IDENTITY AND CITIZENSHIP: AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

Vice President Delivers Lecture at Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies in London  Source: Press Information Bureau, Government of India

The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari delivered a Lecture on “Identity and Citizenship: An Indian Perspective” at Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies in London, United Kingdom today. Shri Ansari is on a State visit to UK from 31st October to 1st November, 2013.  Event at the Nelson Mandela Lecture Theatre, Said Business School, Park End Street, Oxford, Friday, 1 November 2013, at 5.00 p.m. oxcis.ac.uk  See also from Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies:  The Qurʿan and the Syriac Bible   The Compatibility of Islam and Democracy   The Community Versus the Individual  Contemporary Muslim Societies: Old and New Realities  1980s–2000s: Globalization and Islamic Resurgence Following is the text of the Vice President’s lecture : “It is a privilege to be invited to address this august audience. Conscious of the gap between the immensity of the honour and the inadequacies of the speaker, I am humbled by the realisation that six decades earlier Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a very distinguished predecessor of mine as Vice President of India, was for long the Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics at this University. A few years back, when I was in the vicinity of Oxford in a group dabbling in the unfathomable mysteries of the Iraq quagmire, Dr. Nizami provided a welcome distraction by inviting me to see the site, and the plans, for the new building of the Centre. He also mentioned the debate on the proposed architectural design, and of the view in some quarters that it would change the inherited landscape of a hallowed community. The change, as I understood it, implied an assertion of identity. It is now conceded, I am told, that the new structure did no aesthetic or spiritual damage to the skyline of Oxford. Perhaps, the injection of diversity has enriched it. Speculating on the ‘ifs’ of history, Edward Gibbon had visualised a course of events that might have resulted in the teaching of the interpretations of the Qur’an at Oxford. He could not foresee a happier, intellectually more rewarding, happening that the concluding decades of the twentieth century would bring forth. Among its manifestations is the establishment of this Centre. This is a tribute to Oxford’s capacity to accommodate the unusual. ***** Continue reading the speech Endnotes : [i] Castells, Manuel. The Power of Identity (2nd edition, Wiley-Blackwell 2010) p.6 [ii] Sen, Amartya. Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny (London 2006) p.169 [iii] Soroush, Abdolkarim. Reason, Freedom and Democracy in Islam (Oxford 2000) p.156 [iv] Waldron, Jeremy: ‘Cultural Identity and Civic Responsibility’ in Will Kymlica nd Wayne Norman. Citizenship in Diverse Societies (Oxford 2000) p. 157   [v] Guha, Ramachandra. India After Gandhi: The History of the World’s Largest Democracy (London 2007) pp ix-xx [vi] Tara Chand. The Influence of Islam on Indian Culture (Allahabad 1922) p. i [vii] Verghese, B.G. Race, Reconciliation and Security: Managing India’s Diversities (New Delhi 2008) p.216 [viii] Kautilya. The Arthashastra – ed. L.N. Rangarajan (Penguin 1992) p. 140 [ix] Jayal, Nirja Gopal. Citizenship And Its Discontents: an Indian history (New Delhi 2013) pp. 16 and 273-75. Also, B. Shiva Rao (ed) The Framing of India’s Constitution – A Study (2nd revised ed. 2012) p.150 [x] Barker, Ernest. Principles of Social and Political Theory (Oxford 1951) p vi [xi] Constituent Assembly Debates, Volume X, p. 979 - November 25, 1949 [xii] Kothari, Rajni. Rethinking Democracy (New Delhi 2005) p. 98 [xiii] Patnaik, Prabhat. ‘Independent India at Sixty-Five’ in ‘Social Scientist’ (New Delhi) Vol.41, No. 1-2, Jan-Feb 2013 pp 5-15. [xiv] Gutmann, Amy. Identity in Democracy (Princeton 2003) pp. 3-7, 37 [xv] Kothari, Rajni. ‘Rise of the Dalits and Renewed Debate on Caste’ in Partha Chatterjee. State and Politics in India (Oxford 1999) p. 444 [xvi] Apoorvanand. ‘Democratisation of communalism.’ DNA (Mumbai) September 23, 2013 [xvii] Menon, V.P. The Story of the Integration of Indian States (New Delhi 1956) p. 469 [xviii] Rasheeduddin Khan. Bewildered India – Identity, Pluralism, Discord (New Delhi 1995) p.295 [xix] Report of the Expert Group on Diversity Index (Submitted to Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India 2008) pp. vii-viii. [xx] Kymlica, Will. Multiculturalism: Success, Failure and the Future (Minority Policy Institute, Europe, February 2012) pp 1-2 [xxi] Mahajan, Gurpreet. The Multicultural Path: Issues of Diversity and Discrimination in Democracy (New Delhi 2002) pp. 15, 17, 217-218. [xxii] Guha, Ramachandra. ‘Politicians and Pluralism: The inclusive ideals of the Republic must not be lost sight of’.’ The Telegraph (Kolkata) September 7, 2013 ***** Sanjay Kumar (in London, UK)/VPI/01.11.2013,  (Release ID :100373)

New book: Crisis of Islamic Masculinities, by Amanullah De Sondy

Ps. Here is a new scholarly work on the sociology of manliness and male identities in Islamic sources and in Muslim societies. Worth reading and reflecting. My previous post has a long list of Multifaith readings: Gender and sexuality in faiths - A select list

The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities
Amanullah De Sondy

 

Book Description:

Rigid notions of masculinity are causing crisis in the global Islamic community. These are articulated from the Qur’an, its commentary, historical precedents and societal, religious and familial obligations. Some Muslims who don't agree with narrow constructs of manliness feel forced to consider themselves secular and therefore outside the religious community.

In order to evaluate whether there really is only one valid, ideal Islamic masculinity, The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities explores key figures of the Qur’an and Indian-Pakistani Islamic history, and exposes the precariousness of tight constraints on Islamic manhood. By examining Qur’anic arguments and the strict social responsibilities advocated along with narrow Islamic masculinities, Amanullah De Sondy shows that God and women (to whom Muslim men relate but are different from) often act as foils for the construction of masculinity. He argues the constrainers of masculinity have used God and women to think with and to dominate through and that rigid gender roles are the product of a misguided enterprise: the highly personal relationship between humans and God does not lend itself to the organization of society, because that relationship cannot be typified and replicated.

Discussions and debates surrounding Islamic masculinities are quickly finding their place in the study of Islam and Muslims, and The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities makes a vital contribution to this emerging field.

 

Table Of Contents:

Introduction\1.The Knot Mawdudi Tied\2. Feminists’ Nonothering Hermeneutics\3. The Failed Search for a Single Qur’anic Masculinity\4. Mirza Ghalib’s Hedonistic Challenge\5.Sufism’s Beloved Subversion\Conclusion\Bibliography

Reviews:

 “De Sondy makes an original and rich contribution to the burgeoning literature on Islamic masculinities while engaging productively with Muslim feminist thought.” –  Kecia Ali, Associate Professor of Religion, Boston University, USA.,
“The study of Muslim masculinities is in its infancy, and The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities easily succeeds in laying a secure foundation for this highly significant but neglected field - a major step forward.” –  Ahmet T. Karamustafa, Professor of History, University of Maryland, USA.,
“This book opens the way to rethinking what it means to be a man in the Islamic tradition, showing the intricate ways in which constructions of femininity and masculinity are intertwined. It is a must-read for those wishing to understand the Islamists' obsession with sexuality, their rejection of gender equality, and their invocation of religious dogma as the basis for gender rights.” –  Ziba Mir-Hosseini, Centre for Islamic and Middle Eastern Law, SOAS, UK.,

Quran with Bhagavad Gita in a communal harmony class

Monday November 21, 2011 10:27:29 AM, Asit Srivastava, IANS

Varanasi: Holding the Quran in one hand and the Bhagavad Gita in the other, Mukhtar Ahmad conducts "a class of communal harmony" at a madrassa in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi district to enable students to draw similarities between Islam and Hinduism.

Welcome to Bahrul-Uloom madrassa (Islamic seminary) in Chittanpura town where like Ahmad several other Muslim teachers are involved in imparting lessons of brotherhood and unity to inculcate "moral values" in their students.

"Our main objective behind teaching Hindu scriptures along with the Quran is to undertake a comparative study of the holy books of the two religions to enable our students to draw similarity between Islam and Hinduism," Ahmad, a teacher at the Islamic seminary, said.

"By drawing similarity between the two religions, students will be able to correlate the teachings of Quran with those of the Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu ancient text, which in turn would enable them to respect the two religions in the same manner," he added. continue reading

On the same shelf:

Quran with Bhagavad Gita in a communal harmony class, Mayank Kumar, Aaj Ki Khabar,

Quran with Bhagavad Gita in a communal harmony class, FnF Correspondent ,

Quran with Bhagavad Gita in a communal harmony class, Canada India Education Council

Bringing back lessons of haj -- Partners in Humanity, Muslim-Western

by Kalsoom Lakhani
01 December 2009
"Washington, DC - Although the haj is a strictly Muslim experience, many hajis find it affects the way they also see interfaith relations. In "Estimating the Impact of the Hajj: Religion and Tolerance in Islam's Global Gathering", a 2008 study of Pakistani pilgrims by the Weatherhead Center of International Affairs at Harvard University, the authors found that performing the haj "increases pilgrims' desire for peace and tolerance toward others"–Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The study compared successful and unsuccessful applicants in a lottery used by Pakistan to allocate haj visas and the personal accounts of pilgrims..." continue reading @ - Common Ground News Service

* Kalsoom Lakhani is the director of Social Vision, the strategic philanthropy arm of ML Resources, LLC. She also runs the CHUP! - Changing Up Pakistan blog. This article first appeared in Washington Post/Newsweek's OnFaith and was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).

see on the same shelf:

Hajj Steps - [visual map] by Baggia Travel, Toronto

Basic Hajj Map, by Shayistha Abdulla

Hajj 2010 - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Bikini vs. Burka: The Debauchery of Women

This is a chapter from the book: Cruel Hoax: Feminism and the New World Order, by Henry Makow (2007)

September 24, 2009 (Updated from Sept. 18, 2002)
By Henry Makow Ph.D.

"On my wall, I have a picture of a Muslim woman shrouded in a burka.
Beside it is a picture of an American beauty contestant, wearing nothing but a bikini.

One woman is totally hidden from the public; the other is totally exposed. These two extremes say a great deal about the clash of so-called "civilizations."

The role of woman is at the heart of any culture. Apart from stealing Arab oil, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are about stripping Muslims of their religion and culture, exchanging the burka for a bikini.

I am not an expert on the condition of Muslim women and I love feminine beauty too much to advocate the burka here. But I am defending some of the values that the burka represents for me...." continue reading

Christmas a time for bridge building, Abdul Malik Mujahid

[Audio]
 Treating Christmas with Respect:

"Christmas is an annual Christian religious holiday commemorating the birth of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him. For many Muslims who do not even celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, it becomes an issue of what stand they should take."

continue reading Christmas a time for bridge building
12/10/2009 - Interfaith Religious Social - Article Ref: IC0612-3182
Number of comments: 14
By: Abdul Malik Mujahid
IslamiCity* -

What America Must Learn from India's 9/11

By Forum Contributor

 - FOXNews.com

"When religious-inspired terrorists use the Web to spread hatred it falls to religious leaders to respond by building bridges. But our efforts will fail unless misguided politicians refuse to stop cloaking the enemies of humanity behind a shroud of dangerous and false political correctness...." Continue reading

Ramdev's Yoga at Deoband's Islamic congregation steals limelight

Updated November 03, 2009, Source: zeenews @ Youtube

Deoband: In a rare confluence, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev performed Pranayam while a Hindu Priest recited Vedic hymns at the largest congregation of Muslim clerics of the country here on Tuesday.

The 30th General Assembly organised by Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind at the Darul Uloom Islamic seminary was the first occasion when a Hindu religious figure addressed the audience, primarily comprising Muslim clerics. continue reading