ISLAM, DEVELOPMENT AND GLOBALIZATION: Transformation of a Traditionalist Muslim Group in Kerala

The chapter examines how a traditionalist Muslim group in Kerala, regionally referred to as the AP Sunnis, creatively engages with the imperatives of neoliberal globalization to address the question of development. The AP Sunni group has been particularly successful in creating an ulama class of ‘turbaned professionals’, religious scholars who also possess educational degrees in non-religious subjects including professional courses and presented as the embodiment of ‘traditional’ Islamic piety with professional competence. This new-age ulama are particularly noteworthy for the ways in which they combine traditionalist notions of Islamic piety within the discourses and processes of neoliberal developmentalism in the regional context of Kerala. Taking the case of Markaz Knowledge City, integrated township touted as a major development project in the state, we argue how the spaces of compatibility between notions of traditionalist Islamic piety and neoliberal developmentalism are necessary to make sense of the social mobility of Muslims in Kerala.