On Becoming an Indian Muslim: French Essays on Aspects of SyncretismM. Waseem This selection of fifteen essays by modern French intellectuals in translation is a sequel to Garcin de Tassy's Muslim Festivals in India (first published in the 1830s) and translated by M. Waseem (OUP, 1995). The focus of this collection is religious syncretism: how at the popular level, when Islam first came to India, may un-Islamic elements derived from Hinduism (some even at variance with Islam's normative and canonical aspects) came to be accepted as part of the practice of Islam on the subcontinent. Relying on literary and other texts as well as field studies, well-known French scholars-such as Louis Massignon, Jules Bloch, Jean Filliozat, Charlotte Vaudeville, Francoise Mallison, Denis Matringe, Marc Gaborieau, and Dominique-Sila Khan among others - trace the various ways in which Islam found popular support at the grass-roots level in India. The essays focus on the significant contributions of the Indian mystic Kabir, Sufism, Dara Shikoh, Jayasi, Pir Shams, Waris Shah, Ghazi Miyan, 'Ramdeo'Pir, the Bhartrhari Jogis of Gorakhpur and Mahatama Gandhi. The concluding essay is by the translator himself and focuses on the followers of the Agha Khan, otherwise known as the Ismaili Khojas. M. Waseem's translations of all the essays is clear and precise, and his substantive Introduction outlines the gradual amalgamation of different religious elements during the spread of Islam as described by these French intellectuals. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Hinduism and Islamic Mysticism 1922 | 49 |
The Arabic Version | 63 |
Copyright | |
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according Arabic ASADUDDIN EDITORS ascetic avatar BARBARA METCALF Bhartrhari Bhartrhari jogis Brahmans called caste century CHRISTIAN TROLL EDITOR cult dance Dara Shikoh Dara's Delhi divine edition Essays Oxford India fakirs Festivals in India fête fortnight Gandhi garabi GARCIN DE TASSY Ghazi Miyan ginana Gujarat guru heart Hindi Hindu Hinduism Imam Independence Oxford India Islam Isma'ilis Jayasi Kabir Khan Khojas Lahore legend literature Louis Massignon Mallison MARC GABORIEAU marriage Massignon moon Muhammad MUSHIRUL HASAN Muslim Festivals musulman mystical Nath Nepal Nizari OXFORD BOOKS GARCIN Oxford India Paperbacks Oxford University Press Padmavat Paris Persian Pir Shams poem popular pouja Punjab qissah Quran Ramdeo Ranjha religion religious rites ritual sacred saint Sanskrit Satpanth sect Shah's Shaiva Shi'as siddha social songs soul spiritual Sufi Sufism TASSY TRANSLATED Thanawi's Bihishti Zewar tomb tradition Urdu verses village virah Waris Shah WASEEM Women Maulana Ashraf words yogi