Power and Resistance in South Asian Modernism: Focus on Sir Sayyid
 S.M.Mehboobul Hassan Bukhari1

ABSTRACT

Colonial experience of Muslims in nineteenth century has produced among Muslim thinkers the need to integrate European ideas and sciences in Islamic frame. Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1817 – 1898) epitomizes this current in south Asia. Khan has instrumented education to reform the Muslim society in post 1857 subcontinent as does Sheikh Abdu (1849 – 1905) in Egypt. The reformation aims to bridge the gulf between European constructs of Islam and  علوم و فنون جدیدہ (European Sciences and Arts).  The rout seems to be: first remove misunderstandings of Islam in the oriental discourse and then harmony between the British and Muslims will effortlessly follow. The integration of European ideas is thought to be unproblematic due to common practice in the history of Muslim intellectuals to incorporate nonscriptural knowledge in Islam. Modernists advocate this incorporation whereas Traditionists have refuted this assimilation. My paper shall speculate that Khan’s attempt to assimilate European ideas and sciences into Islamic frame overlooks power relations between the superaltern (the colonizer) and the subaltern (the colonized). As a result, his idealized pure assimilation leads to alienation to indigenous cultural values. Furthermore, Khan, I shall argue, has failed to conceptualize resistance against ‘mission civilizatrice’ famously put by Richard Rorty. The study will employ descriptive-analytical-critical methodology which will add new perspective to Sayyid Ahmed Khan’s understanding of ‘the other’ as well as his multiple readings. 
KEY WORDS: Power, Resistance, Islamic Modernism, Ijtihad