Islam and India

aug 29th, 2008

query from a reader. please feel free to post any responses here.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: E Maxwell

I had looked upon your blog for the first time, as an avid student and explorer of both South Asian, i.e. Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jainist cultures and of Islamic cultures in addition.  A lot of it comes from my interest as a zionist supporter of israel, (my paternal grandparents were holocaust survivors and contributed to my strong jewish heritage), and subsequent interest to learn about the clashing cultures in the middle east and nearby areas that affect it.  I noticed your blog had numerous stories and articles comparing the situation and advancement of religious groups in India and was interested in additional perspective. I noticed you said that in all areas of India where muslims are the majority,  living standards are subpar and the people are backward.  Is that a recent phenomenon or has it always been that way ever since muslims were in India at all?  Would you say it's gotten better of worse as the years progressed? And perhaps more importantly, is there still some degree of inter religious harmony and peace left in places like Hyderabad where muslim populations are significant?  Are muslims in Hyderabad mostly willing to cooperate with police and authority figures and make sacrifices when necessary to provide security for Hindu neighbors?  And do muslim separatist groups in Hyderabad like Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, the Hyderabad equivalent of Kashmir jiahdists, still hold sway over Muslims in both the Old and New City?  It's especially odd since at least in modern India there was a tradition of muslims becoming intellectually and culturally advanced in many of the modern day cities.  I mean, in Bijapur, for instance, the rulers for many years were the Adil Shah monarchs who though were aggressive expansionists were also enthusiastic patrons of higher culture and interreligous harmony.  Same for Hyderabad, which was founded by Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah, from the Qutb Shah dynasty.  he and his successors were known for being great artists and poets who treated Hindus and Muslims as equals, (not as dhimmis or 2nd class citizens) and encouraged artistic achievement to flourish in Hyderabad.  It seems today the legacy of intellectual figures among India's muslims is gone replaced by fundamentalism and absence of any culture outside of islam. And of course Jammu and Kashmir, now hopelessly lost to jihadis, was once ruled by open-minded and culturally advanced rulers as well.  But any legacy in Kashmir other than violent jihad and cleansing of hindus is clearly gone forever. Maybe it's the legacy of rulers of these cities in most recent times, like the Nizam SHahs of Hyderabad in the 1700s, who stopped this cultural and civilizational advancement of muslims in India.  Maybe it's due to Middle Eastern influence like Saudi and Egyptian funded mosques leading to a revival of religious nationalism. Or maybe it's not as severe as it seems; maybe there are large numbers of muslims who are working for modernization, increased prosperity and religious acceptance.  I know in Hyderabad, for example, 30 percent of Muslims live in the New City and they have much more in common with Hindus there than with groups like Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen.  The same for Bijapur, Delhi, Bombay and other cities. What would you say about the religious and cultural clashes in India?  Is there reason to be optimistic or not really?