Saturday, May 2, 2009

Fletcher School, Tufts University
7th Floor of Cabot
The conference aims at bringing the insights of some of the most recent research in the field of Islamic studies into a constructive dialogue with the history and historiography of South Asian Muslims, thereby enriching understanding of the variegated and vibrant nature of the Islamic tradition not only for purposes of theory and history but also contemporary public policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Co-Sponsors

Tufts School of Arts and Sciences and Engineering’s Diversity Fund
Tufts University Provost’s Office
Tufts History Department
The South Asia Initiative at Harvard
 
  

Welcome 9:00-9:30 AM
Jamshed Bharucha
Tufts University Provost & Senior Vice President
  
Ayesha Jalal
Tufts University		 Opening Remarks

Panel 1:  Muslim Identity and Islamic Faith: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives - 9:30-11:30 AM
Seema Alavi
Jamia Millia, New Delhi		 ‘The Making of an Arabic Imperium in Nineteenth Century South Asia: Travel, Migration and the Wahabi Diaspora'
Mridu Rai
Yale University
 ‘Between Caste and Religious Community: Bihar's Muslims in the Early Twentieth Century’
Andrew Sartori
New York University		 ‘Independence, Combination, and the 'Mahomedan Ryot' of Bengal’
   
Discussant:    Kris Manjapra
Tufts University

Lunch 11:30-12:30 PM

Panel 2: How Divine is the Sharia? Colonialism and the Secularization of Islamic Law 12:30-2:30 PM
Nasser Hussain
Amherst College
‘Religious Law, Secularization and Bureaucracy: the Question of Legal Form
Mumtaz Ahmed
Hampton University		 ‘Multiple Deobands: Piety, Politics & Militancy’
Osama Siddique
Harvard Law School		 ‘Seeking Swift Justice in Pakistan: Sharia, Jirgas and Panchayats  as Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms’
   
Discussant:    Ken Garden
Tufts University

Coffee Break 2:30-3:00 PM

Panel 3: Beyond Terror: Post-colonial States and the Politics of Islam 3:00-5:00 PM
Ali Riaz
Illinois State University		 ‘Islamization of the Public Sphere in Bangladesh'
Vali Nasr
Tufts University
 ‘Continuity and Change in Islamist Politics in Pakistan Parties, Madrasahs, and Militias’
Moeed Yusuf
Boston University
‘Prospects of Youth Radicalization in Pakistan’
   
Discussant:   

Ayesha Jalal
Tufts University

Break 5:00-5:15 pm

Concluding Discussion 5:15-5:45 PM
Sugata Bose
Harvard University		 Opening Remarks