Miniature Books - The Format and Function of Tiny Religious Texts - Kristina Myrvold

Miniature Books - The Format and Function of Tiny Religious Texts - Kristina Myrvold

Miniature Qurans in the First World War: Religious Comforts for Indian Muslim Soldiers

Miniature Books - The Format and Function of Tiny Religious Texts - Kristina Myrvold

Kristina Myrvold [+-]
Linnaeus University
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Kristina Myrvold is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Linnaeus University. She is the author and editor of numerous publications on Indian cultures, religions, and migration.
Andreas Johansson [+-]
Lund University
Andreas Johansson holds a PhD in History of Religion and is the Director of the Swedish South Asian Studies Network (SASNET), Lund University. His research interests include religion and politics in South Asia.

Description

During the First World War Muslim soldiers from India made up a significant part of the British forces. Attempts to satisfy the soldiers' religious needs became a British strategy to maintain military discipline among the soldiers in Europe and to avoid public unease and discontent in colonial India. Based on archival material, this chapter examines how the British tried to identify the religious needs of the Indian soldiers and how letters written by Muslim soldiers emphasized the importance of the Qur'an. The chapter further explores how the Indian Soldiers' Fund became an important charity which procured and distributed miniature copies of the Qur'an and how prominent persons in India and Europe donated scriptures to Muslim soldiers. Although the soldiers' uses of the miniature scriptures remain uncertain, the books were given iconic functions to represent religion and identities in a time when the British national honor was threatened.

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Citation

Myrvold, Kristina; Johansson, Andreas. Miniature Qurans in the First World War: Religious Comforts for Indian Muslim Soldiers. Miniature Books - The Format and Function of Tiny Religious Texts. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 132-157 Sep 2019. ISBN 9781781798614. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=37766. Date accessed: 11 Dec 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.37766. Sep 2019

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