About the Book

The book seeks to discuss and explore the journey of Islam as an ideology from the time of its origin to the present, particularly in respect of three schools namely, Wahhabism, Deoband, and Tablighi, which have come to dominate the discourses on the radical stream of contemporary Islam. It explains how the idea of puritan Islam delves into the terrain of political Islam and forms an ideology that is exclusivist in nature and poses a serious threat to democratic pluralism and secularism. It elucidates how the concept of puritan Islam becomes a powerful source for the Islamic organisations to preach, propagate and network the gospel of Islamic terrorism and how and why the moderate voices from the Islamic communities have failed to respond to these challenges.

About the Author

Professor at the University of Delhi for more than twenty-five years, Sangit Kumar Ragi is at present the Head of the Department of Political Science. He teaches public administration, Indian politics and Indian political thought. His areas of research include demographic changes, ethnic conflicts and nationalism. He is also a member of the ‘Content Review Committee’ constituted by the Ministry of Culture for the project ‘Prime Ministers Museum’. Professor Ragi is a popular television commentator on Indian politics and contributes articles for print and online news portals. He is editor-in-chief of Indian Studies Review published from Delhi. His book RSS and Gandhi: The Idea of India published in 2022 was well received.