Description
Book SynopsisMaulana Husain Ahmad Madani (1879 – 1957) was a political activist, Islamic scholar, and supporter of Gandhi during the struggle for India’s independence. Humane and fiercely dedicated whether campaigning against the separation of Pakistan, or in favour of democracy and inter-religious peace, he brooked no nonsense and fought relentlessly for what he believed in. Spanning a lifetime of campaigning and controversy, Barbara Metcalf’s compelling biography draws from Madani’s letters and autobiographies, as well as detailed knowledge of the prevailing political climate, to create an intimate and revealing account of one of the most important men in the history of modern Islam.
Table of ContentsSources and Acknowledgements
Maps
INTRODUCTION
1 THE ARREST OF THE “UNDESIRABLE INDIANS,” 1916
Maulana Mahmudul Hasan, Deoband, and new political strategies
The War and the “Silk Letter Conspiracy”
2 “THE PRISONER OF MALTA,” 1916–1920
The tribunal
Travel
Malta
Everyday routines: mutual bonds, common commitments
Colonial internment as a school for anti-colonialism
3 FLASHBACK: BECOMING AN ISLAMIC SCHOLAR IN COLONIAL INDIA AND MEDINA
The family
Everyday life and education in Tanda
The formation of an Islamic scholar
The Sufi path
A sectarian conflict
India, 1909–1911 and 1913
Maulana Husain Ahmad at thirty-five
4 BECOMING A “NATIONALIST MUSLIM”: INDIA IN THE 1920s
Bombay, the Khilafat Movement, and political awakening
The Shaikhul Hind, Maulana Madani, and non-cooperation
The double strand of activism: the “Karachi Seven” and Islamic renewal
Calcutta and Sylhet
Principal of Deoband
Mass politics, minority politics
5 WHO SPEAKS FOR MUSLIMS? THE CHALLENGES OF THE 1930s
Maulana Madani’s character
Non-cooperation and round tables
Izhar-i Haqiqat, “A Declaration of Truth”
The elections of 1936
Defending “Composite Nationalism”
Differences: against the ‘ulama, among the ‘ulama
The Shi‘a–Sunni dispute in Lucknow
Transitions
6 “THE GLORIOUS WARRIOR”: AGAINST BRITAIN, AGAINST PARTITION
A voice crying in the wilderness?
Words as weapons: anti-colonialism, Muslim freedom fighters, sacred India
Protesting and negotiating throughout the war
Dividing India
Partition
CONCLUSION: INDIAN INDEPENDENCE AND THE CONTINUING JIHAD
A final story
In conclusion
Bibliography
Index
