Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the Universitys objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above.
You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
Names: Humayun Ansari.
Title: The Infidel Within: Muslims in Britain since 1800 / Humayun Ansari.
alim | Islamic theologian, jurist, religious teacher |
ayah | nanny, ladys maid |
bhangra | Punjabi folk music/dance |
batin | inner, esoteric meaning |
biradari | family, clan-like, connections |
burqa | complete covering for the female body |
dar al-ahd | house or land of pact |
dar al-ahl al-kitab | house or land of the People of the Book |
dar al-aman | house or land of peace |
dar al-harb | house or land of war |
dar al-kufr | house or land of unbelief |
dar al-sulh | house or land of truce |
dar al-ulum | house of knowledge and learning; religious seminary; school |
dargah | shrine |
darura | doctrine of necessity that allows for concession and transgression of religious prescriptions under conditions of absolute need |
dawa | preaching, to invite non-believers to Islam |
dhikr | a remembrance of God |
dossandh | religious tithe paid annually to the Imam by Ismailis |
dupatta | scarf |
Eid al-Adha | Feast of Sacrifice celebrating the end of the annual pilgrimage to Makkah |
Eid al-Fitr | Feast marking the end of Ramadan (the Muslim month of fasting) |
farman | Imams edict |
fatwa | expert advice of a jurist on a specific legal problem |
fez | brimless male headcovering, usually red |
fiqh | technical juristic elaboration of detailed content |
gaddi | position of pir, literally seat upon which he sits |
ghee | clarified butter |
Hadith | Traditions of the Prophet Muhammad |
hajj | pilgrimage, annually to Mecca and Medina |
halal | permitted or sanctioned within Islam |
haram | prohibited or unsanctioned within Islam |
haya | modesty |
hijab | headscarf |
hutbe | sermon |
ibadah | worship |
idda | period of three months in which the paternity of an unborn child can be determined |
ijma | consensus of opinion |
ijtema | large congregation |
ijtihad | the exercise of human reason |
ikhtilaf | differences of opinion in respect of fiqh (Islamic legal science) |
imam | religious leader, one who leads prayers in the mosque; title by which the Ismaili leader, the Aga Khan, is known |
istihsan | method of reasoning employed in the absence of textual precedent; to make a particular interpretation of the law as a result of ones own deliberation |
istislah | reasoning based on search for the common good |
izzat | honour |
jalabiyya | headcovering |
jalsa | large congregation |
jamaat-khana | Ismaili assembly and prayer hall |
jihad | struggle, strenuous effort; the greater jihad is |
considered to be the struggle to overcome inner personal weaknesses while the armed struggle or holy war is the lesser jihad |
kafir | one who is ungrateful to God, unbeliever |
kamadia mukhis | deputy |
khilafah | global Islamic state |
khula | a legal process under Islamic law which allows women to seek divorce independently of their husbands wishes |
Koola-Izzat | hat of honour |
kufr | system of unbelief |
lascar | maritime worker |
lillah | for God |
madrassa | religious school |
mahr | dower |
mahrem | a close relative with whom marriage is prohibited |
masjid | mosque |
Milad-i Nabi | the Prophet Muhammads birthday |
Mirza | a prefix adopted by scribes, secretaries and other educated men; as a suffix it denoted prince |
moulvi | title used by an alim |
muallam | Muslim high priest |
muballighin | voluntary preachers |
mudaraba | a contract of joint partnership |
muezzin | one who gives a call to a congregational prayer |
mufti | specialist on Islamic law |
mujahideen | those who wage jihad, holy warriors |
mukhi | official of the Ismaili jamaat-khana |
(female: mukhiani) |
mullah | title often used by South Asian Muslims for a Muslim religious man, often a leader |
munshi | clerical official |