Interest in Shi'a Islam has increased greatly in recent years, although Shi'ism in the Indian subcontinent has remained largely underexplored. Focusing on the influential Shi'a minority of Lucknow and the United Provinces, a region that was largely under Shi'a rule until 1856, this book traces the history of Indian Shi'ism through the colonial period toward independence in 1947. Drawing on a range of new sources, including religious writing, polemical literature and clerical biography, it assesses seminal developments including the growth of Shi'a religious activism, madrasa education, missionary activity, ritual innovation and the politicization of the Shi'a community. As a consequence of these significant religious and social transformations, a Shi'a sectarian identity developed that existed in separation from rather than in interaction with its Sunni counterparts. In this way the painful birth of modern sectarianism was initiated, the consequences of which are very much alive in South Asia today.
| List of figures and maps | p. viii |
| Preface and acknowledgements | p. ix |
| Frequently used abbreviations | p. xiii |
| Note on transliteration | p. xv |
| Select glossary of terms | p. xvii |
| Introduction: Writing on Indian Shi'ism | p. 1 |
| Madrasas, mujtahids and missionaries: Shi'a clerical expansion in colonial India | p. 32 |
| Mosques, majalis and Muharram: Marketplace Shi'ism | p. 73 |
| Anjumans, endowments and Indian Shi'ism: The making of Shi'a society | p. 114 |
| Aligarh, jihad and pan-Islam: The politicization of the Indian Shi'a | p. 147 |
| The tabarra agitation and Shi'a-Sunni conflicts in late colonial India | p. 186 |
| Conclusion and epilogue: Shi'ism and sectarianism in modern South Asia | p. 222 |
| Appendix: Select Shi'a 'ulama of colonial India | p. 243 |
| Select bibliography | p. 251 |
| Index | p. 267 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
ISBN: 9781107004603
ISBN-10: 1107004608
Series: Cambridge Studies in Indian History & Society
Audience:
Professional
Format:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 304
Published: 24th October 2011
Dimensions (cm): 22.8 x 15.9
x 2.2
Weight (kg): 0.499