Description
Manohar Indentured Muslims in the Diaspora Identity and Belonging of Minority Groups in Plural Societies by Maurits S Hassankhan Goolam Vahed Lomarsh Roopnarine
"The volume is based on a conference panel which focused specifically on the experience of indentured Muslim migrants and their descendants. Most studies on Indian indenture have almost been exclusively on Hindu religion and culture, even though an estimated 17 per cent of migrants were Muslims. The core issues addressed in the study are: What role did Islam play in the lives of (Indian) Muslim migrants in their new settings during indenture and in the post-indenture period? How did Islam help migrants adapt and acculturate to their new environment? What have been the similarities and differences in practices, traditions and beliefs between Muslim communities in the different countries and between them and the country of origin? How have Islamic practices and Muslim identities transformed over time? What role does Islam play in the Muslims’ lives in these countries in the contemporary period? This work provides a series of case studies that focus on the various countries to which the indentured Indians migrated, such as Mauritius, South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname and Fiji. This book thus fills an important gap in the indentured historiography, both to understand the past as well as to make sense of the present, when Muslim identities are undergoing rapid changes in response to both local and global realities. The book includes a chapter on the experiences of Muslim indentured immigrants of Indonesian descent who settled in Suriname."