Tag: Muslim
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Reading al-Biruni’s ‘Kitab al Hind’ as Phenomenology of Religion
by Saad Ismail *A paper originally presented at the Department of Islamic Studies, Aligarh Muslim University in January 2024. 1. Introduction: “I have found it very hard to work my way into the subject, although I have a great liking for it, in which respect I stand quite alone in my time.” al-Biruni Abu Rayhan…
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Perilous Intimacies: Debating Hindu-Muslim Friendship After Empire with SherAli Tareen
In this conversation Prof. SherAli Tareen joins Dr. Saad Ismail for a succinct survey of key theoretical motifs in Prof. Tareen’s most recent ground-breaking book which explores how leading South Asian Muslim thinkers imagined and contested the boundaries of Hindu-Muslim friendship from the late eighteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. He argues that often what was…
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What al-Biruni Can Teach Us About Hindu-Muslim Dialogue Today
by Saad Ismail “I have found it very hard to work my way into the subject, although I have a great liking for it, in which respect I stand quite alone in my time.” Al Biruni Abu Rayhan al-Biruni’s precocious and magisterial study al-Hind (India) was undoubtedly far ahead of its times. Exactly one millennium…
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The Muslim self and its Hindu neighbours: amity and antagonism in the homelands of Bengal
Earlier this year, I published a book with the title “The Hindu Self and its Muslim Neighbors: Contested Borderlines on Bengali Landscapes”. When the manuscript was nearing completion, I realized – somewhat to my shock – that I had unwittingly written a book with the title “The Muslim Self and its Hindu Neighbors”. In other…
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The Island of Remembrance
On a rainy afternoon in July, Reginald took a wrong turn at the busy intersection. Instead of walking in the direction of the noisy marketplace that would take him home in a few minutes, he accidentally stepped into a narrow lane that drew him towards a small garden shaded with leafy trees. As the golden…
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How Not to Do Hindu-Muslim Dialogue
Dr. Nick Sutton, director of the Oxford Center for Hindu Studies, offers a critical and respectful response to some of the gross misrepresentations of Hindu Traditions knowingly or unknowingly employed by Zakir Naik in his talks on Hinduism and Islam. The figure of Zakir Naik remains a paradigmatic example of how not to go about…
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Who is a Hindu? What is Hinduism?
Prof. Arvind Sharma and Dr. Saad Ismail continue their conversation on Hindu-Muslim dialogue. This conversation explores the central role of the historical encounter of the two traditions, and asks whether history is essential or accidental to our encounter. If history is accidental, then this opens up great possibilities for better interfaith relations in the present.…
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Batman and Hindu-Muslim Dialogue
The Manbat from the DC Comics is a scientist-turned super-villain who has concocted a serum that turns him into a giant bat with super-human strength and hearing. But when the zoologist is under the effect of the serum, his IQ falls precipitously and he turns into a creature of pure instinct. However, there are occasional…
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Return Hate with Empathy
Empathy is a dying art. It is a virtue on ventilator. Yet we must find whatever means we can to resuscitate it. Our life and the lives of our children depend on it. And need I say, our afterlives are also on the line.
Project Noon 