The idea of "jihad" is central to Islamic faith and ethics, and
yet its meanings have been highly contested over time. They have
ranged from the philosophical struggle to live an ethical life to
the political injunction to wage war against enemies of Islam.
Today, more than ever, "jihad" signifies the political opposition
between Islam and the West. As the line drawn between Muslims and
non-Muslims becomes more rigid, Ayesha Jalal seeks to retrieve the
ethical meanings of this core Islamic principle in South Asian
history.
Drawing on historical, legal, and literary sources, Jalal traces
the intellectual itinerary of "jihad" through several centuries and
across the territory connecting the Middle East with South Asia.
She reveals how key innovations in modern Islamic thought resulted
from historical imperatives. The social and political scene in
India before, during, and after British colonial rule forms the
main backdrop. We experience the "jihad" as armed warfare waged by
Sayyid Ahmad of Rai Bareilly between 1826 and 1831, the calls to
"jihad" in the great rebellion of 1857, the fusion of "jihad" with
a strand of anti-colonial nationalism in the early twentieth
century, and the contemporary politics of self-styled "jihadis" in
Pakistan, waging war to liberate co-religionists in Afghanistan and
Kashmir.
"Partisans of Allah" surveys this rich and tumultuous history
of South Asian Muslims and its critical contribution to the
intellectual development of the key concept of "jihad." Analyzing
the complex interplay of ethics and politics in Muslim history, the
author effectively demonstrates the preeminent role of "jihad" in
the Muslim faith today.
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