Socio Religious Reform Movement in India: Ahmadiyya & Wahabi/Waliullah Impact |
An Overview of Socio Religious Reform Movement
The Ahmadiyya Movement is a socio religious reform movement community that emerged in the late 19th century in India, founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. It represents a distinctive interpretation of Islam and promotes peaceful propagation of the faith.
The Wahabi or Waliullah Movement, on the other hand, traces its origins to the 18th century in India and is associated with Shah Waliullah Dehlawi. This socio religious reform movement advocates a strict and puritanical form of Sunni Islam, emphasizing the Quran and Hadith while opposing practices it views as innovations.
Both socio religious reform movements have had significant impacts on the religious landscape of South Asia and beyond, reflecting diverse interpretations and approaches to Islam.
Ahmadiyya Movement: Liberal Islam and Universal Values
- The Ahmadiyya is a socio religious reform movement with origins in India, founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in 1889.
- The socio religious reform movement was characterized by its devotion to liberal principles.
- It positioned itself as a supporter of a Muslim Renaissance, embracing the principles of a universal religion for all of humanity and rejecting Jihad (holy war against non-Muslims).
- The Ahmadiyya movement played a role in distributing Western-style liberal education among Indian Muslims.
- The Ahmadiyya community is unique among socio religious reform movements in its belief that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the Messiah who came to end religious conflicts, promote morality, peace, and justice.
- The Ahmadiyya supported the separation of mosque and state, as well as human rights and tolerance.
- Mysticism was a notable aspect of the socio religious reform movement, and this influenced their beliefs and practices.
Wahabi/Waliullah Movement: Reviving Authentic Islam in Response to Modernization
- This socio religious reform movement, inspired by the teachings of Abdul Wahab of Arabia and the preachings of Shah Walliullah (1702-1763), was a reaction to Western influences and the decline that had affected Indian Muslims.
- It urged a return to the genuine essence of Islam.
- It sought to eliminate un-Islamic practices that were interfering with Muslim culture and aimed to restore the authentic form of socio religious reform movement that was present during the time of the Prophet in Arabia.
- Objective – Restoring Islamic Simplicity Amidst Modernization
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- The Wahabi socio religious reform movement was a response to the impact of modernization on Islam, with the goal of restoring the simplicity of the Islamic faith.
- This socio religious reform movement centered on the Quran and Hadis, Islamic teachings.
- Syed Ahmed initiated the socio religious reform movement with two core principles:
- To restore the historical unity among the four schools of Muslim jurisprudence that had divided Indian Muslims.
- Encouraging individuals to have a deep understanding of their religion, emphasizing personal comprehension of Islam rather than mindlessly following it.
Shah Walliullah – Uniting Muslims and Embracing Individual Conscience
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan – Architect of Muslim Educational and Social ReformThe British initially viewed Muslims as the primary instigators of the 1857 revolt. However, they later realized that Muslims could be useful in countering nationalist socio religious reform movements by granting them concessions.
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