Kashmir's Transition to Islam

Kashmir's Transition to Islam
Author: Mohammad Ishaq Khan
Publisher: Manohar Publishers
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2002
Genre: History
ISBN: 9788173041990

The book breaks fresh ground in historical research. Based on a critical and empathic understanding of Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian and Kashmiri sources, it provides a critique of Orientalist scholarship against the background of an historical enquiry conducted into the processes of Islamisation and its dynamics in relation to the role of Muslim Rishis (Kashmiri Sufis). Professor Ishaq Khan has brought together a number of perspectives -- the historical, the sociological, and the religious. The crux of his argument is that Islam is not merely a matter of theological propositions, but also a historical realisation: realising the Oneness of Allah by total surrender, dedication, service and above all self-sacrifice for the good of humankind. The Rishi movement is an integral component of the process of Islamisation that started in the picturesque Valley in the wake of the introduction of Sufi orders from Central Asia and Persia in the fourteenth century. The author particularly focuses on the paradox and tension that the Kashmiri Brahmanic society experienced as a result of the Rishi's advocacy of virtues such as self-imposed poverty, identification with the poor and the down-trodden, and above all opposition to the caste system. A significant feature of the book is a perceptive analysis of legends and miracles associated with Muslim Rishis. The author advocates the idea of looking at history from a fresh point of view, and argues in favour of studying the history of human civilisation in its totality, involving an interaction between religion and society. The author has shown that the history of human civilisation cannot be studied in watertight compartments of matter and faith. The present work is therefore worthy of attention and should be of interest to a wide range of readers, rather than merely to specialists.

Islamic and Cultural Foundations of Kashmiriyat

Islamic and Cultural Foundations of Kashmiriyat
Author: Mohammed Ishaq Khan
Publisher: Primus Books
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2021-06-21
Genre:
ISBN: 9789390737444

In this collection of essays, the late Professor Mohammad Ishaq Khan (1946-2013) caps a lifetime of research into the history of Kashmir, especially of its cultural heritage. These essays are a broad selection from years of scholarship and give a clear view of Professor Khan's contribution to the field. Their main theme is Kashmiriyat, the essence of Kashmiri culture that can be traced through history. Professor Khan forcefully argues that Kashmiri Islam is 'neither syncretism nor synthesis'. In other words, Kashmiri culture should not be understood as a watered-down version of a 'pure' Islam, but rather the result of a cultural transformation in no way at odds with Islam as a religion. Professor Khan traces Kashmir's history as an outward looking and culturally self-assured society, tied closely to the rest of the Indian subcontinent, but maintaining unique traditions available to both Muslims and non-Muslims. The essays address the range of available historical sources, the relationship between Brahmanism and Islam, the role of saints and ritual in Kashmiri Islam, the Persian influence on Kashmir, and other topics. Professor Khan ends with a candid examination of his own experience as a Kashmiri living through the second half of the twentieth century.

The Syncretic Traditions of Islamic Religious Architecture of Kashmir (Early 14th –18th Century)

The Syncretic Traditions of Islamic Religious Architecture of Kashmir (Early 14th –18th Century)
Author: Hakim Sameer Hamdani
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2021-03-30
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1000365255

This book traces the historical identity of Kashmir within the context of Islamic religious architecture between early fourteenth and mid-eighteenth century. It presents a framework of syncretism within which the understanding of this architectural tradition acquires new dimensions and possibilities in the region. In a first, the volume provides a detailed overview of the origin and development of Islamic sacred architecture while contextualizing it within the history of Islam in Kashmir. Covering the entirety of Muslim rule in the region, the book throws light on Islamic religious architecture introduced with the establishment of the Muslim Sultanate in the early fourteenth century, and focuses on both monumental and vernacular architecture. It examines the establishment of new styles in architecture, including ideas, materials and crafts introduced by non-Kashmiri missionaries in the late-fourteenth to fifteenth century. Further, it discusses how the Mughals viewed Kashmir and embellished the land with their architectural undertakings, coupled with encounters between Kashmir’s native culture, with its identity and influences introduced by Sufis arriving from the medieval Persianate world. The book also highlights the transition of the traditional architecture to a pan-Islamic image in the post-Independence period. With its rich illustrations, photographs and drawings, this book will interest students, researchers, and professionals in architecture studies, cultural and heritage studies, visual and art history, religion, Islamic studies and South Asian studies. It will also be useful to professional architecture institutes, public libraries, museums, cultural and heritage bodies as well as the general reader interested in the architectural and cultural history of South Asia.

Kashmir at the Crossroads

Kashmir at the Crossroads
Author: Sumantra Bose
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 355
Release: 2021-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0300256876

An authoritative, fresh, and vividly written account of the Kashmir conflict--from 1947 to the present The India-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir is one of the world's incendiary conflicts. Since 1990, at least 60,000 people have been killed--insurgents, civilians, and military and police personnel. In 2019, the conflict entered a dangerous new phase. India's Hindu nationalist government, under Narendra Modi, repealed Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir's autonomous status and divided it into two territories subject to New Delhi's direct rule. The drastic move was accompanied by mass arrests and lengthy suspension of mobile and internet services. In this definitive account, Sumantra Bose examines the conflict in Kashmir from its origins to the present volatile juncture. He explores the global context of the current situation, including China's growing role, as well as the human tragedy of the people caught in the bitter dispute. Drawing on three decades of field experience in Kashmir, Bose asks whether a compromise settlement is still possible given the ascendancy of Hindu nationalism in India and the complex geopolitical context.

Kashmir: Its Aborigines and Their Exodus

Kashmir: Its Aborigines and Their Exodus
Author: Colonel Tej K Tikoo
Publisher: Lancer Publishers LLC
Total Pages: 432
Release:
Genre:
ISBN: 1935501585

Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir in 1989 was their seventh such exodus since the arrival of Islam in Kashmir in the fourteenth century. This was precipitated by the outbreak of Pakistan-sponsored insurgency across Kashmir Valley in 1989. The radical Islamists targeted Pandits - a minuscule community in Muslim dominated society creating enormous fear, panic and grave sense of insecurity. In the face of ruthless atrocities inflicted on them, the Pandits’ sole concern was ensuring their own physical safety and their resolve not to convert to Islam. Over 350,000 Kashmiri Pandits were forced to flee en masse leaving their home and hearth. This was the single largest forced displacement of people of a particular ethnicity after partition of India. Pandits’ travails did not end with the exodus. The obstructive and intimidating attitude of the State administration towards the Pandit refugees made their post-exodus existence even more miserable. The Government at the Centre too remained indifferent to their plight. This book traces the Pandits’ economic and political marginalization in the State over the past six decades and covers in detail the events that led to their eventual exodus. In the light of ethnic cleansing of Pandits from the Valley, the book also examines some critical issues so crucial to India’s survival as a multi-cultural, liberal and secular democracy.

Kashmir’s Contested Pasts

Kashmir’s Contested Pasts
Author: Chitralekha Zutshi
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2014-07-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199089361

A pioneering and comprehensive study of the historical imagination in Kashmir, this book explores the conversations between the ideas of Kashmir and the ideas of history taking place within Kashmir’s multilingual historical tradition. Analysing the deep linkages among Sanskrit, Persian, and Kashmiri narratives, Kashmir’s Contested Pasts contends that these traditions drew on and influenced each other to imagine Kashmir as far more than simply an unsettled territory or a tourist paradise. By offering a historically grounded reflection on the memories, narrative practices, and institutional contexts that have informed, and continue to inform, imaginings of Kashmir and its past, the book suggests new ways of understanding the debates over history, territory, identity, and sovereignty that shape contemporary South Asia.

Islam and Asia

Islam and Asia
Author: Chiara Formichi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 351
Release: 2020-05-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107106125

An accessible, transregional exploration of how Islam and Asia have shaped each other's histories, societies and cultures from the seventh century to today.

Militant Islam

Militant Islam
Author: Stephen Vertigans
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2008-10-30
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1134126395

Militant Islam provides a sociological framework for understanding the rise and character of recent Islamic militancy. It takes a systematic approach to the phenomenon and includes analysis of cases from around the world, comparisons with militancy in other religions, and their causes and consequences. The sociological concepts and theories examined in the book include those associated with social closure, social movements, nationalism, risk, fear and ‘de-civilising’. These are applied within three main themes; characteristics of militant Islam, multi-layered causes and the consequences of militancy, in particular Western reactions within the ‘war on terror’. Interrelationships between religious and secular behaviour, ‘terrorism’ and ‘counter-terrorism’, popular support and opposition are explored. Through the examination of examples from across Muslim societies and communities, the analysis challenges the popular tendency to concentrate upon ‘al-Qa’ida’ and the Middle East. This book will be of interest to students of Sociology, Political Science and International Relations, in particular those taking courses on Islam, religion, terrorism, political violence and related regional studies.

Rethinking Political Islam

Rethinking Political Islam
Author: Shadi Hamid
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2017
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0190649208

Rethinking Political Islam offers a fine-grained and definitive overview of the changing world of political Islam in the post-Arab Uprising era.