Showing all 11 books
Beyond the Border, based on two journeys that Yoginder Sikand undertook to Pakistan, covering Lahore, Multan, Hyderabad (Sindh), Moenjo Daro, Bhit Shah, Islamabad, among others, is a strikingly unconventional account of what life is like for ordinary Pakistanis. The Pakistan he discovers only remotely resembles the stereotypical Muslim nation of the Hindu imagination. From Shiela, the daughter of a feudal lord, named after her mother’s Indian best friend ...
Kashmir always remains fresh in the public memory, though not for its stunning landscapes and enchanting beauty. It is the conflict in, rather over, Kashmir that assumes the centre stage more often. This compilation of essays on Kashmir by Yoginder Sikand provides invaluable insights into inter-community relations in the state and leads the reader to a deeper understanding of the several layers that engulf the Kashmir dispute. One of the most intractable ...
Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors. And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out; for tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you, slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith. But if they cease, Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most ...
Jinad, Peace, and Inter-community Relations in Islam is a translation of the key writings by the noted New Delhi-based Islamic scholar, Maulana Khan's work. Originally written in Urdu, these essays seek to explore the issues of jihad, peace and relations between Muslims and others through an Islamic perspective.
The politics of communal hatred in recent times has brought under attack the heterodoxy of our religious life. This book explores popular religious cults from various parts of the country that defy the logic of communities as neatly separated from and necessarily opposed to each other. Travelling from Kerala to war-torn Kashmir, and from Punjab to Madhya Pradesh, through twenty-five places of popular pilgrimage—dargahs, temples and shrines—Yoginder Sikand ...
Given the salience of ideologised forms of religion in fanning or justifying conflicts in different parts of the world today, formulating new understandings of religion that can play a positive role in promoting inter community relations and social justice is an urgent necessity. This is as true of the Islamic case as it is of all other religions. This book, a collection of interviews with Indian and Pakistani Muslim activists and ulema, seeks to provide a broad ...
The emergence of radical Islamist movements in various parts of the world, the rise and fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the 9/11 attacks, widespread vilification spearheaded by Hindutva Groups--all these and more have made madrasas a much talked about institution. Focusing on the madrasas of India, Bastions of the Believers seeks to critically interrogate sensationalist and stereotypical images of the madrasas by highlighting their diversity and the complex ...
Islam calls for uncompromising social equality of all humanity. Race, colour, caste and ethnic origin have no value in Islamic understanding of things — piety being the only determinant. This, however, has not stopped Muslims from adopting un-Islamic practices of social discrimination. Caste differences within the Muslim society are more apparent in the subcontinent than anywhere else. The book claims to explore various dimensions of the caste question ...
Messianic hopes and expectations are common to almost all religions. Jews expect the Messiah to arrive to re-establish their temple in Jerusalem; Christians pray for Jesus to return to earth in his ‘Second Coming’; Hindus believe that Kalki, the tenth and last avatar of Vishnu, would appear just before the end of times; and the advent of the Imam Mahdi, who will usher in the end of the world, is a cardinal tent of the faith of Shia and many Sunni Muslims. The ...
This book is a collection of essays on various aspects of lived Islam and Muslim social reality in contemporary India. Moving away from the normative discourse that characterises much discussion and debate about Muslims, it seeks to highlight the complex interactions between religion and a host of economic, social and political factors that help shape Indian Muslim identities. It draws attention to the multiple expressions of Islam and Muslim identity and ...