Speaker Details
Dr
Martin Riexinger
Aarhus Universitet
Germany
Presentation Abstract:
Why a ʿālim became a print entrepreneur in the late 19th early 20th century Punjab The use of the printing press for religious purposes lead challenged like every adaptation of a new medium the established religious authorities. The conflict which arose among the Ahl-i Ḥadīth, a puritan movement inaspired by Ibn Taymiyya and al-Shawkānī, in the 19th century and which threatened to tear the movement in the Pubjab and India in general apart is a good example for this. Although Thanāʾ Allāh Amritsarī (1867-1948) had received a classical Islamic education with the most prominent scholars of the Ahl-i Ḥadīth and at the Dāru l-ʿulūm at Deoband he was not inclined to teach at a madrasa. Instead, he started started a printing company which provided him a source of income and enabled him to publish his own tracts, his Arab and his Urdu tafsīr and above all his weekly magazine Ahl-i Ḥadīth (1904-1947). His publications reflect that he opted for a new strategy of religious propaganda because he saw the necessity to address issues which were of great interest and importance for the newly emerging group of Muslims with a secular but which slipped from the attention of traditional scholars who were preoccupied with matters of ritual. The fact that he was relatively successful with his approach nurtured the envy of more traditional scholars of the Ahl-i Ḥadīth. To discredit him they made use of the fact that Thanāʾ Allāh deviated from the literal interpretations of verses of the Qurʾān and the prophetic traditions to avoid conflicts with modern scientific findings. The allegation that Islam and science were incompatible was a theme on which the Arya Samaj, a proselytizing Hindu reform movement harped. Thanāʾ Allāh dedicated much of his efforts as a publisher to the refutation of this claim. Thanāʾ Allāh found hardly any support among old-school Ahl-i Ḥadīth scholars. However he could prevent isolation and become the most prominent representative of the Ahl-i Ḥadīth nevertheless because he had gained a strong following among lay followers movements due to his publications. In order to institutionalize his support he founded an All-India organization of the Ahl-i Ḥadīth in which laymen played a major role. Hence a process that started with the addressing secular educated Muslims and their needs with the new medium print, led to a strengthening of their status as opposed to traditionally educated scholars.
Status: Confirmed