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2. Contextualizing the Formation and Ideology of Islamism

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Islamism and Democracy in India
This chapter is in the book Islamism and Democracy in India
C H A P T E R 2Contextualizing the Formation and Ideology of IslamismThe storm of the west made Muslim, Muslim.—Mohammad IqbalIn order to keep everything as it is, we have to change everything.—Giuseppe di Lampedusa, The LeopardThis chapter explores the Jamaat’s ideology and practices as they evolved before India’s Partition, focusing on the life of Maududi as founder of the movement and central to the Jamaat. I discuss how a cross-current of Western philosophy, Marxism, and a modern Islam shaped his out-look. I then describe the context of the Jamaat’s formation, discussing Maududi’s move from secular nationalism to communalism and eventu-ally to Islamism. With his turn to Islamism, he came to support the de-mand for a separate state for Muslims, namely, Pakistan. But he wanted a sharia state based on “pure Islam” for which he founded his own party, Jamaat-e-Islami. I next lay bare his Islamist ideology, which, following Carl Schmitt, I call a “political theology.” I tease out the conceptual struc-ture of Islamism to depict its resonance with the European ideologies of the time. Finally, I set down the practices of the Jamaat. Based on historical and fieldwork data, I discuss how ideology played out in prac-tice, concluding with Maududi’s plan of action to bring about an Islamic revolution in India before he left for Pakistan.Far from being “pure” and “sovereign,” I argue, Maududi’s construc-tion of Islam—conceived here as Islamism–departs from traditions. His ideology is a manifestation of what Therborn (1980:vii–viii) calls “the cacophony of sounds and signs of a big city street” rather than the sym-phony of a narrow lane dotted only with signs of an un-ruptured Islam. Like the poet Mohammad Iqbal (Puri 2003), Maududi also became Mus-lim precisely because of the “western storm.” As I hope to demonstrate, the corpus of writings by Maududi—never schooled in a traditional ma-drasa—indeed mounts an assault on the lived traditions (Bhatt 1997) and, in so doing, invents them in the name of reclaiming “purity.” Just as the invention of tradition is modern (Hobsbawm 1983; Eickelman and
© 2019 Princeton University Press, Princeton

C H A P T E R 2Contextualizing the Formation and Ideology of IslamismThe storm of the west made Muslim, Muslim.—Mohammad IqbalIn order to keep everything as it is, we have to change everything.—Giuseppe di Lampedusa, The LeopardThis chapter explores the Jamaat’s ideology and practices as they evolved before India’s Partition, focusing on the life of Maududi as founder of the movement and central to the Jamaat. I discuss how a cross-current of Western philosophy, Marxism, and a modern Islam shaped his out-look. I then describe the context of the Jamaat’s formation, discussing Maududi’s move from secular nationalism to communalism and eventu-ally to Islamism. With his turn to Islamism, he came to support the de-mand for a separate state for Muslims, namely, Pakistan. But he wanted a sharia state based on “pure Islam” for which he founded his own party, Jamaat-e-Islami. I next lay bare his Islamist ideology, which, following Carl Schmitt, I call a “political theology.” I tease out the conceptual struc-ture of Islamism to depict its resonance with the European ideologies of the time. Finally, I set down the practices of the Jamaat. Based on historical and fieldwork data, I discuss how ideology played out in prac-tice, concluding with Maududi’s plan of action to bring about an Islamic revolution in India before he left for Pakistan.Far from being “pure” and “sovereign,” I argue, Maududi’s construc-tion of Islam—conceived here as Islamism–departs from traditions. His ideology is a manifestation of what Therborn (1980:vii–viii) calls “the cacophony of sounds and signs of a big city street” rather than the sym-phony of a narrow lane dotted only with signs of an un-ruptured Islam. Like the poet Mohammad Iqbal (Puri 2003), Maududi also became Mus-lim precisely because of the “western storm.” As I hope to demonstrate, the corpus of writings by Maududi—never schooled in a traditional ma-drasa—indeed mounts an assault on the lived traditions (Bhatt 1997) and, in so doing, invents them in the name of reclaiming “purity.” Just as the invention of tradition is modern (Hobsbawm 1983; Eickelman and
© 2019 Princeton University Press, Princeton

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Illustrations and Tables ix
  4. Preface and Acknowledgments xi
  5. Notes to the Reader xvii
  6. Abbreviations xix
  7. Introduction 1
  8. Part I. Fieldwork and Historical Context
  9. 1. Doing Fieldwork in Times of War 31
  10. 2. Contextualizing the Formation and Ideology of Islamism 49
  11. Part II. Zigzags to Allah’s Kingdom
  12. 3. Educating the Children 83
  13. 4. Mobilizing the Young 111
  14. 5. Defining Islam: Conflict and Democratization 137
  15. Part III. Opposition and Negotiation
  16. 6. Invoking Jihad 163
  17. 7. Negotiating the Idol: Secularism, Democracy, and Allah’s Kingdom 188
  18. Conclusion 217
  19. Appendixes 241
  20. Notes 245
  21. Glossary of Urdu-Hindi Terms 263
  22. Bibliography 265
  23. Index 295
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400833795-007

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Illustrations and Tables ix
  4. Preface and Acknowledgments xi
  5. Notes to the Reader xvii
  6. Abbreviations xix
  7. Introduction 1
  8. Part I. Fieldwork and Historical Context
  9. 1. Doing Fieldwork in Times of War 31
  10. 2. Contextualizing the Formation and Ideology of Islamism 49
  11. Part II. Zigzags to Allah’s Kingdom
  12. 3. Educating the Children 83
  13. 4. Mobilizing the Young 111
  14. 5. Defining Islam: Conflict and Democratization 137
  15. Part III. Opposition and Negotiation
  16. 6. Invoking Jihad 163
  17. 7. Negotiating the Idol: Secularism, Democracy, and Allah’s Kingdom 188
  18. Conclusion 217
  19. Appendixes 241
  20. Notes 245
  21. Glossary of Urdu-Hindi Terms 263
  22. Bibliography 265
  23. Index 295
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