Politicizing Islam: State, Gender, Class, and Piety in France and India
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Politicizing Islam: State, gender, class, and piety in France and India By Zehra Fareen Parvez A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Michael Burawoy, Chair Professor Raka Ray Professor Cihan Tuğal Professor Loïc Wacquant Professor Kiren Aziz-Chaudhry Fall 2011 Abstract Politicizing Islam: State, gender, class, and piety in France and India by Zehra Fareen Parvez Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology University of California, Berkeley Professor Michael Burawoy, Chair This dissertation is a comparative ethnographic study of Islamic revival movements in Lyon, France, and Hyderabad, India. It introduces the importance of class and the state in shaping piety and its politicization. The project challenges the common conflation of piety and politics and thus, the tendency to homogenize “political Islam” even in the context of secular states. It shows how there have been convergent forms of piety and specifically gendered practices across the two cities—but divergent Muslim class relations and in turn, forms of politics. I present four types of movements. In Hyderabad, a Muslim middle-class redistributive politics directed at the state is based on patronizing and politicizing the subaltern masses. Paternalistic philanthropy has facilitated community politics in the slums that are building civil societies and Muslim women’s participation. In Lyon, a middle-class recognition politics invites and opposes the state but is estranged from sectarian Muslims in the working-class urban peripheries. Salafist women, especially, have withdrawn into a form of antipolitics, as their religious practices have become further targeted by the state. These forms of politics (and antipolitics) are expressions of the historical institutionalization of Muslims as a social group as determined by state models of secularism and urban marginality. Only by accounting for the state, class, and gendered dynamics as well as clarifying specific conceptions of politics, can Islamic revival movements be fully understood. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ii GLOSSARY iii LIST OF ACRONYMS vi PREFACE viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS x Chapter 1: Politics and Piety 1 PART I - Explaining Islamic Revival through State and Economy 13 Chapter 2: Secularisms and the politics of Islamic revival 14 Chapter 3: Urban marginality and the shaping of class relations 31 PART II – The Politics and Antipolitics of Islamic Movements 45 Chapter 4: Political communities in the slums of Hyderabad 46 Chapter 5: Politics of Redistribution 67 Chapter 6: Antipolitics in the banlieues of Lyon 91 Chapter 7: Politics of Recognition 110 Chapter 8: Conclusion 131 NOTES 138 REFERENCES 141 METHODOLOGICAL APPENDIX 151 i LIST OF TABLES 1. Politics across state and class 7 2. Major legal measures in Indian counter-terrorism 21 3. Comparison of social indicators between Muslims and Hindus 34 4. Comparison of living conditions between Maghrebi and European immigrants 37 5. Major legal measures in French counter-terrorism 40 ii GLOSSARY Commonly Used Terms in French, Urdu, and French and Urdu transliterations of Arabic Alhamdulillah. Expression for “praise to God” or “thank God.” Alim. Recognized scholar of Islam. Ashurkhanas. Congregation sites or halls for Shia mourning rituals and commemorations especially during the Islamic month of Muharram. Azaan. The call to prayer made approximately fifteen minutes before the prayer begins. Baji. Urdu term for sister. Banlieue. A town peripheral to an urban center and typically connotative of lower-class districts in France. Basti. Hindi/Urdu equivalent for the concept of “slum.” It refers generally to an unplanned, congested neighborhood with infrastructural deficits, absence of sanitation, and poor housing. Beur. A slang term for the French-born children of North African immigrants. Bida. Innovations to Islam that cause deviations from the original teachings and practices at the time of the Prophet. Cités. Les cités in France refer to large estates of deteriorated public housing in areas of urban deprivation. Converti(e). French term for convert. Da’wa. Activities toward promoting Islamic piety and inviting others to Islam. Dalits. Term for the “depressed classes” of India, traditionally known as “Untouchables.” Dalit is used interchangeably with Scheduled Castes (SCs). Dargah. A Sufi shrine constructed over the grave of a saint or religious figure. Dargahs often house religious activities and are sites for religious musical offerings. Djelbab. Form of veiling that covers the body except the face and hands. Duas. Prayers of supplication. Duas are separate from the five daily obligatory prayers. Eid/Aïd. The celebratory feasts and prayer marking the end of Ramadan or commemorating Abraham’s sacrifice. Hadith. Traditions related to the teachings and practices of the Prophet as recounted by his closest followers in his lifetime. Hafiz. An individual who has memorized the Quran. Hakeem. Used in Urdu as a title for a traditional Islamic medical practitioner. Halakah. An Islamic study circle with a teacher. Commonly used in France. Halal. That which is permitted and lawful. Haram. That which is forbidden and unlawful. Hifz. Training in the memorization of the Quran. Hijab. The headscarf, understood in both France and India as the veiling of the hair and neck. Hindutva. Movements that promote Hindu nationalism. Hindutva ideology emerged in the early 20th century. Iftar. The evening meal with which one breaks the daily fast during Ramadan. Imam. In Sunni Islam, the prayer leader or leader of a community. Insha Allah. Expression for “if God wills.” Intégriste. French term for “fundamentalist.” iii Izzat. Hindi/Urdu term for honor or respect. Jahez. Traditional practice of gift-giving to a bride and groom among Indian Muslims. Jahil. Ignorant or untaught. Jinns. Inhabitants of the immaterial world. Some jinns are considered benevolent toward humans and others hostile. Kafr. One who denies the existence of God. Khul. A form of divorce in Islam based on mutual consent and the wife’s renouncing of her mehr. Laïque. Secular. Maghrébin. An individual of immigrant or ethnic background from Algeria, Morocco, or Tunisia. Madrasa. Centers of Islamic learning. In India the term refers to a range of settings from slum- based school houses to prestigious Islamic universities. Masha’Allah. Common expression for “by the grace of God’s will.” Masjid. Mosque. Mehr. The gift or monetary amount given by a groom to a bride. The mehr remains property of the bride but it partially returned upon dissolution of a marriage prior to consummation or entirely returned upon her initiation of divorce. Milad-i-Nabi. The birth date of the Prophet. Mosquées des caves. Literally “basement mosques.” Used in France, often pejoratively, to refer to spaces of informal religious gatherings in contrast to structured and more visible mosques. Nikah namah. Islamic marriage contract. Niqab. A veil that covers the face and is used typically with a djelbab. Nizam. Title for Muslim rulers of princely Hyderabad. Pardah. Used in India to refer to the covering or seclusion of women or the segregation of the sexes. Qazi. A judge appointed on the basis of knowledge of Islamic law. In India qazis are commonly invoked for their performance of marriage rites. Qhutba. The sermon given before the Friday congregational prayer. Quartiers sensibles. Refers to vulnerable or “at-risk” neighborhoods in France. Commonly used in debates about urban crises. Qurbani. Urdu term for ritual sacrifice and distribution of meat to the poor. Riba. The giving or taking of interest on any loan. Riba is prohibited in Islam. Roqaya. Incantations to ward off evil or harm. Commonly used in France to refer to the performance of prayers and incantations toward healing or exorcism of jinns. Sabr. Patience and fortitude. Saheba. The companions, or close followers of the Prophet during his lifetime. Another view defines the companions as those who had seen him in his lifetime. Salafism. A movement originating 100-200 years ago that sought to modernize Islam. Salafism transformed eventually into a movement intended to restore the original teachings and practices of Islam. It is often discussed interchangeably with Wahhabism. Sehri. The predawn meal with which one starts the daily fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Shahadha. Affirmation of faith in one God and the Prophet Muhammed. Sharia. Judicial practices and moral codes known as Islamic law. Sharia is elaborated differently according to schools of thought and has interacted historically with customary laws. iv Sheikh. Title for someone with spiritual or doctrinal authority. Sherwani. A traditional men’s garment, a knee-length coat, traditionally associated with Indian Muslim aristocracy. Sunnah. The examples, in speech and act, of the Prophet. Tafsir. Explication of the Quran. Tajwid. The science of Quranic recitation. Talaq. A form of Islamic divorce based on verbal repudiation by the husband. Tawba. Repentance. Ulema. Recognized scholars or authorities on religious matters and Islamic law. Unani. Tradition of Islamic medicine based on teachings from ancient Greece. Wakf. Islamic trusts and endowments intended for pious and public works. Wahhabism. A movement founded in Arabia in the early 19th century that technically shunned all traditional schools of Islamic law in favor of strict interpretations of the Prophet’s teachings.