5/7/2025–|Last update: 12:55 (Mecca time)
The term “Orientalism” has always been associated with our minds with Western cognitive domination of the East. However, what if these domination tools are able to form again within the local contexts? What if the national knowledge itself turns into “internal Orientalism” that excludes authentic components of society?
This is the intellectual challenge posed by the concept of “Hindu Orientalism”, which is the critical term formulated by the professor of sociology and anthropology, Irfan Ahmed. Through this concept, it is not satisfied with expanding the circle of criticism of Edward Said, but rather reveals an organized cognitive structure in India, the progress of Islam and Muslims as “another” intruder, in a process that is very similar to the mechanisms of classic Orientalism.
On his academic journey that spanned India to Europe and Australia, to the professorship chair at Ibn Khaldoun University in Istanbul, Ahmed turned his personal experience as a student of poetry in alienation in a standing classroom, into a sober intellectual project that challenges Muslim women.
On the sidelines of his participation in “International Orientalism ConferenceIn Doha, Al -Jazeera Net interviewed the academic professor, in a dialogue that dives in the depths of the emergence of this concept, and explores how to dismantle cognitive dominance away from slogans, and with a more rooted and deepened critical methodology, to the dialogue:
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How do you crystallize the concept of “Hindu Orientalism” and what personal factors have contributed to its formation?
Drafting concepts and creating new terms is similar to the experimental path of one’s life, and at the same time it is a concept (conceptual) path. A part of the reason that led me to adopt this path was stemming from personal experience, specifically from the way I received my education. She grew up in India, first enrolled in an Islamic school, then a government school, then moved to universities.
And at the university, which was in Delhi, the textbooks that I learned were not, nor the way they dealt with the issues of Islam and Muslims, is satisfied, but rather was very biased. This was something that anyone who had a degree of awareness noticed, but because of the strength of national domination, it was not easy for anyone to understand the truth of what was going on. The matter requires a great effort and a cash awareness.
At the university, which was in Delhi, the textbooks that I learned were not, nor the way they dealt with the issues of Islam and Muslims, is satisfied, but rather was very biased. This was something that anyone who had a degree of awareness noticed, but because of the strength of national domination, it was not easy for anyone to understand the truth of what was going on. The matter requires a great effort and a cash awareness.
It was a long journey for me, the journey to search for how to express the feeling of dissatisfaction that required me as a student, whether in the context of teaching or the academic environment in general. And when I say that knowledge in India is largely honest, I am not only talking about an individual experience, but about a general situation. The assimilation of knowledge, in such a context, also means that we have to remove our national identity, because knowledge and nationalism were deeply overlapping. So it took me a long time to analyze what is the reason for this feeling of dissatisfaction, and how it is manifested.
Otherwise, in the semester – by the way – it was not only limited to the content of the textbooks, but also includes the nature of the questions raised, the dialogues that revolve in seminars, conferences, and other academic spaces. So the national environment in its entirety imposes a specific pattern of dialogue you have to adapt to. And I believe that the anti -colonial knowledge is not only questioning this sustainable knowledge, but also extends to the search for an alternative to it. But reaching an alternative is not possible until after diagnosing the real problem, and this is an arduous and complex task.
So, I can say that my trip was experimental at the beginning, but the experimental trip alone is not enough, as this experimental trip must be converted into a conceptual test. And when the experimental dimension is integrated with the conceptual, we reach a greater depth of understanding. As Talal Asad said at one time that any ideas – which he contributed in the field of anthropology, philosophy, or the issue of morals – have their roots in the life he lived. This is true, but this does not mean that one cannot reach a new concept until after its experience, and this is not the important point as well, but the main thing that must be observed is how to turn your experience into a conceptual question. This requires a great effort and deep contemplation.
She grew up in India, moved from Islamic schools to government, then to universities. During this educational journey, I was reading in the textbooks what tells you that Islam is an intruder religion, and that it is an external force that entered India, and that it is not desirable. And it was always explained as an invasion
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What prompted you to develop the concept of “Hindu Orientalism” and how do you reveal to you as a cognitive system that exceeds stereotypes and individual experiences?
Yes, as I mentioned earlier, it originated in India, and moved from Islamic schools to government, then to universities. During this educational journey, I was reading in the textbooks what tells you that Islam is an intruder religion, and that it is an external force that entered India, and that it is not desirable. It was always explained as invasion, for example. Once these words were read, and looking at the context of the post -September 11 war, you can see that it was not only limited to India, but was part of a global debate about Islam and terrorism.
When I went to their schools or university, and I learned things like that, it was as if I were the problem. By the way, in these universities, we find only a very few Muslim students, while the vast majority of students are Hindus. Then you have to study “Indian society” and “Indian civilization” and you are told that Islam is a problem, which is a negative problem, and if the teacher is the one who studies this subject, then my colleagues look at me as if I were the problem. This is a kind of “degeneration” and the word may seem harsh, but it is closest to the idea of removing the human adjective. I sit with them in the same chapter, but unlike my Hindu friends, I feel like I am the subject of accusation, because Islam – according to this proposition – is strange from India, and its presence in it is to get rid of it instead of pride in it.
This experience prompted me to think that the issue is not related to a bad study, or a biased lecturer, or even a researcher who provides a negative presentation here or there. The problem is deeper than that, it is not in individuals, but rather a cognitive issue. Why does the professor say the same thing mentioned in the book? And why does a researcher come from abroad to repeat the same idea? And even some Indian scholars repeat the offering itself? Then foreigners as well?
I started studying this matter, then I realized that it is not just an individual bias by A, B, or C, or by the textbook, but there is an organized knowledge system that produces this image in a coherent way, and not just a set of impressions or stereotypes. The issue goes beyond stereotypes, as there is a way in which knowledge is organized so that Islam and Muslims are presented as strangers or something intruder.
She reached the formulation of the concept of “Hindu Orientalism”. The essence of this concept is that Muslims are the main “other” in this cognitive building. Perhaps it can be said that they are the other clearer, but they are not the only ones.
After studying this phenomenon and analyzing its roots, I thought that we had to define the essence of the concept, and reached the formulation of the concept of “Hindu Orientalism”. The essence of this concept is that Muslims are the main “other” in this cognitive building. Perhaps it can be said that they are the other clearer, but they are not the only ones, as there are also others, such as the individuals of the lower classes and the inhabitants of the tribes, who are marginalized or removed from them within this cognitive framework.
Here, it should be noted that the concept of “Hindu Orientalism” is not limited to Islam and Muslims only, nor is it limited to limits India. Knowledge is about India It itself is linked to a long Western legacy, a study produced in Britain Germany and France, then later in US. So you will see that the so -called almost continental dimension is related to the western formation of knowledge.
So, in this sense, “Hindu Orientalism” allows studying how to develop knowledge formation. By the way, this type of Orientalism did not develop yesterday. Therefore, when we use the term new Orientalism, for example, we find something new, but we also have to realize that it has not suddenly originated, and this matter has deep historical roots. Perhaps the description of “the new” here is similar to what we see in the world of advertisements, as you see a toothpaste with Turkish supermarket written on it “Yeni – Yeni” (i.e. new) while it is in fact not completely new.
The idea of the new Orientalism carries something new, but it is not surprising. And there is always preceding it. Therefore, this is one of the many ways to explain the idea of Hindu Orientalism.
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How can the new generation deal critically and objectively with the knowledge that frameworks such as Hindu Orientalism, rather than relying on abstract slogans?
I think, as you know, we need to exceed the so -called logos. In our climate today, and in the academic environment in which we live, it has become very common to hear phrases such as “this European knowledge of the center” or “we need to bypass European centralization” or even “we have to get rid of this pattern of knowledge.”
However, before the launch of any of these allegations, the first condition – especially from an academic perspective – is to know the topic that we specifically criticize. Because unless we realize what is specifically what is the European Central, we will not be able to actually criticize it.
My advice to youth: Not only fall into the trap of these slogans, but go and study them, and know them with the most accurate details. Then they developed a criticism, because only then your criticism will be very intact and can be an effective alternative. And unless you examine its components and structure, the mere saying that some theories or concepts with European centralization are not enough
That is why I think the younger generation needs to exceed abstract slogans. Before you criticize it, he tried to delve step by step and discover what European centralization is, how it evolved, and what is the conceptual pillars of it. As soon as we know it from the methodology and theoretical, and as soon as we know its various components, structure, and logical style in the arguments, then only we will be able to dismantle them.
Once we realize these foundations from the systematic and theoretical sides, and learn about its various components, structure, and logical style in building the arguments, only then we can start dismantling them consciously.
Therefore, my advice to the young generation is: Not only do you fall into the trap of these slogans, but go and study them, and know them with the smallest details. Then they developed a criticism, because only then your criticism will be very intact and can be an effective alternative. And unless you examine its components and structure, just say that some theories or concepts with European centralization are not sufficient. Even if you say this, it is your duty to prove also, not only the claim that it is the European center, but also to prove how it, then a gradual provision.