Islamic reformism in India between 1857 and 1947: The conception of state in Chiragh ‘Ali, Muhammad Iqbal and Sayyid Abu’l ‘Ala Mawdudi Carimo Mohomed Tese apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Doutor em Ciência Política, especialidade de Teoria e Análise Política, realizada sob a orientação científica do Prof. Doutor José Esteves Pereira Apoio financeiro da Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (referência SFRH / BD / 39569 / 2007) Março, 2012 ii For Fátima For Samir For my parents For Fulbai For those who have to live in this world as foreigners: Home is where you are heading iii ACKAOWLEDGEMEATS At the end of this process, I am indebted to a list of people to whom I would like to express my gratitude. I offer my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. Dr. José Esteves Pereira, who has supported me with his patience and knowledge whilst allowing me the room to work in my own way. Also important were the warm conversations we had and his words reassuring me that what I was researching was very important. I also want to thank Mujeeb Ahmad, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre d’Études et de Recherches Internationales, Sciences Po (Paris, France), and Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the International Islamic University (Islamabad, Pakistan) for giving me his precious feedback on various chapters of this thesis. Also important was Omar Khalidi, an independent scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, USA), whom I met in 2008 in Istanbul. He accompanied me with his co-supervision until November 2010, when he passed away in a tragic manner. To Luís Filipe Thomaz I want to thank his friendship and support, and for giving me the opportunity to share my findings with his students and with a wider audience. To Prof. Hélder Santos Costa I thank his support in the initial stages of this process. To Daniel Ribeiro Alves I thank his friendship and the advices he gave me, which were very useful in avoiding some traps on a path which he had already trodden. To Richard de Luchi I want to thank his friendship and help in improving my English. To all my friends: the old ones for their support and for showing interest and curiosity for what I was doing; the new ones for showing me that I am not alone. To my parents I want to thank for creating an environment in which pursuing knowledge seemed as natural as breathing. To my brother, for always being concerned and interested with what I was doing, and for being proud of me – although I do not show it, I am also proud of him. And, finally, Fátima: I thank her support and help at various levels, since the beginning, and, most importantly, just for being who she is. iv ISLAMIC REFORMISM IA IADIA BETWEEA 1857 AAD 1947: THE COACEPTIOA OF STATE IA CHIRAGH ‘ALI, MUHAMMAD IQBAL AAD SAYYID ABU’L ‘ALA MAWDUDI CARIMO MOHOMED PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Islão, Índia, Século XIX, Século XX, Estado, Chiragh ‘Ali, Muhammad Iqbal, Mawdudi, Islamologia Aplicada KEYWORDS: Islam, India, 19th century, 20th century, State, Chiragh ‘Ali, Muhammad Iqbal, Mawdudi, Applied Islamology RESUMO: Entre 1857, ano da Revolta dos Cipaios e consequente ocupação definitiva da Índia pelos Britânicos, causando o fim do poder político muçulmano, e 1947, data da sua independência e Partição em dois Estados, União Indiana e Paquistão, o sub- continente indiano sofreu grandes transformações. Esta foi uma época rica em pensamento reformista islâmico, dando origem a um intenso debate que ultrapassou as suas fronteiras geográficas e antecipou questões posteriores que ainda hoje se colocam: condição das mulheres, papel da religião na política ou o fim do califado. A importância do estudo do Islão em contexto indiano advém do facto de um terço dos muçulmanos existentes hoje em dia no Mundo viverem nessa região e do facto de, no período agora em estudo, o império britânico ter sido a entidade política com mais muçulmanos precisamente porque a Índia estava sob administração da Grã-Bretanha. Por outro lado, no ano de 2007, que assinalou precisamente os 60 anos da Independência da União Indiana e Paquistão, bem como os 150 anos da Revolta dos Cipaios, houve quem considerasse que os Britânicos deveriam ter restituído aos muçulmanos, em 1947, o poder que lhes tinha sido retirado em 1857. v Utilizando o método de Islamologia Aplicada, de Mohammed Arkoun, e a contextualização histórica de conceitos, proposta por Quentin Skinner, esta investigação aborda três intelectuais desse período, Chiragh ‘Ali, Muhammad Iqbal e Sayyid Abu’l ‘Ala Mawdudi, bem como as suas obras consideradas mais importantes. Assim, através de estudos de caso e comparação qualitativa, nesta investigação analisamos, descrevemos e tentamos compreender os movimentos de reforma islâmica que surgiram na Índia entre os momentos finais da dinastia mogol (1857- 1858) e os momentos finais da presença britânica (1947), mais em particular os diversos modelos políticos e de Estado oferecidos por essas três figuras, comparando- os entre si a vários níveis: a biografia, a obra, o pensamento, a herança e discípulos, bem como o legado deixado e debate que originaram em torno de questões como o papel da religião na política e/ou o modelo de Estado a ser seguido no mundo islâmico. Os diferentes modelos políticos oferecidos por cada um dos autores, e as concepções que tinham sobre a relação entre religião e política, reflectem uma diversidade de pensamento, frequentemente contraditória entre si. A tese conclui que o Islão, enquanto objecto de estudo das, e nas, ciências sociais, tem que ser repensado e redefinido, bem como os conceitos de Shari’a, Religião, Política, Estado, Igreja, Secularismo, Modernidade, pois cada um deles assume diferentes formas em diferentes contextos temporais e geográficos, incluindo naquilo que é chamado de Ocidente, e cada um deles interage com os outros numa multiplicidade de formas, não havendo modelos únicos ou essencialistas. ABSTRACT: Between 1857, year of the Sepoy revolt and subsequent occupation of India by the British, which caused the end of Muslim political supremacy, and 1947, year of its Independence and Partition into two states, India and Pakistan, the Indian sub- continent went through great transformations. It was a very rich period of Islamic reformist thought, originating an intense debate which surpassed the geographical boundaries of India and anticipated future issues which are still being discussed today: the position of women, the role of religion in politics or the end of the caliphate. The importance of studying Islam in a South-Asian context derives from the fact that one third of all Muslims in the world live in this region, and from the fact that in the period that is now analysed the British Empire was the political entity with the largest Muslim population, due to the fact that India was under Great-Britain’s administration. On the other hand, in 2007, which was the year that marked the 60th anniversary of Independence for India and Pakistan, and the 150th anniversary of the Sepoy Revolt, there were people asserting that the British should have given back to Muslims, in 1947, the power taken in 1857. Using Mohammed Arkoun’s Applied Islamology, and historical contextualization, a method proposed by Quentin Skinner, this research focuses on three intellectuals of vi that period, Chiragh ‘Ali, Muhammad Iqbal and Sayyid Abu’l ‘Ala Mawdudi, as well as on their most important works. This research, through case-studies and qualitative comparison, analyses, describes and tries to assess Islamic reform movements which sprang up in India between the final moments of the Mughal dynasty (1857-1858) and the final moments of the British presence (1947), especially the different political and State models offered by those three figures, comparing them at different levels: biographies, works, thought, heritage and disciples, as well as the legacy bequeathed and the debate that they originated around issues such as the role of religion in politics and/or the model of State to be followed in the Islamic world. The different political models offered by each one of the authors, and their conceptions about the relations between religion and politics, express a diversity of thought which is frequently at odds with one another. This thesis concludes that Islam, as an object of study of, and in, the social sciences, has to be rethought and redefined, as well as concepts such as Shari’a, Religion, Politics, State, Church, Secularism, Modernity. Each one of them assumes different forms in different temporal and geographical contexts, including what is usually called the West, and each one of them interacts with the others in a multiplicity of ways, with no single or essentialist model resulting from that interaction. vii TABLE OF COATEATS IATRODUCTIOA ....................................................................................................... 1 Opening remarks........................................................................................................ 1 Studying Islam ........................................................................................................... 2 Studying Political Islam, or Islamism...................................................................... 14 Why study Islam in South Asia? ............................................................................. 21 Studying the State in an Islamic context ................................................................. 27 Methodology and sources ........................................................................................ 37 CHAPTER I: ISLAMIC REFORM MOVEMEATS IA THE 19TH AAD 20TH CEATURIES AAD THEIR IMPACTS IA IADIA ................................................ 41 I.1. Early movements: Wahhabism ......................................................................... 49 I.2. Early movements: Shah Wali Allah of Delhi .................................................... 51 I.3. Sayyid Ahmad Khan: Short biography and the Aligarh movement ................. 57 I.4. Sayyid Ahmad Khan and the Caliphate: Political allegiance to the British ...... 65 CHAPTER II: CHIRAGH ‘ALI’S COACEPTIOA OF STATE.......................... 73 II.1. Bio-bibliography of Chiragh ‘Ali .................................................................... 73 II.2. Political and legal reforms in the Ottoman Empire in the first half of the 19th century ..................................................................................................................... 77 II.3. Political and legal reforms in the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the 19th century: the 1876 Constitution and Parliament ................................................ 81 II.4. Analysis of The proposed political, legal, and social reforms in the Ottoman empire and other Mohammadan states ................................................................... 91 II.4.1. Sources of Law ......................................................................................... 95 II.4.2. Legal and Political Reforms ..................................................................... 98 II.4.3. The rights of non-Muslims living under Muslim rulers, and International Relations ............................................................................................................ 100 CHAPTER III: MUHAMMAD IQBAL’S COACEPTIOA OF STATE ........... 106 III.1. Bio-bibliography of Muhammad Iqbal ........................................................ 106 III.2. Political conceptions until the First World War .......................................... 111 III.3. Turkish Nationalism, Secularization in the Ottoman Empire, and the abolition of the Caliphate ...................................................................................................... 122 III.4. Islam and Nationalism in Muhammad Iqbal ................................................ 130 III.5. Analysis of The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam .................. 137 III.5.1. The capability of evolution in the Law of Islam ................................... 147 III.5.2. The sources of Law in Islam ................................................................. 148 III.5.2.1. The Qur’an ..................................................................................... 148 III.5.2.2. The Hadith ...................................................................................... 150 III.5.2.3. The Ijma .......................................................................................... 151 III.5.2.4. The Qiyas ........................................................................................ 153 viii CHAPTER IV: SAYYID ABU’L ‘ALA MAWDUDI’S COACEPTIOA OF STATE ...................................................................................................................... 156 IV.1. Bio-bibliography of Sayyid Abu’l ‘Ala Mawdudi until 1941 ...................... 156 IV.2. The Jama’at-e-Islami (1941-1947) .............................................................. 166 IV.3. Analysis of The Islamic Law and Constitution ............................................ 176 IV.3.1. Principles, institutions and characteristics of an Islamic State .............. 177 IV.3.2. The nature of an Islamic State as a theo-democracy ............................. 184 IV.3.3. Rights of non-Muslims, minorities, and the question of human rights . 187 IV.3.4. The Shari’a and its role ......................................................................... 190 DISCUSSIOA AAD COACLUSIOA ..................................................................... 195 Islam and the State: three different conceptions by three different authors .......... 195 (The World of) Islam and Politics nowadays ........................................................ 199 Bringing Religion back into the study of Western Politics ................................... 203 Bringing everything else back into the study of Islamic Politics .......................... 206 Future research and closing remarks ..................................................................... 214 BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFEREACES ...................................................................... 221 ix IATRODUCTIOA Opening remarks When this endeavour was first started, in 2007, two Muslim-majority countries, Afghanistan and Iraq, had been invaded in 2001 and 2003 respectively. One of the justifications used for the ensuing wars had been the events of 11th September, 2001, which were among the most central defining moments in the representations of Islam and Muslim societies in recent times. However, and as Benjamin Soares and Filippo Osella show1, the stereotypes about Islam and Muslims have actually been remarkably resilient. The figure of the “mad mullah” who radicalized the “uneducated, naïve, but largely benign Muslim masses” in 19th century British accounts of Muslims’ anti-colonial politics, and 20th century French accounts of allegedly dangerous “Sufis” and/or “Wahhabis”, who threatened to lead ordinary Muslims in their West African colonies astray, are the genealogical antecedents of contemporary characterizations of “radical” Islam and Islamism in much Western media, public culture and even the academic world. Meanwhile, images of (veiled) Muslim women have acquired iconic status in the western imaginary as representations of the oppressed and subordinated Other par excellence. In K. Humayun Ansari’s assessment2 of the ways in which British historians analysed, imagined and depicted the “Orient” during the period starting in the late 18th century until early 20th century, they were often intertwined with growing British power and the parallel growth of European control over Muslim peoples, realities which began to shape historical accounts. Islam constituted a distinct type, a backward one, in terms of civilisation, cultural essence and core values. Imperial expansion, born out of human enlightenment and effort, became a dominant vision, supported by a growing evangelical public sentiment, which viewed the British Empire as the work of Providence and contributing to the British assumption of superiority over the East and to the justification of colonial rule. However, this 1 SOARES, Benjamin and OSELLA, Filippo. 2009. “Islam, politics, anthtropology” in Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (N.S.). London: Royal Anthropological Society, pp. S1-S2. 2 ANSARI, K. Humayun. 2011. “The Muslim World in British Historical Imaginations: ‘Re-thinking Orientalism’?” in British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, V. 38, n. 1. Oxfordshire: Routledge, pp. 73-93. 1 attitude was in contradiction with the “noble purposes” of British rule, which led John Robert Seeley (1834-1895) to ask, in his Expansion of England, first published in 1883, how could Britain reconcile the despotism of the Indian Empire with the democracy enjoyed by the colonies of white settlers and British people themselves: “How can the same nation pursue two lines of policy so radically different without bewilderment, be despotic in Asia and democratic in Australia, be in the East at once the greatest Mussulman Power in the world and the guardian of the property of thousands of idol-temples, and at the same time in the West be the foremost champion of free thought and spiritual religion, stand out as a great military Imperialism to resist the march of Russia in Central Asia at the same time that it fills Queensland and Manitoba with free settlers?”3 The important thing was to do Indians, Muslims and other Orientals, good in spite of themselves, a hegemonic assumption which the majority of Orientalists agreed with. Studying Islam In an interview given in 1976 to Diacritics, Edward Said (1935-2003), referring to Middle East studies, said that most Middle East experts were social scientists whose expertise was based on a handful of clichés about Arab society, Islam and the like, handed down like tatters, from the 19th century Orientalists, and that a whole new vocabulary of terms was bandied about: modernization, elites, development, stability were talked about as possessing some sort of universal validity, but that in fact they formed a rhetorical smokescreen hiding ignorance on the subject. For Edward Said, the new Orientalist jargon, i.e., of the 20th century, was hermetic discourse, which could not prepare one for what was happening in Lebanon, in the Israeli-occupied Arab territories, or in the everyday lives of the Middle Eastern 3 SEELEY, John Robert. 1911. The expansion of England: two courses of lectures. London: MacMillan and Co., p. 205. 2