Muslim Reform Movements: Organisation, Leaders, and Societal Impact in 19th Century India

Muslim Reform Movements: Organisation, Leaders, and Societal Impact in 19th Century India

(1875)

• Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was a firm believer in religion’s essential underlying oneness, often known as ‘practical morality.’
• Sir Syed Ahmad Khan also emphasised the inherent similarities between the objectives of Hindus and Muslims.
• Sir Syed Ahmad Khan founded the Scientific Society to translate English literature on science and other subjects into Urdu in 1862.
• He also founded an English-Urdu periodical to propagate ideas for social transformation.
• He founded the Mohammedan Oriental College, which expanded into the Aligarh Muslim University.

(1880)

• He was a firm proponent of puritanical extremism and physical jihadism.
• He was first influenced by Sufi organisations and Silsilas such as Naqsyabandiyah, Chishtiya, and Qadriyah.

(1867)

• The followers of the Deoband movement saw Islam as having two primary points:
  • The  Shariat (law based on texts and religious knowledge).
  • The Tariqah (religious knowledge)
• Deobandis embraced Sufism and its different kinds of discipline, as well as the function of the ulama in interpreting Islamic law’s four schools.
• They rejected certain rites as well as the authority of Pirs who claimed holiness via lineage rather than learning.

(1820)

• It is also referred to as the “Waliullah Movement,” a social and religious reform movement among Muslims that got its start in opposition to Western influences.
• The leader of the movement Syed Ahmed Barelvi was hailed as the ideal leader (Imam).
• They played a significant role in instilling anti-British attitudes.
• The Wahabi resistance was weakened as a result of British military operations on the Wahabi base at Sithana in the 1860s and numerous court cases alleging sedition against the Wahabis; yet, sporadic engagements with the government continued into the 1880s and 1890s.

(1889)

• The Ahmadiyya is a Muslim group that emerged in India.
• The Ahmadiyya movement, similar to the Brahmo Samaj, was established on the principles of a universal religion for all people and rejected jihad (holy war against non-Muslims).
• This is the only Islamic community that believes the Messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, came to end religious strife and bloodshed and to restore morality, peace, and justice.

(1831)

• He adopted Wahhabism and advocated the Sharia.
• Bengal’s Muslim peasants were organized by Titu Mir to rebel against their primarily Hindu landlords and the British indigo growers.

(1910)

• This movement opposed the loyalist policies of the Aligarh movement.
• Influenced by modern ideas of self-government.
• They advocated active participation in the nationalist movement.

• This movement sought to make Muslims in the area more aware of their obligations as Muslims and to eradicate any social innovations or un-Islamic activities among them.
• It was prevalent in East Bengal.
• From 1840 on, the Faraizi movement under Dudu Mian’s direction evolved into a revolutionary movement.