Islam, South Asia, and the West »

Francis Robinson is Professor of the History of South Asia in the University of London, Royal Holloway.

Two of the more important developments in world history over the past two centuries have been the expansion of Western power and the revival of Islam. South Asia has played a central role in both processes, being the main focus of the imperialism of the British and an important site of the Muslim revival.

These essays, which were written over the past ten years, confront some of the key issues raised by some modern developments in South Asia: the interactions between British power and Muslim revivalism in giving shape to the modern Muslim world; the role of knowledge in fashioning Muslim societies and the rise of the 'ulama, to greater influence than ever before. It also explores the great shift from other-worldly to a this-worldly piety amongst Muslims, the energy this has given the Muslim revival, and its meaning for relations between Islam and the West. The essays are rounded off by reviews of major contributions to the field over the period. Among the themes which emerge are: the influence both of orientalism and of Hindu revivalism on the world of scholarship, and the fact that the world is a better place when we remember the humanity we share.

This book offers profound insights to those wishing to understand the background to the interactions of Islam, South Asia and the West in our time.

Acknowledgements vii

Introduction 1

1 Knowledge, its Transmission, and the Making of Muslim Societies 19

2 'Ulama of South Asia from 1800 to the mid-Twentieth Century 59

3 The British Empire and the Muslim World 99

4 The British Empire and Muslim Identity in South Asia 124

5 Living Together Separately The 'Ulama of Farangi Mahall c. 1700-c. 1950 146

6 Women as Patrons of Art and Culture The Begums of Bhopal 160

7 Other-Worldly and This-Worldly Islam and the Islamic Revival 171

8 Islam and the West Clash of Civilizations? 189

Responses to Major Contributions on Islamic and South Asian History

9 Modern Islam and the Green Menace 209

10 Never Argue with the Camel-driver 215

11 Through the Minefield 220

12 House of Mirrors 229

13 A Greater Raj 234

14 Glimpses of a Lost World 241

15 A Pit Full of Honey 247

16 The Music of the Sufis 251

17 When India Ruled the Waves 256

18 Mixed Fortunes 263

19 Between Two Worlds 267

20 Thoroughly Modern Muslims 271

21 Heroes in the Harem 278

22 Stories from the Cradle 282

23 No Fun, No Bread, No Chance 286

24 Islamic Contestations 292

Index 300