Overview

Inter-religious relations in India are notoriously fraught, not infrequently erupting into violence. This book looks at a place where the conditions for religious conflict are present, but active conflict is absent. Bigelow focuses on a Muslim majority Punjab town (Malkerkotla) where both during the Partition and subsequently there has been no inter-religious violence. With a minimum of intervention from outside interests, Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs have successfully managed conflict when it does arise. Bigelow explores the complicated history of the region, going back to its foundation by a Sufi saint in the fifteenth century. Combining archival and interview material, she accounts for how the community's idealized identity as a place of peace is realized on the ground through a variety of strategies. As a story of peace in a region of conflict, this study is an important counterbalance to many conflict studies and a corrective to portrayals of Islamic cultures as militant and intolerant. This fascinating town with its rich history will be of interest to students and scholars of Islam, South Asia, and peace and conflict resolution.

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9780195368239

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<br> An incredibly realistic and appealing volume, combining oral interviews and historical <br>documents along with fi eld research. . . Sharing the Sacred should be read and shared with much benefi t by not only those interested in the study of religion, particularly Sufism and Sikhism, and modern South Asian Studies, but also researchers interested in post-conflict scenarios. --South AsiaResearch<p><br> A generously exquisite text that is lovingly yet critically crafted, and as such, it deserves high praise. . . it should be recommended reading not only for all those interested in Sikh studies, South Asian Islam, comparative religious studies, and the history of modern South Asia, but also for journalists who attempt to make sense of the current crises in both Iraq and Afghanistan. -- The Journal of Asian Studies<p><br>

An incredibly realistic and appealing volume, combining oral interviews and historical documents along with field research...Sharing the Sacred should be read and shared with much benefit by not only those interested in the study of religion, particularly Sufism and Sikhism, modern South Asian Studies, but also researchers interested in post-conflict scenarios. Sheherbano Ahmed, South Asia Research

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Anna Bigelow is Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy at North Carolina State University.

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