Histories tell us how, threatened by state power and by various pressure groups, resisting communities have chosen to go underground, surviving clandestinely as a whole or partly concealing their... Show moreHistories tell us how, threatened by state power and by various pressure groups, resisting communities have chosen to go underground, surviving clandestinely as a whole or partly concealing their activities. This phenomenon testifies to the permanence of dynamic, antinomian trends in societies. A particular type is expressed by the tales of religious dissimulation - practised by Jews, Christians, and Muslims - referred to in the Islamic idiom as taqiyya. Show less
Hardly is any historical Indian Muslim figure of the 1 9th century as controversial as Sayyid Siddiq Hasan Khan al-Qannauji al-Bukhari (1832-1890). The reason for all the contrasting assessments of... Show moreHardly is any historical Indian Muslim figure of the 1 9th century as controversial as Sayyid Siddiq Hasan Khan al-Qannauji al-Bukhari (1832-1890). The reason for all the contrasting assessments of his personality was his astonishing career: he rose from an impoverished scholar to the son-in-law of the Prime Minister at the court of Bhopal. In 1871, the widowed ruler of this principality, Shah Jahan Begum (r. 1868-1901) chose him as her second husband. After his marriage, Siddiq Hasan Khan established the reformist movement Ahl-e Hadith (people of the prophetic traditions), which soon became a dominant Muslim group in Bhopal. But as soon as Siddiq Hasan's career had started, it came to a sudden end. Show less
When on 27 February 2002 the Sabarmati Express at the train station of Godhra in the Indian state of Gujarat was assaulted and set on fire, and when, as a result, the whole state of Gujarat turned... Show moreWhen on 27 February 2002 the Sabarmati Express at the train station of Godhra in the Indian state of Gujarat was assaulted and set on fire, and when, as a result, the whole state of Gujarat turned into the most severe riots in India since about 10 years, an issue was brought back to the awareness of the world community, that had long been forgotten outside India: the so-called 'Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhumi', or Ayodhya conflict. Show less
The Farangi Mahall family of learned and holy men is remarkable in the history of India. Indeed, it would be in any society. Claiming descent from Ayyub Ansari, the host of the Prophet at Medina,... Show moreThe Farangi Mahall family of learned and holy men is remarkable in the history of India. Indeed, it would be in any society. Claiming descent from Ayyub Ansari, the host of the Prophet at Medina, through the 11th-century saint cAbd Allah Ansari of Herat, their ancestors migrated to India in the early years of the Delhi sultanate. One branch settled around Panipat, close to Delhi, and in recent times produced: Altaf Husayn Hali, the great poet of the Aligarh movement; Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, the progressive writer; and Dr M.A. Ansari, the pan-Islamic leader and president both of the Indian National Congress and of the all-India Muslim League. Show less
The enchanting coral archipelago known as Lakshadweep comprises ten inhabited and seventeen uninhabited islands, which lie about 200 to 400 kilometres off the Indian west coast in the Arabian Sea.... Show moreThe enchanting coral archipelago known as Lakshadweep comprises ten inhabited and seventeen uninhabited islands, which lie about 200 to 400 kilometres off the Indian west coast in the Arabian Sea. The islands span from north to south for approximately 350 kilometres. The inhabitants of all the islands are ethnically very similar and speak a dialect of Malayalam, the language of the neighbouring Indian state of Kerala. The population numbering 50,000 is almost entirely Muslim, mainly Sunnites, apart from a smattering of Wahabis and Ahamadiyyas who are not very popular with the other population. Show less
