmad Khan’s Review on Dr Hunter Sir Syed on the Great Rebellion An Academic Rejoinder to Indian Musalmans A Legalism of His Own: Sir Syed on Hunter’s Use of Islamic Law On Muslim Loyalty On Literalism, Wahhabism, and Jihad Conclusions 4. Rebellion as Jihad, Jihad as Religion Defining Jihad Making Muslims Jihadis Jihad in Imperial India and the Great Rebellion Conclusions Conclusion Religion, Rebels, and Jihad: Legacies and Ongoing Impact Epilogue 1857 from Today’s Vermont