Sharing the Sacred

Bigelow, Anna:
Sharing the Sacred : Practicing Pluralism in Muslim North India / Anna Bigelow. - New York : Oxford University Press, 2010. - x, 314 S. : Ill., Kt.
ISBN 978-0-19-536823-9
US$ 74,00
DDC: 201.50954552
LCC: BL2015.R44 B55 2009

Beschreibung
Inter-religious relations in India are notoriously fraught, not infrequently erupting into violence. This book looks at a place where the conditions for religious conflict are present, but active conflict is absent. Bigelow focuses on a Muslim majority Punjab town (Malkerkotla) where both during the Partition and subsequently there has been no inter-religious violence. With a minimum of intervention from outside interests, Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs have successfully managed conflict when it does arise. Bigelow explores the complicated history of the region, going back to its foundation by a Sufi saint in the fifteenth century. Combining archival and interview material, she accounts for how the community's idealized identity as a place of peace is realized on the ground through a variety of strategies. As a story of peace in a region of conflict, this study is an important counterbalance to many conflict studies and a corrective to portrayals of Islamic cultures as militant and intolerant. This fascinating town with its rich history will be of interest to students and scholars of Islam, South Asia, and peace and conflict resolution. [Verlagsinformation]

Inhalt
Introduction. 3
1. The Saint: Shaikh Sadruddin Sadri Jahan. 32
2. The Nawabs: Good, Bad, and Ugly. 66
3. Before Partition: Challenges to the Plural Kingdom. 99
4. Partition and Beyond: Peace, Politics, and the New India. 123
5. Dead Center: The Tomb of Haider Shaikh. 151
6. Practicing Pluralism: Getting Along in Malerkotla. 195
Conclusion. 239
Appendices
   Appendix A: Malerkotla Ruling Family. 247
   Appendix B: The Call for Justice, haah da naara. 249
Notes. 251
Bibliography. 289
Index. 309

Autorin
ANNA BIGELOW is Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy at North Carolina State University. Homepage.

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