Indian ʽulamā’’s Views on Popular Culture

Documents of early Islam show that from the very beginning Muslims hesitated between a flat rejection and a tacitly glossing over of certain harmless looking features of popular culture and religion. It is a truism to establish that common people always try to draw the heaven to the earth as near as possible. And if this rule holds good for any region where Muslims dwell, it is certainly true of the Indo-Pakistani Subcontinent, exposed to the alluring Hindu rituals and festivities. This paper is confined to the views expressed on this matter by the Indian ʽulamā’ of the last two centuries.