Assalam Alaikum wa Rehmatullah!

I am happy to introduce Mishkat Blog to its audience. The Blog is one of the initiatives taken by Project Mishkat to promote legal discourse on the Muslim identity in India. It is run by the students and carries contributions mostly from the student community.

The purpose of any blog is to foster academic discourse and to keep track of the everyday developments in its thrust areas. The objective of Mishkat Blog is similar. However, there is an added element – to promote critical thinking on issues that concern the Muslim identity. It is the latter purpose that will dominate its contours for all times.

All the submissions to Mishkat Blog will be peer reviewed. Academic engagement, fault-making, criticism and appreciation shall go hand in hand in all the submissions carried by the Blog.

In addition to fostering legal discourse on Muslim identity, Mishkat Blog will also be curated to promote Muslim Public Intellectualism for the Commoners (MPIC). By MPIC, I do not mean three things – first, that only Muslims shall write on Muslim issues; second, that only Muslim centric issues shall be discussed (issues that are central to Muslim identity in India – personal laws, waqf, establishment and maintenance of religious institutions, violence against Muslims etc.); and third, that every issue must directly touch upon Islamic theology (Shari’a). The Blog will carry articles of every possible nature. In sha Allah.

Project Mishkat believes that Muslim identity is constituted at the intersection of Islamic theology (Shari’a), constitutional identity (citizenship), cultural attachments to national/religious identity (the socio-economic markers of Muslim identity) and the capacity to engage in public conversations/ debates at an equal footing with others. For us, being a “Muslim” neither dilutes the nationalistic fervour nor the cosmopolitan outlook of any person/collective currently shaped by the global debates on technology, environment, health, rights, knowledge, violence, resilience and survival. The participation of a Muslim on every relevant platform and in every likewise area remains on equal footing with others.

Mishkat Blog will not carry articles with any political leanings. It will, however, not shy away from pursuing what is understood as the politics of everyday life – be it about survival, existence, discourse, critique and institutional life of the citizenry, either within the individual framework or in the collectivity. The Blog will not pursue any ideological leaning except favouring works that promote the positive construction, shaping, engagement and appreciation of the Muslim identity in general.

The demand for high academic quality, deep thinking and critical analysis in terms of real contribution to academic debates will not be the focus of Mishkat Blog. We do have plans to initiate serious academic discourse on issues that intersect with the Muslim identity at all levels. However, we believe a journal would be a better platform to pursue those ideals. That conversation, for now, can wait.

All submission to the Mishkat Blog should be sent to projectmishkat@gmail.com. The team will try to get back to you as soon as possible. For any queries or criticism, please do not hesitate to write. The team will be happy to respond. In sha Allah.

In the end, I ask Allah (swt) to bring positive dialogue and engagement through Mishkat Blog. I also ask him to remove any ill-wills from our hearts and to help us pursue knowledge that is beneficial to humanity at large. Aameen!

Wassalam!

Nizamuddin.

General Editor, Mishkat Blog.