The massive reach and influence of media commentary on events like 9/11, the 2005 terrorist attack on the London underground, the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, and the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, makes discussions on popular representations of Muslims universally topical and relevant. The situation is particularly complex in India, where Muslims form an intrinsic part of democratic civil society, yet continue to carry the baggage of history, especially partition. How does the media view Indian Muslims in an age of global Islamic extremism? How far is Jihadi Pan-Islamism a part of the popular Indian Muslim consciousness? How are Indian Muslims dealing with media distortions of a delicate, nuanced issue? This volume discusses these pertinent questions. The contributors–well-known media commentators, scholars, and activists–focus on the politics of Muslim identity, the portrayal of the community in the media, and its relationship with civil society. They analyse the contours of mass politics–especially prevalent in Northern India–based on the stereotyping of Muslims. These essays also discuss the challenges and concerns of a people wrecked by powerful internal churning and debates on identity. In fact, the increasing radicalization in the community in the face of heightened global mistrust and isolation is attributed to some of these these tensions. The volume will interest students and scholars of politics, history and religious and Islamic studies as well as journalists and general readers.
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