There are two ways of trying to understand what Islam is all about. One way of understanding it is by interpreting it theologically or what do the rules say. This is ‘Textual Islam’ based on ‘book view’. The other way is to interpret it historically to know what the Muslims have done in history and by looking at Muslim societies at a given point of time to see how the Muslims ‘live’ Islam in their everyday life. Like the followers of other religions, Muslims too, do not live by their sacred books alone. This book presents a collection of based on both ‘book view’ as well as ‘field view’ of Islam papers covering North Caucasus, Bosnia, Bangladesh and India, discussing issues from Jihad, rise and fall of Muslim Empires, Islamic democratic theory, ethnic identity and exogamy to popular Islam and misogyny, modernization of madrasa education and aspects of livelihood of Indian Muslims.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nadeem Hasnain
Nadeem Hasnain is a professor of social anthropology at University of Lucknow, ucknow (India). He did his Master's and Ph.D. from the same department founded by D.N. Majumdar, one of the doyens of anthropology in India. Currently he is one of the editors of The Eastern Anthropologist and also the founder-editor of a newly launched journal, Islam and Muslim Societies: A Social Science Journal. He is also heading a multi-disciplinary research organization Centre for Social Action and Development devoted to research and advocacy of the disadvantaged sections of Indian society and based at Lucknow. He has published a number of books and papers in reputed journals. His popular books include Tribal India, Indian Anthropology, Indian Society and Culture: Continuity and Change and OBC Communities in the Process of change in India some of which have been translated into several Indian languages. Two of his field based studies Bonded For Ever and Shias and Shia Islam in India: A Study in Society and culture have been widely acclaimed as seminal contributions. An academician-activist, he is also involved with the mass media and writes in popular magazines and newspapers in English, Hindi and Urdu.
There are no reviews yet.