Muslims in India

In this collection of nine essays on Islam in India, Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi illuminates the truth of the historical “Muslim era” in India. Nadwi seeks to both share Indian culture with others and to broaden the national perspective in India on the nation’s Islamic history.

The essays in this slim volume are explorations ranging from the positive effects of Islam on India historically to modern day problems, such as imbalanced textbooks and Urdu’s status as a second-class language. There are exhaustive essays on Indian scholars of religion and language, outstanding Muslim personalities, and Sufi saints. Nadwi explores how Islamic civilisation in this region has manifested itself as a blend with Indian culture. He devotes individual chapters to both the medieval educational system and the new educational institutions founded in the age of and in fear of foreign influence. A chapter on the role of Muslims in the struggle for freedom begins with Tipu Sultan in the early part of British imperialism and continues on all the way through partition.

Broad in its scope and detailed in its execution, Muslims in India is an enthusiastic look at the beautiful culture that has flourished at the juncture of India and Islam throughout the ages.