Mr Hamza Surbuland

I am a Research Masters student at the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute. I am interested in the study of normative Islamic political thought, Islamic history and Islamic law – specifically questions of coercion and spiritual ethics in modern and pre-modern Islamic politics. I previously graduated with a BA (Hons) in Political Science from the University of Queensland (2019).

Maududi and the Mughals: Rethinking Narratives of Islamic Politics and History

Seeking to investigate alternatives to a statist, coercive brand of orthodox Islamism, this paper will explore and contrast the political thought of Abul Ala Maududi with that exemplified in the context of Mughal India. I argue that the assimilation of the modern state paradigm renders modern Islamic political philosophy inauthentic to the intellectual history of Muslim societies, and foreign to the spiritual message of the Qur’an. Indeed, the latest research seems to indicate that pre-colonial Muslim societies conceived of law and politics in normatively less coercive ways. Appreciating this qualitative difference can aid in legitimising forms of Islamism that move away from a statist, coercive paradigm.