Asghar Ali Engineer (10 March 1939 – 14 May 2013) was an Indian reformist writer and social activist. Internationally known for his work on

liberation theology Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". I ...

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

, he led the

Progressive Dawoodi Bohra Progressive Dawoodi Bohra also known as ''Bohra Youth'' is a reform movement within the Dawoodi Bohra subsect of Mustaali Ismai'li Shi'a Islam. They disagree with mainstream Dawoodi Bohra, as led by the incumbent Da'i al-Mutlaq, on doctrinal, ...

movement. The focus of his work was on

communalism Communalism may refer to: * Communalism (Bookchin), a theory of government in which autonomous communities form confederations * , a historical method that follows the development of communities * Communalism (South Asia), violence across ethnic ...

and communal and

ethnic violence Ethnic violence is a form of political violence which is expressly motivated by ethnic hatred and ethnic conflict. Forms of ethnic violence which can be argued to have the characteristics of terrorism may be known as ethnic terrorism or ethnica ...

in India and South Asia. He was a votary of peace and non-violence and lectured all over world on communal harmony. Engineer also served as head of the Indian Institute of Islamic Studies Mumbai, and the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS), both of which he founded in 1980 and 1993 respectively. He also made contributions to ''The God Contention'', a website comparing and contrasting various worldviews. Engineer's autobiography ''A Living Faith: My Quest for Peace, Harmony and Social Change'' was released in New Delhi on 20 July 2011 by

Hamid Ansari Hamid refers to two different but related Arabic given names, both of which come from the Arabic triconsonantal root of Ḥ-M-D (ِِح-م-د): # (Arabic: حَامِد ''ḥāmid'') also spelled Haamed, Hamid or Hamed, and in Turkish Hamit; i ...

, the then vice-president of India.

Biography

left, Asghar Ali Engineer Asghar Ali Sheikh Kurban (sometimes rendered as Asghar Ali SK) was born 10 March 1939 in Salumbar,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

, the son of a

Bohra Bohra or Bora may refer to: Groups of people *A Musta'li trading community: **Alavi Bohra, a branch of the Mustaali community **Dawoodi Bohra, a branch of the Mustaali community ** Suleimani Bohra, a Mustaali Ismaili community that predominantly r ...

priest, Shaikh Qurban Hussain. He was trained in

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...

tafsir Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...

(commentary),

tawil ''Ṭawīl'' ( ar, طويل, literally 'long'), or ''al-Ṭawīl'' (), is a meter used in classical Arabic poetry Arabic poetry ( ar, الشعر العربي ''ash-shi‘ru al-‘Arabīyyu'') is the earliest form of Arabic literature. Present kn ...

(hidden meaning of Qur'an),

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and e ...

(jurisprudence) and

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...

(Prophet's sayings), and learned the

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

.Asghar Ali Engineer: the man
''Muslims in India Since 1947: Islamic Perspectives on Inter-faith Relations'', by

Yoginder Sikand Yoginder Singh Sikand (born 1967) is an Indian writer and academic who has written several books on Islam-related issues in India. Early life and education Sikand received his B.A. (Hons.) in economics from St. Stephen's College of the Univers ...

. Routledge, 2004. . ''Page 12–13''. He graduated with a degree in civil engineering from

Vikram University Vikram University is located in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The university was named after the ruler Vikramaditya. It was established in 1957. It was evaluated by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council and was awarded B++ grade ...

Ujjain Ujjain (, Hindustani pronunciation: �d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative centre of Ujjain district and Uj ...

, Madhya Pradesh, and served for 20 years as an engineer in the Bombay Municipal Corporation. In 1965, he began publishing newspaper articles under the name of "Asghar Ali Engineer." A reviewer explains that :"He felt that the name Asghar Ali SK, did not sound good. His friend Zoeb Ansari suggested that he could take his professional name. It is common in India especially among Parsis (Zoroastrians) and Bohra Muslims to have a family name based on one’s occupation (Bandukwala or one who deals in guns, Mithaiwala or one who deals in sweets, Vakil or lawyer, Contractor,) or on the village name (Sidpurwala, Partapurwala). Going by this trend, Asghar Ali SK chose his professional name and not his village name which would have been Mandsaurwala. He penned his article in the ''Times of India'' under the name Asghar Ali Engineer –the name stayed." In 1972, Engineer took voluntary retirement in order to devote himself to the Bohra reform movement in the wake of a revolt in

Udaipur Udaipur () ( ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic ...

. He was unanimously elected as General Secretary of The Central Board of

Dawoodi Bohra The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination within the Ismā'īlī branch of Shia Islam. Their largest numbers reside in India, Pakistan, Yemen, East Africa, and the Middle East, with a growing presence across Europe, North America, South ...

Community in its first conference in Udaipur in 1977. In 2004 due to criticism of the Dawoodi Bohra religious establishment he was expelled. In 1980, he set up the Institute of Islamic Studies in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

to create a platform for progressive Muslims in India and elsewhere. Subsequently, through the 1980s, he wrote extensively on Hindu-Muslim relations, and growing communal violence in India. Asghar Ali Engineer has been instrumental in publicising the

movement through his writings and speeches. In 1993, he founded 'Center for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS)' to promote communal harmony. He did not support the ban on

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and ...

's "Satanic Verses" though he felt that the novel "is an attack" on religion. He authored more than 50 books and many articles in various national and international journals. He was the founding chairman of the Asian Muslim Action Network, director of the Institute of Islamic Studies, and head of the Center for Study of Society and Secularism in

, where he closely worked with scholar and scientist Professor Dr Ram Puniyani. Engineer was also a supporter of the supporter of the

Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

, an organisation which campaigns for democratic reformation of the United Nations.

Beliefs on women's rights

Engineer wrote that "Women do not enjoy the status the Qur'an has given them in Muslim society today." Engineer believed that in this day and age women should be equal to men.

Women had internalized their subjugation of men as the latter were the breadwinners. Since then women have become quite conscious of their new status.

Engineer believed that women should be treated as equal to men, and said that people who support an unjust order, or remain silent in view of gross injustices were not religious people. Women's inequality topped his priority list of injustices. However, critics said that his interpretations of the Qur'an were not strong enough to get people to change their beliefs surrounding women's place in Islam. Sikand thought that Engineer's opinion was based on his interpretation of the Qur'an and his outlook on the 21st century instead of the interpretations that the Qur'an has now. “His understanding of Islam is indelibly shaped by his concern for social justice and inter-communal harmony, of course.”Sikand, Yoginder. “Asghar Ali Engineer’s Quest for an Islamic Theology of Peach and Religious Pluralism.” Progressive Dawoodi Bohras. Quest.http://dawoodi-bohras.com/about_us/people/engineer/quest/ (accessed 23 April 2009), 16.

Awards

Engineer was given several awards during his lifetime, including the Dalmia Award for communal harmony in 1990, an honorary D.Litt. by the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every yea ...

in 1993, the Communal Harmony Award in 1997 and the

Right Livelihood Award The Right Livelihood Award is an international award to "honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today." The prize was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob vo ...

in 2004 (with Swami Agnivesh) for his "strong commitment to promote values of co-existence and tolerance".Right Livelihood – Asghar Ali Engineer

Some works

*''Origin and Development of Islam: An Essay on Its Socio-Economic Growth''., by Asghar Ali Engineer, Asghar Ali Engineer Staff. Published by South Asia Books, 1980. . *''The Islamic State''. Published by Vikas, 1980. . *''Sufism and Communal Harmony'' *''Islam and Its Relevance to Our Age''. Published by Institute of Islamic Studies, 1984. *''On developing theory of communal riots''. Published by Institute of Islamic Studies, 1984. *''Islam and Revolution''. Published by Ajanta Publications, 1984. *''Islam and Muslims: a critical reassessment''. Published by Printwell Publishers, 1985. *''Islam in South and South-east Asia''. Published by Ajanta Publications, 1985. . *''Indian Muslims: A Study of Minority Problems in India''. Published by Ajanta Publications (India), 1985. *''Communalism in India'', by Asgharali Engineer, Moin Shakir. Published by Ajanta Publications (India), 1985. . *''The Role of minorities in freedom struggle''. Institute of Islamic Studies (Bombay, India). Published by Ajanta Publications, 1986. *''Ethnic conflict in South Asia''. Published by Ajanta Publications, 1987. *''Status of women in Islam''. Published by Ajanta Publications (India), 1987. . *''The Shah Bano controversy'', Orient Longman, 1987. . *''The Muslim communities of Gujarat: an exploratory study of Bohras, Khojas, and Memons''. Published by Ajanta Publications, 1989. . *''Religion and Liberation''. Published by Ajanta Publications (India), 1989. . *''Communalism and communal violence in India: an analytical approach to Hindu-Muslim conflict''. Published by Ajanta Publications (India), 1989. *''Communal Riots in Post-independence India''. Published by Orient Blackswan, 1991. . *''Secular crown on fire: the Kashmir problem''. Published by Ajanta Publications, 1991. . *''Mandal Commission controversy''. Published by Ajanta Publications, 1991. . *''Rights of Women in Islam''. Sterling Publishers, 1992. *''Communalisation of politics and 10th Lok Sabha elections'', by Asgharali Engineer, Pradeep Nayak. Published by Ajanta Publications, 1993. *''The Bohras''. South Asia Books, 1994. . *''Kerala Muslims: a historical perspective''. Published by Ajanta Publications, 1995. *''Lifting the veil: communal violence and communal harmony in contemporary India''. Sangam Books, 1995. ,. *''Problems of Muslim Women in India''. Published by Institute of Islamic Studies, 1995. *''Rethinking Issues in Islam''. Sangam Books Limited, 1998. . *''Competing nationalisms in South Asia: essays for Asghar Ali Engineer'', by Paul R. Brass, Achin Vanaik, Asgharali Engineer. Published by Orient Blackswan, 2002. . *''Islam in India: The Impact of Civilizations''. Shipra Publications, 2002. . *''The Gujarat Carnage''. Orient Longman, 2003 . *''The Qurʼan, women, and modern society''. Published by New Dawn Press Group, 2005. . *''The State in Islam: Nature and scope''. Hope India Publications, 2006. . *''Islam in Contemporary World''. Sterling Publishers, 2007. . *''Islam in Post-Modern World''. Hope India Publications, 2009.

References

External links