Papers by Torsten Tschacher
The views and opinions expressed in this book are those of the authors and do not necessarily ref... more The views and opinions expressed in this book are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Routledge. Authors are responsible for all contents in their articles including accuracy of the facts, statements, and citations.
Philological Encounters
This article explores how the encounter of Arabic with Tamil discourses on language limited as we... more This article explores how the encounter of Arabic with Tamil discourses on language limited as well as enabled a particular instantiation of Islamic discourse. It argues that, rather than allowing a hyperglossic extension of Arabic grammatical and poetical discourses to Tamil, Muslim Tamil poets clearly demarcated the respective domains of Tamil and Arabic grammar, thereby making each relevant only to the language it originally defined. The prime space of interaction between the two languages was afforded by Arabic vocabulary, as Tamil grammar implicitly permitted the utilization of Arabic words in Tamil poetry. The equalization of the two languages in the realms of grammar and poetics was, however, threatened both by Arabic’s simultaneous status as a divine language and by the porousness of the boundary between the two languages occasioned by ignorance of the system of equivalences created through learned discourse.
Religion
The practice of translating the Quran in Muslim societies is often understood by reference to the... more The practice of translating the Quran in Muslim societies is often understood by reference to the Reformation and Protestant Bible translations. The non-translatability of the Quran is counterposed to the radical translatability of the Bible. Furthermore, instances of Quranic translation in Muslim societies are often explained with reference to 'reform movements'. The article's aim is to demonstrate the problems that arise from abstracting the experience of post-Reformation Europe into a general theory of the impact of scriptural translation. For this purpose, I will interrogate the case of Tamil translations of the Quran, where Quran translations from the 1920s onwards eclipsed an older history of Quranic translation in the language.
Routledge Handbook on Islam in Asia
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2022 selection and e... more Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Chiara Formichi; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Chiara Formichi to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Non-Shia Practices of Muḥarram in South Asia and the Diaspora
Pushkar Sohoni and Torsten Tschacher (eds.), Non-Shia Practices of Muḥarram in South Asia and the Diaspora: Beyond Mourning (London: Routledge, 2021), pp. 1-11. , 2021
Practices and rituals that have religious origins are often studied scripturally, to validate the... more Practices and rituals that have religious origins are often studied scripturally, to validate them or to explain their deviance from prescribed scriptural tradition. However, such scholarship that is based on the textual understanding of lived religions attempts to reconcile practices with nominal and normative prescriptions. While esoteric and religious textual traditions are important and follow their own internal canonical logic, religious traditions often morph into cultural practices that are barely informed by scripture. These find their own life-being integrated into the realities of political and social organisation-of indigenous and informed habits that have little to do with the origins. These practices often transcend ritualised religion, and in the case of diasporas, they transgress geographies. For example, through the eighteenth century, if not earlier, almost every state in South Asia, even if nominally Hindu, patronised Muḥarram by sponsoring processions or elements therein. Communities of South Asians who maintained Muḥarram processions as part of their ethnic identities spread across the world through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The holy month of Muḥarramparticularly its tenth day-while representing historical and religious events for the Muslim pious, meant completely different things for other communities. In late nineteenth-century Mumbai, the tenth day of Muḥarram was understood by many Hindus as Imam Jayanti (a day to commemorate the birth of the Imam). 1 Even though the origins of Muḥarram observances are Muslim, in keeping with a post-modern spirit, the origins do not have to be fetishised. Shia practices have taken on a different life over the past 400 to 500 years across different communities in the world. In fact, it is the non-Shia practices that are of particular interest here, becoming signifiers of a language of political legitimacy and power, and of identity and resistance. The South Asian diaspora in particular kept alive a 'secular' and non-sectarian performance of Muḥarram throughout the world, as it spread across continents, reflecting the earlier character of the observances. This volume focuses on non-Shia practices of Muḥarram celebrations in the past and present: in South Asia and within a larger diaspora. The chapters are breaking new ground in a variety of ways. Bringing together a variety of regional perspectives (the Deccan, the Punjab, Singapore, South Africa, and Trinidad and Tobago) and linguistic backgrounds (Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, Urdu), the chapters will discuss the importance of Muḥarram celebrations in terms of their
South Asian History and Culture 9(1): 16-37.
Buddhist and Islamic Orders in Southern Asia, Dec 31, 2019
Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 106(1), 1-11 [Review essay of Herman Tieken, Kāvya in South Ind... more Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 106(1), 1-11 [Review essay of Herman Tieken, Kāvya in South India: Old Tamil Caṅkam Poetry (Groningen 2001) and Eva Wilden, Literary Techniques in Old Tamil Caṅkam Poetry: The Kuṟuntokai (Wiesbaden 2006)].
Press is a departmenl of the University of Oxford. lt furthers thc Univcrsity's objective of exce... more Press is a departmenl of the University of Oxford. lt furthers thc Univcrsity's objective of excellence in research , scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford Univcrsity Press in thc UK andin certain other countrics
Asian Journal of Social Science 34(2), 225-242.
In: Manfred Hutter (ed.), Religionsinterne Kritik und religiöser Pluralismus im gegenwärtigen Sü... more In: Manfred Hutter (ed.), Religionsinterne Kritik und religiöser Pluralismus im gegenwärtigen Südostasien, Frankfurt: Peter Lang Verlag, pp. 175-191.
In: Fritz Schulze and Holger Warnk (eds.), Islam und Staat in den Ländern Südostasiens: Islam and... more In: Fritz Schulze and Holger Warnk (eds.), Islam und Staat in den Ländern Südostasiens: Islam and State in Southeast Asia, Frankfurter Forschungen zu Südostasien 7, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, pp. 83-102.
Südasienwissenschaftliche Arbeitsblätter Band 2
Encycopaedia of Islam, third edition, Leiden: Brill, 2018-2, 126-127.
Asian Journal of Social Science 37(1), 55-82.
In: Daniele Cevenini and Svevo D'Onofrio (eds.), Islâm: Collected Essays, ‘Uyûn al-Akhbâr: Studi ... more In: Daniele Cevenini and Svevo D'Onofrio (eds.), Islâm: Collected Essays, ‘Uyûn al-Akhbâr: Studi sul mondo islamico 4, Bologna: I libri di Emil, pp. 433-455.
In: Kees Versteegh (ed.), Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, Leiden and Boston: Bri... more In: Kees Versteegh (ed.), Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, Leiden and Boston: Brill, Vol. 4, pp. 433-436.
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Papers by Torsten Tschacher