A Twentieth Century Indian Sufi Views Hinduism

The Case of Khwaja Hasan Nizami (1879-1955)

Abstract

This article explores how an early twentieth century Indian Sufi Muslim, Khwaja Hasan Nizami (1879-1955), treated various aspects of Hinduism in multiple Urdu publications. During the 1920s Nizami was identified as a primary activist in a “tabligh” campaign to counter Arya Samaj efforts to draw neo-Muslim populations back into the Hindu fold. Despite these politically charged activities, Nizami’s engagement with devotional and spiritual aspects of Hinduism suggests a willingness to continue the Hindu-Muslim cooperation of the Khilafat movement period (1919-1924) in order to embrace a national Indian identity based on mutual religious respect and tolerance.