Islamic tolerance : Amir Khusraw and pluralism / Alyssa Gabbay.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: "O wind, tell the demons and fairies" : a call for reconciliation in Northern India -- Am✹ Khusraw and the uniting of opposites -- Tolerance in medieval South Asia : an overview -- The framework of frontier studies : when two cultures meet -- Islamic civilization as an ever-changing glacial wave -- Understanding cultural change through frontier studies -- Examples of synthesis and conciliation -- Khusraw as the exponent of a new, third culture -- Setting new standards of legitimacy in the Dibachah -- Minting new currency in the Dibachah -- How the Dibachah came to be written -- The structure of the hierarchies -- Khusraw's response to the various hierarchies -- The poet's defense of Persian vs. Arabic -- The poet's defense of Indians and Persians vs. Arabs -- Legitimating Hindavi as an authentic Muslim language -- Double entendre (Iham) and Indo-Persian innovation -- A show-stopping example of Iham -- Balancing gender roles : male/female dynamics in the Hasht Bihisht (eight paradises), 1301/2 -- Breaking Nizami's golden seal of eloquence : Khusraw's Khamsah -- The Bahram Gur story and the portrayal of women -- Firdawsi : the construction of heroic masculinity -- Nizami : the reseating of Fitnah -- Amir Khusraw : the lion-capturing deer -- A clear deconstructionist character -- Female rule in the Delhi Sultanate : the example of Raziyyah -- The influence of mysticism -- Was Khusraw a medieval feminist? -- Toward a more equitable world -- They see my Hindu kill in the style of Turks : the dismantling of a dichotomy in the Nuh Sipihr (nine skies), 1318/9 -- Writing to please a pleasure-loving king -- Turk and Hindu in history -- Amir Khusraw's use of Turk and Hindu -- Seeds of ambiguity -- The Third Sipihr : a new chapter on Hindus -- A generative union -- Conclusion: Glorious the radiance of that exalted sun : pluralistic ideals on the subcontinent and beyond -- Uncovering the authentic Khusraw -- The question of legacy.

Although pluralism and religious tolerance are most often associated today with Western Enlightenment thinkers, the roots of these ideologies stretch back to non-Western and premodern societies, including many under Muslim rule. This book explores the development of pluralism in Islam in South Asia through the work of the poet, historian and musician Amir Khusraw and sheds new light on how Islam developed its own culture of tolerance. Countering stereotypes of Islam as intrinsically intolerant, the book provides a better understanding of how rhetorics of pluralism develop, which may aid in identifying and encouraging such discourses in the present. Khusraw, a practicing Muslim who showed great affection toward Hindus and used much indigenous imagery in his poetry, is an ideal figure through whom to explore these issues. Addressing issues of ethnicity, religion and gender in the early medieval period, Alyssa Gabbay demonstrates the pre-modern precedents for pluralism, conveying the broad sweep of Perso-Islamicate culture and the profound transformations it underwent in medieval South Asia. Accurately depicting the paradoxicality and jaggedness involved in the development of its composite culture, this book will have great relevance to scholars and students of Islam in South Asia, gender, religious pluralism, and Persian literature