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In Kerala, Vakkom Moulavi motivated Muslims to embrace modernity, especially modern education, in order to reap maximum benefit. In this process, he initiated numerous religious reforms. However, he held fairly ambivalent attitudes towards individualism, materialism and secularization, defending Islam against the attacks of Christian missionaries.

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Introduction Chapter 1: Vakkom Moulavi: Biographical Details Chapter 2: Swadeshabhimani and Identity Politics in Kerala Chapter 3: Contributions to Educational Reform Chapter 4: Promotion of Islamic Reform Chapter 5: Representing Islamic Modernity Chapter 6: Community Mobilization Conclusion

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"Jose Abraham has succeeded in capturing an important moment within the encounter between colonialism and the world of religions, in this case Islam in Kerala." - Kiran Sebastian, H. George Anderson Professor of Mission and Cultures, the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, USA.

"An enlightening study of a socio-political and religious reformer who, though not as well known as other Muslim figures of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, is commonly regarded as the ´father´ of the Islamic reform movement in Kerala, South India. Drawing upon primary sources in the Malayalam language, Jose Abraham makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Muslim reform movements during the colonial period." - Michael T. Shelley, Director, Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, USA

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Jose Abraham is a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of History at Concordia University, Canada.

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