PRESS RELEASE

Markaz-i-Noor, Centre for Shaikh-ul-Aalam Studies (CSAS), University of Kashmir, Srinagar, organised an extension lecture titled, “Islam in Kashmir: Contesting the Scriptural/Popular Dichotomy” delivered by Dr. Mufti Mudasir (Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Kashmir) on 30.09. 2021. The function was presided over by Professor Manzoor Ahmad Bhat, Head of the Shah-i-Hamdan Institute of Islamic Studies, University of Kashmir.

Professor G.N. Khaki, Chairman CSAS, welcomed the guest speaker with the anticipation that the lecture will immensely benefit the audience especially given its significance in the context of the present times.

Dr. Mudasir in his thought provoking lecture sought to contest the easy binary around the scriptural and popular aspects of Islam, emphasizing in the process that categories like ‘normative’/‘scriptural’ and ‘popular’ are not only in constant dialogue but are dynamic constructions that challenge the idea of a homogenous notion of ‘orthodoxy’ in Islamic history. Speaking in the context of Kashmir while invoking tazkiras and the lives of prominent Sufi saints of Kashmir, including Shaikh-ul-Aalam, Dr. Mudasir pointed out the ideological tensions prevalent in the formative years of Islam in Kashmir, thus reinforcing the idea of ‘Islamic orthodoxy’ as a dynamic one.

Professor Manzoor Ahmad Bhat, in his address as the Chair, responded by claiming that diverse interpretations of Islam or multiple schools of thought in the Islamic tradition were largely inspired by the Quranic dictum of tafakur and taddabur, and therefore, any compartmentalizing of Islam should not be over emphasized.

The lecture was well attended by researchers, faculty members and scholars of the University. A substantial number of participants also joined the lecture through online mode as well.