This volume explores the historical trajectory of the spread of Islam in South Asia and how the engagements of the past have played a crucial role in the making of the present outfits of South Asian Islam.

Islam in South Asia has maintained a distinct role while imbibing cultural, social, ethnic, folk, and artistic networks of the subcontinent in diverse echelons. In an unequivocal analysis, this volume showcases the visible varieties of Islam from an array of regional cultural, ethnic, and vernacular groups. While many characteristics remain distinct in different provinces or regions of South Asia, similarities are palpable in etiquettes, customary laws, art and architecture. More than regional differences, various ethnic groups from all poles of the Indian subcontinent have paved the way for the dissimilar landscapes of Islam, in tandem with differences of languages, cultures and festivals. The case studies in this book exhibit forms of cultural pluralism in the communities, which have helped in building a cohesive community.

Part of the 'Global Islamic Cultures' series that looks at integrated and indigenized Islam, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of religion, religious history, theology, study of Islamic law and politics, cultural studies, and South Asian Studies. It will also be useful to general readers who are interested in world religions and cultures.

Nasr M Arif (PhD 1995, Cairo University, Egypt, and the University of Maryland, College Park, USA) is Professor of Religion and Political Science at Cairo University and served as Professor of Islamic Studies and founding Executive Director of the Institute for Islamic World Studies at Zayed University, UAE. His works are published in Arabic and translated into English, Spanish, Hungarian, Kurdish, Persian, and Urdu. His research concentrates on Islamic political heritage and thought, the history of Islamic cultures, political development, and comparative political systems.

Abbas Panakkal is a member of the advisory board of the RLBC at the University of Surrey and the director of the International Interfaith Harmony Initiative, which has been organising international interfaith conferences in collaboration with the United Nations Interfaith Initiatives, the Malaysian Prime Minister's Department for Unity and Integration, and the International Islamic University Malaysia for a decade. Panakkal was awarded a research fellowship by Griffith University in Australia. Abbas Panakkal is currently working on a research project that explores the diversity of regional Islamic cultures. The project is focused on the diverse nature of the integration and indigenisation of vernacular Muslim Communities. He was also the project coordinator of the G20 Interfaith Summit in Australia (2014), Turkey (2015), and Germany (2017).