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Published Apr 11, 2021, 8:43 am IST
Updated Apr 11, 2021, 10:38 am IST
The predominant view about Sufism is that it exists outside Islam as a cult born out of the admixture of Hinduism with the Prophet’s faith
Until a generation ago, there were two kinds of Muslims in India, the Communists and the conformists, Wahab says. DC Image
Had it not been for the bitterly-wrought Partition, Sufism, which had its origins in the Arabian peninsula during the Prophet’s lifetime but flourished in India in the 13th and 14th centuries, would have emerged as the signature model of inclusive and, as it happens, syncretic Islam. It would have acted as the counterweight to the Saudi-born fundamentalist Wahhabism. And it would have been, largely, an Indian contribution. This is the thesis of Ghazala Wahab’s timely book that is simultaneously a ready-reckoner for Islam as well as an appeal to moderate Muslims to reclaim their faith.