Thesis Review

In addition to studying these conditions, the thesis asserts that a proper study of religious practices requires attention to how religious actors engage with these conditions. Thus, it is necessary to examine the concepts through which religious actors comprehended the changes around them, the assessments they made of these changes, and the practices they charted in response. In the case of Islam, the author suggests that the methodological intervention made by American anthropologist Talal Asad provides a rich framework for studying the interactions between contemporary predicaments and religious practices transmitted from the past. With this conviction, the second chapter traces the discourses on unity that are invoked, contested, and argued over to emphasize the continued relevance of Islamic organizations.

The modern state, compared to its predecessors, intervenes more extensively in people’s lives and penetrates the social and political more deeply. Ranging from education—whether religious or secular—to health and marriage, many spheres of life, which were not directly regulated by the state, came under its purview. Thus, the domain of intervention for religious actors and the types of actions they undertake are shaped by state policies. Taking education as a case, the thesis shows how the separation of religious education from schools in the wake of adopting the Indian constitution, and the demands of the modern schooling system, led to the reconfiguration of existing Islamic educational institutions. The third chapter of the thesis examines the measures different organizations took to this end.

The first chapter provides an overview of three important factors that created the conditions for the emergence of Islamic organizations: the history of contestation over Islamic practices between two groups, the rise of colonialism and social change, and increasing mobilization based on caste and religious identity. Even before the emergence of Islamic organizations in Kerala, there were intense contestations over certain practices that polarized followers of Islam along sectarian lines. One such case was the contestation between followers of Sufi saints in two historically known regions in Malabar, Ponnani and Kondotty, starting around the 1770s and continuing until the 1890s. The dispute centered around certain devotional practices adopted in the court of the Saint of Kondotty, which the ulama in Ponnani saw as accretions from local and Shia practices. The contested practices included prostration in front of the master, neglect of obligatory rituals, consumption of hashish by the master, accretion of Shia rituals, and observance of local rituals like cockfights and Pulikali on festival occasions. The contestation even escalated to social boycotts. The author uses this instance to illustrate how theological differences were mapped onto sectarian divisions and how extra-theological factors shaped the trajectory of these contestations. Additionally, the author draws attention to how laypeople were incorporated into these contestations through various means of disseminating religious messages and were taught about the correctness of Islamic practices. These factors continue to influence Islamic organizations that emerged in the early twentieth century, albeit in varying degrees.

The colonial government’s administrative and land policies generated demands for basic literacy to access administrative positions and employment opportunities in commercialized agriculture and emerging industries. As a result, movements and initiatives emerged to rally community solidarities around caste groups to address disparities in access to employment. In subsequent decades, many caste and community organizations formed, sharing common concerns: addressing the social and economic status of their communities, rethinking inherited practices, and the urgency to attain Western education to reap the benefits of modernity and overcome social disabilities. Muslims also formed organizations in the late nineteenth century, such as Himayatul Islam Sabha, with similar aims. However, efforts to reform religious rituals led to intense debate within the community over the nature of the reform. Additionally, British attempts to incorporate Muslims and their educational institutions into the colonial system through grant-in-aid programs were received with suspicion by some sections.

Having provided this background on community mobilization, the author examines two important Muslim figures of the period: Vakkom Abdul Kader Moulavi (1873 – 1932) and Sanaullah Makti Thangal (1847-1912). The author’s interest in these figures lies in the procedural models their reform initiatives displayed: situating the problem of the Muslim community in their misplaced priorities in Islam or erroneous understanding of religion, hence moving from the problem of the community to a solution rooted in religion. For example, in the case of Vakkom Moulavi, the thesis examines two journals he published: Al-Muslim (1906), focused on the progress and prosperity of Muslims, and Al-Islam (1916), which, though short-lived, primarily dealt with theological issues. Moulavi’s conception of the Muslim community, the subject of reform and the journal Muslim, were largely mediated by colonial records, particularly in terms of the rights and privileges the community held vis-à-vis other communities in Kerala. Although Moulavi attributed the problems of the Muslim community to their reluctance to adopt modern education, he believed that material prosperity was intrinsically tied to religious renewal, achievable only by adhering to the original teachings of Islam.

This point, recurrent in his writings and in the activities of local organizations formed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, involved a novel imagination of the Muslim community within an emerging Malayalam-speaking region. Muslims in these imaginations were perceived as lagging behind other communities in educational attainment, often cited as a reason for religious reform. Above all, this gave rise to a form of organizational politics.

The author then details the major Muslim organizations in Kerala, focusing on two: the Kerala Nadwatul Mujahidin and the Samastha Kerala Jamiyatul Ulama. The former was an outcome of the Kerala Muslim Aikya Sangam, formed in 1922. The Ulama organization that emerged under the Aikya Sangam later became independent in the early 1930s. In 1952, this ulama organization formed the Kerala Nadwatul Mujahidin to extend its initiatives to the masses. Samastha Kerala Jamiyatul Ulama was formed in 1926, prompted by the Aikya Sangam’s opposition to certain religious practices. Both organizations strove to disseminate their competing versions of Islam through public debates, journals, religious seminaries, madrasas, and forums for different age groups. Their contestations helped create a common discursive sphere in which certain shared concerns and questions about Islam, and religion in general, were debated and contested.

The second chapter examines how the leaders of these organizations conceptualized religious leadership in line with their traditions. It explores the Islamic taxonomies they used to understand the necessity of forming a body to organize Muslims. Since unity is emphasized in these discourses, the author investigates the historically specific conditions that brought this concern to the forefront. For the leaders, the ideal model of an organization is the Prophet and his companions. Although divisions have historically occurred, these organizations work with the premise that it is possible to reenact the Muslim community of the prophetic period by returning to Islam’s real teachings. They aspire to achieve a unity formed through uniformity on foundational questions in Islam. The lack of such unity is seen as the root cause of many problems, and restoring it is believed to resolve a range of issues facing Muslims.

In practice, these aspirations for unity manifest in efforts to rally people behind one’s organization and to persuade them to subscribe to its views on Islamic matters. While differences of opinion are not denied, it is specified how and where they should be expressed. However, these same leaders who often see their organization as representing the true prophetic community, conceptualize the unity of the community more broadly when addressing political issues, particularly when Muslims face external threats. Yet, some actors, citing the same textual sources on unity and division that the organization leaders use, argue that organizations are detrimental to their stated goals and criticize the followers for equating Islam with their organizations. The chapter discusses many concepts used by the leaders and followers of Islamic organizations, but much of the discussion focuses on writings and debates of the last four decades, while the first chapter examines conditions in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that made these organizations possible.

In the final chapter, the author focuses on one key area of intervention by Islamic organizations: education. This chapter examines how evolving notions of Islamic education, the gradual introduction of universal schooling (proposed in the constitution but implemented later), the increase in student enrollment in state-run schools and colleges, and the growing exposure of students to diverse beliefs and ideologies prompted the ulama to rethink the concept, content, and structure of Islamic educational institutions.

Traditional primary education in the region was locally run and maintained through othupallis (mosque schools), where pupils learned to read Arabic and to recite the Quran. In the traditional Islamic higher education system, known as dars, students studied under well-established Islamic scholars while boarding at a local mosque. The expenses for their stay and food were covered by local donations and waqf property. Subjects taught in dars ranged from Islamic jurisprudence to Arabic grammar and logic, with the duration of study depending on the student’s ability to master these subjects. One criticism of the dars system was that despite many years of Arabic language training, students lacked the ability to communicate effectively in Arabic. This criticism was rooted in a semiotic perspective, in which language was viewed primarily in its denotational function. After completing dars, some students joined the renowned mosque college of Ponnani, where they were awarded a title widely recognized as a mark of scholarship in the Malabar region.

During the colonial period, the government, perceiving religious education as a root cause of rebellions, integrated othupallis into the state system by first providing grants to teachers to teach secular subjects, and later making arrangements for secular schools to offer religious instruction. With the adoption of the Indian constitution, this system was eventually abolished. Gradually, a network of madrasas emerged, becoming increasingly centralized with standardized curricula and inspection methods overseen by bodies established by the ulama organizations. These organizations also provided teacher training, albeit often rudimentary or perfunctory. This shift also changed perceptions of teachers, who now needed to adapt to their students, rather than being the central authority. In the case of dars, a new system developed with separate buildings for classrooms and boarding facilities, following the contemporary infrastructure of classrooms. The study period was standardized, and in addition to reading texts under a teacher’s guidance, students were encouraged to read periodicals published in Malayalam and Arabic-Malayalam, write prose, and acquire communication skills in various languages. These developments eventually coalesced into a genre of Islamic educational institutions known as Arabic Colleges.

The colonial government’s emphasis on the connection between religious education and language, along with the nationalist movement’s focus on spiritual education and character building, seem to have influenced the founders of this Arabic college system. From the 1940s, some of these institutions affiliated with universities, allowing their graduates to pursue employment in secular schools and colleges. Thus, a class of people emerged who served as ulama within organizations like the Kerala Nadwatul Mujahidin, while simultaneously working as government employees.

Bibliography

Bibliography Sources in Malayalam and Arabic

• Abu-Nasheeda. Samastha Annum Innum (Mal. Samastha: Then and Today). Calicut: Murshid Publications, 1992.
• Aziz, Muhmmad bnu Abdul. Qaseeda Fathhul Mubeen (Translated and annotted by Abdul Aziz Mankada). Calicut: Al-Huda Publications, 1996.
• Badri, Hussain. Matha Sangadanakal Enna Bidath (Mal. Religious Organization: An Innovation). Kochi: Ihya-u-Sunna Publications, 2004.
• Bahaudheen, K. M. Kerala Muslimkal Cheruthunilpinte Charitram (Mal. Kerala Muslims: History of Resistance). Calicut: Islamic Publishing House, 2004.
• Faizi, P. P. Muhammad. Samasta (Mal. Samasta). Tirurangadi: Samasta Kerala Jamiyatul Ulama, 2005.
• Faizi, Sadiq. Dars Kitabukal Charitram Swadeenam (Mal. Dars Books: History and Influence). Calicut : Islamic Sahitya Academy, 2013.
• Gafoor, P. M. A. Kalavum Kalpadum (Mal. The Time and Foot Print). Calicut: Yuvatha Book House, 2014.
• Gangadaharan, M. Mappila Padanangal (Mal. Studies on Mappila). Kottayam: D C Books, 2012.
• Hakeem, P Abdul. Noottandinte Prakasam Noorul Ulama (Mal. Noorul Ulama: The Light of the Century). Abu Dhabi: ICF Books, 2014.
• Hamza, C. Tuhfatul Mujahidin: Paribhsayum Vishadeekaranavum (Mal. Tuhafatul Mujahideen Translation and Analysis). Calicut: Al-Huda Book Stall, n.d.
• Irivetti, Abdu Rahman. Islahi Prastanam (Mal. Islahi Movement). Calicut: K.N.M. Publishing Wing, 2002.
• Karakunnu, Abu-Bakr. Sangadana School (Mal. Organizational School). Calcut : Yuvatha Book House, 2001.
• Kareem, K. K. Abdul. K.M. Moulavi Charitram (Mal. Biography of K. M. Moulavi). Calicut: Yuvatha Books, 2000.
• Kazhakkoottam, Shamsuddin Musliyar. Adarsha Guide (Mal. A Guide for Islamic). Trivandrum: Dreamworld Printers, 2009.
• Koyakkutti, Musliyar. ―Paythrakangale Nechettiya Nalla Kaalam (malayalam).‖ S.Y.S 60th Anniversary Souvenir, April 2014: 13-18.
• Kurup, K. K. N. ―Adya Kaala Prakshobangal (Mal. Earlier Struggles).‖ In Farook College Golden Jubilee Souvenir, 53 – 59. Faroke: Farook College, n.d.
• Kuttasseri, P. Muhammad. Moulana Abusabah Ahmad Ali. Calicut: Grace Books, 2014.
• Kutty, E. K. Muhammad. Islamum Keralathile Samoohya Pravarthanangalum (Mal. Islam and Social Movement in Kerala). Calicut: Kerala Nadvatul Mujahideen, 1987.
• Madavur, Hussain. Prasthanika Chintakal (Mal. Organizational Thoughts). Calicut: Yuvatha Book House, 2001.
• Malayamma, Moin Hudawi, and Mahmood Panangara. Mampuram Thangal: Jeevitham Athmiyatha Porattam (Mal. Mampuram Thangal Life Spirituality Struggle). Chemmad: Asas Book Cell, 2009.
• Mandalamkunnu, Zainudheen. Mappila Struggle and Ulama Leadership . Nanma Books: Calicut, 2009.
• Mandalamkunnu, Zainuddin. Kerala Muslim Charitram: Nirmitha Sathyangalum Yadarthyangalum (Mal. Kerala Muslim History: Constructed Facts and Realities). Calicut: Capitol Books, 2012.
• Moideenkutty. ―Moulana Chalilakatum Darul Uloomum (Mal. Moulana Chalilakat and Darul Uloom).‖ Pabodhana Special Issue , 1998: 64 – 68.
• Moulavi, A Najeeb. Irupatham Nootandile Shradheya Vivadangal (Mal. The Famous Debates in the 20th century). Manjeri: Bulbul , n.d.
• Moulavi, K. Moidu. Ormakurippukal (Mal. Memoir). Calicut: IPH, 2001.
• Moulavi, N. K. Ahmad. Aikya Sangavum Kerala Muslimkalum (Mal. Aikya Sangam and Kerala Muslims). Kozhikode: Yuvatha Book House, 1998.
• Muhammad, Jamal. Swadeshabhimani Vakkom Moulavi (Mal. The Patriot Vakkom Moulavi). Thiruvanathapuram: Prabhat Books, 2010.
• Muhammadali, S.V. Islamika Sangaadakan (Mal. Islamic Activist). Calicut: ISA, 2002.
• Musliyar, Nattika V. Moosa. Nattika Parajathu (Mal. Collection of Nattika’s works). Calicut: Shifa Books, 2006.
• Nadwi, Abul Jalal. ―Presidential Lecture.‖ Kerala Jamiyathul Ulama 12th Annual Conference. Tirur: Jamaliyya Achukoodam, 1936. 1 – 32.
• Pookottur, Abdul Samad. Sangadana Pravrthanam (Mal. Organizational Activity). Kozhikode: Shifa Book Stall, n.d.
• Puthuponnani, Swalih. Sanaulla Makthi Thangal Jeeva Charitram (Mal. Biography of Sanaulla Makti Tangal). Kozhikode: Islamic Publishing Bureau, 2013.
• Qadir, Abdul. ―Matha Bauthika Samanwaya Vidhyabasam (Mal. Combining Material and Religious Education).‖ al-Muallim 12, no. 5 (1988): 11-13.
• Qasimi, Rahmathullah. Sangadana, Nethavu, Anuayaayi. 18 November 2008. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjdQ6OshhBE (accessed 11 27, 2014).
• Rahman, Mujeebu. Sangadana Oru Padasala (Mal. Organization: A Learnign School). Calicut: Yuvatha Book House, 2012.
• Randathani, Hussain. Makhdoomum Ponnaniyum (Mal. Makhdoom and Ponnani). Ponnani: Ponnani Juma Masjid Committee, 2010.
• —. Mappila Malabar. Calicut: Islamic Publishing Bureau, 2005.
• Saqafi, Sulaiman. Pravathakante Panippura (Mal. Workshop of Activist). Kozhikode: IPB, 2012.
• Thangal, Sanaulla Makthi. Makthi Thangal Sampoorna Krithikal (Mal. Makthi Thangal Omnibus). Calicut : Vachanam Books, 2012.
• Tharuvana, O. M. Aikya Sangovum Muslims Navothanvaum (Mal. Aikya Sangom and Muslim Reformism). Kozhikode: Ahlu-Sunna Publication , n.d.
• Vilayil, Suhail. ―Othupalli Muthal Madrasa Vare (Mal. From Othupalli to Madrasa).‖ In Matha Vidhyabhyasam: Kalam Desham Samskaram (Mal. Religious Education: Time Place and Culture), by Aboobakr Hudawi, 117 – 131. Chemmad: Darul Huda, 2011.
• Wafa, A. K. Ismail. Samastha: Varakkal Muthal Kanthapuram Vare (Mal. Samastha: From Varakkal to Kanthapuram). Calicut: Sensing Books, 2010.
• Zainudheen, Ahmad. Tuhfatul Mujahideen Fi Ahvalil Burtugaleen (Ar. A Gift to Warriors on the Conditions of the Portuguese). Bairut: Muassatul Wafa, 1985.

Articles and Books

• Abraham, Jose. “Modernity, Islamic Reform, and the Mappilas of Kerala: The Contribution of Vakkom Moulavi (1873 – 1932).” PhD Diss., McGill University, 2008.
• Agrama, Hussein Ali. “Law Courts and Fatwa Councils in Modern Egypt An Ethnography of Islamic Legal Practice.” PhD Diss., Jhon Hophins University, 2005.
• Ahmad, Imtiaz. ―Introduction.‖ In Ritual and Religion among Muslims in India, edited by Imtiaz Ahmad, 1-20. New Delhi: Manohar, 1981.
• Ahmad, Irfan. ―Interview with Talal Asad.‖ Public Culture, 2015: 259 -279.
• —. Islamism and Democracy in India: The Transformation of Jamaat-e-Islami. Ranikhet: Permanent Black , 2010.
• Ahmad, Irfan. ―The Secular State and Geography of Radicalism.‖ Economic and Political Weekly, no. 23 (2009): 33-38.
• Alam, Arshad. Inside a Madrasa: Knowledge, Power and Islamic Identity in India. New Delhi: Routledge, 2011.
• Ali, K.T. Muhammad. The Development of Education Among the Mappilas of Malabar, 1800 to 1965. New Delhi: Nunes Publishers, 1990.
• Aloysius, G. Nationalism without a Nation in India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014.
• Anjum, Ovamir. ―Islam as Discursive Tradition: Talal Asad and His Interlocutors.‖ Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, no. 3 (2007): 656-672.
• Appadurai, Arjun. Fear of Small Numbers: An Essay on the Geography of Anger. Durham: Duke University Press, 2006.
• Arunima, G. ―Imagining Communities-Differently: Print, Language and the (Public Sphere) in Colonial Kerala.‖ Indian Economic Social History Review, no. 43 (2006): 63 – 76.
• Asad, Talal. ―Anthropological Conception of Religion: Reflection on Geertz.‖ Man, New Series, no. 2 (1983): 237-259.
• —. Formation of Secular: Christianity, Islam and Modernity. California: Stanford University Press, 2003.
• —. Genealogies of Religion: Discipline and Reasons of Power in Christianity and Islam. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993.
• Asad, Talal. The Idea of Anthropolgy Of Islam.‖ Occassional Paper Series. Washington DC.: Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University, 1986.
• Banu, Shareena. “Education and Identity Construction among Muslims in Kerala: A Study of Select Schools in Malappuram District”. Ph D Diss., Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2007.
• Bayley, C.A. The Pre-history of ‘Communalism’? Religious Conflict in India, 1700 – 1860.‖ Modern Asian Studies, no. 2 (1985): 177-203.
• Berkey, Jonathan P. Madrasas Medieval and Modern: Politics, Education, and the Problem of Muslim Identity.‖ In Schooling Islam: The Culture and Politics of Modern Muslim Education, edited by Robert W. Hefner and Muahammad Qasim Zaman, 40 – 60. Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2007.
• Bowen, Jhon R. Muslims Through Discourse: Religion and Ritual in Gayo Society. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993.
• Bowen, John R. A New Anthropology of Islam. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
• Brenner, Louis. The Transformation of Muslim Schooling in Mali: The Madrasa an an Institution of Social and Religious Mediation .‖ In Schooling Islam: The Culture and Politics of Modern Muslim Education , edited by Robert W.
  Hefner and Muhammad Qasim Zaman, 199 – 223. Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2007.
• Cohen, Bernard S. An Anthropologist among Historians and Other Essays. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1996.
• —. Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge: The British India. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.
• Dale, Stephen Fredric. Islamic Society on the South Asian Frontier: The Mappilas of Malabar, 1498-1922. Clarendon Press: Oxford, 1980.
• Das, Veena. For a folk-theology and theological anthropology of Islam.‖ Contribution to Indian Socicology, no. 18 (1984): 293-300.
• Dirks, Nicholas B. Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India. Delhi: Permanent Black , 2013.
• Eickelman, Dale F., and James Piscotari. Muslim Politics. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.
• Eisenlohr, Patrick. As Makkah Is Sweet and Beloved So Is Madina: Islam Devtional Genres and Electronic Mediation in Mauritius.‖ American Ethnologist, no. 2 (2006): 230-245.
• Engineer, Asgharali. Kerala Muslims: A Historical Perspective. Ajantan Publications: Delhi, 1995.
• Faisal, K. P. “Rites of Passage among Muslims of Kerala: A Sociological Study on Texts and Practices”. PhD Diss., Jawahrlal Nehru University, 2010.
• Fazl, Tanweer. “Ummah, Quam and Watan: Elite and Ordinary Consruction of Nationhood among Muslims of Contemporary India.” Working Paper Series, New Delhi: CSSS, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2014.
• Foucault, Michel. Power and Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972 – 1977. London: Hertfordshire, 1980.
• Foucault, Michel. The Subject and Power.‖ Critical Inquiry 8, no. 4 (1982): 777-795.
• Frankl, P.J.L. The Observance of Ramadan in Swahili-Land.‖ Journal of Religion in Africa, no. 26 (1996): 416-434.
• Geertz, Clifford. Islam Observed. London: Yale University Press, 1968.
• —. The Interpretation of Cultures Selected Essays. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1973.
• Gopalankutty, K. Rural Revolts in South Malabar in the Nineteenth Century .‖ In Kerala Muslims: A Historical Perspective , edited by Asghar Ali Engineer, 119 – 132. Delhi : Ajanta Publications, 1995.
• Hallaq, Wael B. The Impossible State: Islam, Politics, and Modernity’s Moral Predicament. New York : Columbia University Press, 2013.
• Hefner, Robert W. Introduction: The Culture, Politics, and Future of Muslim Education .‖ In Schooling Islam: The Culture and Politics of Modern Muslim Education , edited by Robert W. Hefner and Muhammad Qasim Zaman, 1 – 39. Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2007.
• Hirschkind, Charles. “Conceptual Challenges to Understanding Islamic Movements : Questions in Tradition, Modernity, and History”. Unpublsiehd Manuscript. 1997.
• —. The Ethical Soundscapes: Cassete Sermons and Islamic CounterPublics. NewYork: Columbia University Press, 2006.
• Houtart, Francois, and Genevieve Lemercinier. ―Socio-Religious Movements in Kerala:A Reaction to the Capitalist Mode of Production.‖ Social Scientist, no. 11 (1978): 3-34.
• Ingram, Brannon D. ―The Portable Madrasa Print, Publics, and the Authority of Deobandi Ulama.‖ Modern Asian Studies, no. 4 (2014): 845-871.
• Iqtidar, Humeira. Secularizing Islamists? Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamaat-ud-Dawa in Urban Pakistan. Ranikhet: Permanent Black, 2011.
• Izutsu, Thoshihiko. Ethico-Religious Concepts in the Quran. McGill-Queen’s
  University Press : Canada, 2002.
• Jalal, Ayesha. Self and Sovereignty Individual and Community in South Asian Islam Since 1850. Newyork: Routledge, 2000.
• Janaki, M. Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan in Malabar .‖ In Keralal Muslims: A Historical Perspective , edited by Asghar Ali Engineer, 103 – 118. Delhi : Ajanta Publications, 1995.
• Jones, Kenneth W. Religious Identity and the Indian Census.‖ In The Census in British India, edited by Gerald Barrier, 73-101. New Delhi: Manohar, 1981.
• Kandiyil, Ashraf Koyilothan. “Reform and Revivial among Muslims of Kerala: A Study of Kerala Muslim Aikya Sangom 1922 – 1934.” MPhil Diss., Jawaharlal Nehru University, 1998.
• Kaviraj, Sudipta. The Imaginary Institution of India . Ranikhet: Permanent Black, 2012.
• Kumar, Krishna. Political Agenda of Education: A Study of Colonialist and Nationalist Ideas . New Delhi : Sage Publication , 1991.
• Kumar, Krishna. Text Book and Educational Culture.‖ Economic and Political Weekly 21, no. 30 (1986): 1309 – 1311.
• Kunju, Ibrahim. Origin and Spread of Islam in Kerala.‖ In Kerala Muslims: A Historical Perspcetive, edited by Asghar Ali Engineer, 17 – 34. Delhi: Ajanta Publications, 1995.
• Kurup, K.K.N. The Ali Rajas of Cannanore – A Historiagraphical Study .‖ In Kerala Muslims A Historical Perspective, edited by Asghar Alii engineer, 83 – 90. Delhi : Ajanta Publications , 1995.
• Lakshmi, L.R.S. The Malabar Muslims: A Different Perspective. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
• Liyakathali, Muhammad. “Recognized Arabic Colleges of Kerala: A Study in Carriculum”. M Phil Diss., Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2003.
• Madan, T.N. One From Many: Exploration in the Anthropology of Islam.‖ The Eastern Anthropologist, no. 1 (2007): 1 – 25.
• Mahmood, Saba. Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and The Feminist Subject. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005.
• Mayaram, Shail. Criminality or Community? Alternative Construction of the Mev Narrative of Darya Khan.‖ Contributions to Indian Sociology, no. 1 (1991): 55-84.
• Menon, Dilip M. “Becoming ‘Hindu’ and ‘Muslim’: Identity and Conflict in Malabar 1900 – 1936”. Working Paper No. 255, Thiruvananthapuam: Centre for Development Studies, 1994.
• Menon, Sreedhara. A Survey of Kerala History . Kochi: National Book Stall, n.d.
• Messick, Brinkley. The Calligraphic State Textual Domination and History in a Muslim Society. University of California Press: Berkeley, 1993.
• Metcalf, Barbara D. Islamic Revival in British India: Deoband 1860 – 1900. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1982.
• Miller, Roland E. Mappila Muslims of Kerala. Madras: Orient Longman, 1976.
• Minault, Gail. Some Reflections on Islamic Revivalism vs. Assimilation among Muslims in India.‖ Contributoin to Indian Sociology, no. 2 (1984): 301-305.
• Mohammed, U. Educational Empowerment of Kerala Muslims: A Socio-Historical Perspective . Calicut: Other Books, 2007.
• Mohan, P. Sanal. Religion, Social Space and Identity: The Prathyaksha Raksha Daiva Sabha and the Making of Cultural Boundaries in Twentieth Century Kerala South Asia.‖ Journal of South Asian Studies, no. 1 (2005): 35-63.
• O’Connel, Joseph. Organizational and Institutional Aspects of Indian Religious Movements . Shimla: IIAs & Manohar , 1999.
• Osella, Filippo, and Caroline Osella. Introduction .‖ In Islamic Reform in South Asia , edited by Filippo Osella and Caroline Osella, xi – xxvii. Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
• Osella, Filippo, and Caroline Osella. Islamism and Social Reforms in Kerala, South India.‖ In Islamic Reform in South Asia, edited by Filippo Osella and Caroline Osella, 139-170. Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
• Osella, Filippo, and Caroline Osella. Muslim Entrepreneurs in Public Life between India and the Gulf: Making Good and Doing Good.‖ The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 15 (2009): S202 – S221.
• —. Social Mobility in Kerala: Modernity and Identity in Conflict. London: Pluto Press, 2000.
• Ottathingal, Abdur Rahoof. “Language Religion and Culture: Arabi Malayalam and Vernacular Islam among Mappila Muslims of Kerala.” MPhil Diss., Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2010.
• Pandey, Gyanendra. The Construction of Communalism in Colonial North India. New Delhi : Oxford University Press, 2012.
• Panikkar, K.N. Mappilas’ Religiosu Militancy; Rview of ‘The Mappilas of Malabar 1498 – 1922: Islamic Society on the South Asian Frontier by Stephen Frederic Dale.’‖ Economic and Political Weekly, no. 20 (1982): 823 – 824.
• Pasha, M. K. Mulism Religious Education.‖ In Kerala Muslims: A Historical Perspective , edited by Asghar Ali Engineer, 133 – 146. New Delhi : Ajanta Publications, 1995.
• Razak, Abdul. “Colonialism and Community Formation in Malabar: A Study of Muslims of Malabar.” PhD Diss., Calicut University, 2007.
• Robinson, Francis. Islam and Muslim Society in South Asia.‖ Contribution to Indian Sociology, no. 17 (1983): 185-202.
• Robinson, Francis. Islamic Reform and Modernities in South Asia.‖ In Islamic Reform in South Asia , edited by Filippo Osella and Caroline Osella, 26-50. Delhi : Cambridge University Press, 2013.
• Rudoph, Lloyd I., and Susanne Hoeber Rudolph. The Modernity of Tradition Political Development in India . New Delhi: Orient BlackSwan, 1999.
• Saidali. “Emergence of Nationalism and Trends in Muslim Politics, Malabar, 1921 – 1947.” MPhil. Diss., JNU, 2013.
• Samad, Abdul. Islam in Kerala, Groups and Movements in 20th Century. Kollam: Laurel Publications, 1998.
• Santhosh, R. “The Process of Religious Identity Formation: A Sociological Study of Religiosu Organizations in Kerala.” PhD. Diss., Institute of Social and Economic Change, 2009.
• Santhosh, R. Contextualising Islamic Contestations: Reformism, Tradtionalism and Modernity among Muslims of Kerala.‖ Indian Anthropologist, no. 2 (2013): 25-42.
• Sanyal, Usha. Devotional Islam and Politics in British India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1996.
• Sathar, Muhammad Abdul. Mappila Leader in Exile: A Political Biography of Syed Fazl Tangal. Calicut: Other Books, 2012.
• Sen, Ronjoy. Legalizing Religion . New Delhi : Critical Quest, 2011.
• Singh, Yogendra. Modernization of Indian Tradition . 2013: Rawat, New Delhi.
• Sirajudheen, Ahmad. “Religious Discourses on Classifcation of Healing Practices.” M. Phil., Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2013.
• Tharakan, F.K. Micheal. “Socio-Economic Factors in Educational Development: The Case of Ninenteenth Cemtury Travancore.” Working Paper no. 190, Trivandrum: Centre for Development Studies, 1984.
• Tolen, Rachel J. Colonizing and Transfroming the Criminal Tribesmen: The Salvation Army in British India.‖ American Ethnologist, no. 1, (1991): 106- 125.
• Tönnies, Ferdinand. Community and Society. Newyork: Harper Torchbooks, 1957.
• Uberoi, J.P.S. The European Modernity: Science Truth and Method. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002.
• Werbner, Pnina. Reform Sufism in South Asia.‖ In Islamic Reform in South Asia , edited by Filippo Osella and Caroline Osella, xi – xvii. Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
• Zaman, Muhammad Qasim. Religious Education and the Rhetoric of Reform: The Madrasa in British India and Pakisthan.‖ Comparitive Studies in Society and History, no. 2 (1999): 294-323.
• —. The Ulama in Contemporary Islam Custodians of Change . Princeton: Princton University Press, 2002.
• Zubair, K. “Development and Modernization of Religiosu Education in Kerala: Role of Samastha Kerala Jameyyathul Ulama.” MPhil. Diss., Jawharlal Nehru University, 2006.
• —. “Religious Higher Education in Kerala and Java Province of Indonesia: A Comparitive Study.” PhD Diss., Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2010