The Muslim League in South India since Independence: A Study in Minority Group Political Strategies

1966 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 579-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore P. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Religion And Politics ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
Difficult Case ◽  
British India ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
Muslim Population ◽  
Muslim Minority ◽  
Provincial Autonomy

How can a religious minority organize most effectively to protect its interests without weakening the distinction between religion and politics by which advocates of a secular state justify equal treatment for the minority? As in Europe earlier in the century, this problem is again acute in some of the so-called “New Nations” of Asia and Africa where national integration is far from complete and religion is still the primary mode of self-identification among many of its communicants. If a minority faith is geographically concentrated so as to constitute a majority in certain extensive areas, it is likely to seek independence, merger with an adjacent state of the same religion, or at least provincial autonomy if its members believe that their religious identity is threatened by assimilation.Of the great world religions, Islam provides the most difficult case of adjustment to minority status by separation of religion from the state. The leaders of the Muslim minority of British India finally set the objective of separate national independence in 1940 after they had concluded that they could not rely upon constitutional guarantees to safeguard their rights against the Hindu majority. But the creation of Pakistan in 1947 left a substantial though scattered Muslim population of some forty million in the Indian Republic, ten percent of the latter's people. Suspected by many Hindus of further divisive intentions, how was this group to act within the framework of parliamentary and at least ostensibly secular democracy?

scholarly journals Social Exclusion of Muslims in India and Britain

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-77
Author(s):  
Sabah Khan
Keyword(s):  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
Physical Spaces

The main objective of this article is to study the complexities and nuances of exclusion of Muslims, a dominant minority group in India and Britain. It is an exploration of how Muslims, a religious minority in both India and Britain, are facing exclusion in different spheres of life, namely socio-economic and physical spaces. Moreover, it also explores the process of ‘othering’ which further excludes Muslims. It aims to explore how exclusion is directly associated with religion in face of a stigmatised religious identity. Muslims in India and Britain are not one monolith community. However, their experience of exclusion in different spheres of society offers some similarities. It offers an account of the fact that Muslims stand on the periphery in social and secular spheres of life and how this is closely related to their identity.

scholarly journals A PSEUDO-SECULAR SPACE, RELIGIOUS MINORITY AND REASONS FOR EXCLUSION: THE AHMADIYYA MINORITY GROUP IN CONTEMPORARY INDONESIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-54
Author(s):  
Max Regus
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Religion And Politics ◽  
Muslim Country ◽  
Religious Politics ◽  
Current Position ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Specific Circumstance

This paper examines the intersection of religion and politics and its consequences on religious minorities in Indonesia. This paper is based on a case study of the current position of the Ahmadiyya minority group in the Indonesian Islamic majority. The tension arises from a specific circumstance: This large Muslim country uses democracy as a political system, but the involvement of religious politics is evident. This situation directly endangers the presence of the Ahmadiyya group.

Integration

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Bagheri
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Social Aspect ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
Social Events ◽  
The Social ◽  
Integration Strategies ◽  
Minority Ethnic

Since the 1970s, we have seen increasing interest in the integration of Muslims as the most visible ethno-religious minority group in Britain. The term ‘integration’ as used in this chapter is concerned with the social aspect of a process in which Muslims, as well as other minority ethnic people, required and/or would like to participate in society. More elaboration of different theoretical and academic interpretations of this term is discussed later in this chapter. The social aspects of integration mainly revolve around the maintenance of Muslims’ distinctive identity and practice (Modood, 2005, 2007; Parekh, 2008; Vertovec and Wessendorf, 2010). This chapter looks at Scottish Muslims’ integration strategies (based on gender, generational and level of religiosity) and introduces the idea of ‘halal integration’ which entails fitting into society while maintaining their religious identity. This refers to the life of many Scottish Muslims, whom I refer to as ‘halal Scots’ – those who integrated into many aspects of Scottish society while maintaining their religious identity and practice. Some examples of such integration are adopting alternative ways of socialising such as meeting at cafés, running family and social events in non-alcoholic environments, and taking part in voluntary and charitable work.

Muslim and Jewish Immigrants’ Adjustment: The Role of Religious-American Harmony, Religious-American Identity Centrality, and Discrimination

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-274
Author(s):  
Sadie S. Amini ◽  
Angela-MinhTu D. Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Perceived Discrimination ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
American Identity ◽  
Muslim American ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
Identity Centrality ◽  
Dual Identities ◽  
Jewish Immigrants

Religious-minority immigrants must negotiate both their religious and host cultural (e.g., American) identities; however, the duality of these identities is rarely examined in relation to adjustment. In this study, we tested whether a religious-American identity centrality could predict better adjustment over and above religious identity centrality and American identity centrality. Moreover, based on the Integrative Psychological Model of Biculturalism, we investigated whether the harmony perceived between one’s religious and American identities could mediate the relationship between religious-American identity centrality and adjustment, and between perceived discrimination and adjustment. With data from 130 first-generation Muslim American and Jewish American participants, we found support for most hypotheses. Although a more central religious-American identity predicted better adjustment, it did not predict better adjustment over and above religious identity centrality and American identity centrality. More importantly, religious-American harmony mediated the positive association between religious-American identity centrality and adjustment, and the negative association between perceived discrimination and adjustment. Implications of our findings for research on dual identities are discussed.

scholarly journals Arbitrary Detention: A Challenge Faced by Muslim Minority in India

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-55
Author(s):  
Aijaz A. Turrey
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Government Agency ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Indian Government ◽  
Minority Communities ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
Muslim Minority ◽  
The Government ◽  
Indian Penal Code

Muslims form the largest religious minority in India. Census of India 2011 registered about 14.4 per cent of India’s total population as Muslims. Being minority Muslims are one of the weaker sections of society and the most oppressed ones. Majority of the Muslims especially youth are going through distress and trauma of terrorism tags. Muslims are the prime targets of anti-national activities and often jailed and killed in fake encounters. They are the most suffered section of the society and a little is being done for their upliftment. An attempt has been made to analyze the condition of the Muslim minority in India in the present democratic scenario. The study mainly focused on the consequences of false charges and fake encounters on the socio-economic conditions of Muslims and their families in India. The study is actually an investigation in some thrust areas in which Muslim section of the society is being demoralized deeply in India. The government of India established The Ministry of Minority Affairs on 29th January 2006 to look after the issues of minority communities and suggest development frameworks for their benefit. The 2017 World Report of the Human Rights Watch1 also finds India as the violator of human rights with respect to freedom and treatment of minorities.1An Indian government agency responsible for collecting and analyzing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

scholarly journals INDEXICALITY OF RELIGIOUS IDENTITY IN YALE MSA E-COMMUNICATION

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 330
Author(s):  
Aris Munandar
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
Group Communication ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
New Haven ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
Muslim Students ◽  
To Come ◽  
Linguistic Structures ◽  
E Mail

Muslims in the U.S is a minority group, thus, vulnerable to discrimation. Yale Muslim Students Association (Yale MSA) as a Muslim community on Campus provides Yale students with the opportunity to come together in a supportive Muslim environment and seeks to educate the Yale and New Haven communities about Islam (YaleMSA.org). This article discusses how Yale MSA indexes Muslim identity in its emails and webpage communication and how the indexicality shows Yale MSA as an empowered Muslim community on campus. It applies the framework for identity analysis proposed by Bucholtz and Hall (2005), especially principle (3) identities may be linguistically indexed through labels, implicatures, stances, styles, or linguistic structures and systems. The analysis of Yale MSA in-group e-mail communication (Yale [email protected]) and in out-group webpage communication (YaleMSA.org) during the 2008-2014 periods reveals that Yale MSA uses Arabic borrowings and expressions presupposing Muslim life to index’s its Muslim identity. The intensive use of Arabic borrowings in the in-group communication heightens the Islamic atmosphere and strengthens solidarity among members, while the use of Arabic borrowings in combination with English equivalent in out-group communication mitigates prejudice from different faith groups. The choice of overt labels “Muslim” and “non Muslim” rather than “Moslem” and “nonbeliever” implies Yale MSA’s freedom to speak its own voice, and advocate for equal respect among different faith groups in Yale campus and New Haven community. The confidence in speaking its own voice and asserting an equal stance demonstrates that Yale MSA is an empowered Muslim community.

Veiled Politics: Experiences with Discrimination among Muslim Americans

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 629-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karam Dana ◽  
Nazita Lajevardi ◽  
Kassra A.R. Oskooii ◽  
Hannah L. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Discrimination ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Anecdotal Evidence ◽  
Muslim Americans ◽  
Muslim American ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
Institutional Discrimination ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Muslim American Women

AbstractAnecdotal evidence suggests that Muslim American women who wear the hijab may be particularly vulnerable to the experiences of stigmatization because the hijab represents one of the most obvious and dominant markers of “otherness.” Yet, extant research has surprisingly neglected to systematically examine how such external markers of difference can increase perceptions of discrimination. Drawing from two nationally representative datasets, we examine perceived discrimination among Muslim Americans, and find that veiled women report experiencing both societal and institutional discrimination at much higher rates than their counterparts. In fact, our findings show that the hijab is one of the most important predictors of self-reported discrimination amongallMuslim Americans. Interestingly, however, we also find that men are more likely than women to perceive discrimination once we account for the role of the hijab. Our analysis makes an important contribution to existing research by highlighting the unique experiences of a religious minority group and identifies one important and previously underexplored mechanism by which individuals may be targeted for discrimination—the hijab.

Transplanting Ties

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Bowen
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Economic Cooperation ◽  
Religious Community ◽  
British India ◽  
Physical Movement ◽  
Muslim Population ◽  
Chain Migration ◽  
The World ◽  
New Residents ◽  
Historical Accident

This chapter traces the physical movement of Muslims to Britain. Muslims came to Britain mainly—though not only—from South Asia, and they settled in certain cities and neighborhoods. Although Muslims living in Britain today trace their origins to many parts of the world, the majority have roots in former British India, and mainly in today's Pakistan and Bangladesh. Furthermore, within those two countries, a small number of districts have contributed in strikingly disproportionate numbers to the Muslim population of Britain. The concentrations began with historical accident but, once in place, reproduced themselves through practices of “chain migration,” whereby one generation of immigrants pulled another after it. The results are concentrations of closely related people in certain British neighborhoods. Many of these new residents of Britain have sought to maintain their ties to the homeland through marriage and through forms of economic cooperation. These practices reinforce ties of shared ethnic and religious community within certain British neighborhoods.

Counseling With a Muslim-American Family

2021 ◽  
pp. 1033-1049
Author(s):  
Margaux Hanes Brown ◽  
Ari-Elle R. West
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Counseling Competencies ◽  
Muslim American ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
Treatment Interventions ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviors ◽  
The U.S

Islamophobia is the unfounded fear of Islam and resulting hostility that Muslims experience as a religious minority in the U.S. For a marginalized community in the U.S., this increases the risk for poor mental health outcomes and further compounds stigma around help-seeking behaviors. In this case study, a family unit presented for counseling with stress resulting from life cycle stressors. However, the intersectionality of their religious identity affected how the individuals experienced transitions as well as microaggressions. This case study includes a counselor's application of the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies, treatment interventions, and extensions for further professional development.

Diasporas in Despair, 1560–1700

The Great Sea ◽  
2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Abulafia
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
The Other ◽  
Religious Identities ◽  
Muslim Population ◽  
Sephardic Jews ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Jewish Descent

Ottoman sultans and Spanish kings, along with their tax officials, took a strong interest in the religious identity of those who crossed the areas of the Mediterranean under their control. Sometimes, in an era marked by the clash of Christian and Muslim empires, the Mediterranean seems to be sharply divided between the two faiths. Yet the Ottomans had long accepted the existence of Christian majorities in many of the lands they ruled, while other groups navigated (metaphorically) between religious identities. The Sephardic Jews have already been encountered, with their astonishing ability to mutate into notionally Christian ‘Portuguese’ when they entered the ports of Mediterranean Spain. This existence suspended between worlds set off its own tensions in the seventeenth century, when many Sephardim acclaimed a deluded Jew of Smyrna as the Messiah. Similar tensions could also be found among the remnants of the Muslim population of Spain. The tragic history of the Moriscos was played out largely away from the Mediterranean Sea between the conversion of the last openly practising Muslims, in 1525, and the final act of their expulsion in 1609; it was their very isolation from the Islamic world that gave these people their distinctive identity, once again suspended between religions. The world inhabited by these Moriscos differed in important respects from that inhabited by the other group of conversos, those of Jewish descent. Although some Moriscos were hauled before the Inquisition, the Spanish authorities at first turned a blind eye to the continued practice of Islam; it was sometimes possible to pay the Crown a ‘service’ that bought exemption from interference by the Inquisition, which was mortified to discover that it could not boost its income by seizing the property of exempt suspects. Many Morisco communities lacked a Christian priest, so the continued practice of the old religion is no great surprise; even in areas where christianization took place, what sometimes emerged was an islamized Christianity, evinced in the remarkable lead tablets of Sacromonte, outside Granada, with their prophecies that ‘the Arabs will be those who aid religion in the last days’ and their mysterious references to a Christian caliph, or successor (to Jesus, not Muhammad).

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