The Polyvalent Qadamgāh Imām ʿAlī In Hyderabad, Sindh

Abstract

In the early twentieth century, scholars such as I. Goldziher reported that India was characterized by a large number of bodily relics relating to Muḥammad that were venerated. But another issue was ignored: the worship of the footprints of the first Shiʿite Imam, ʿAlī. This contribution offers an analysis of the various political and social issues that the Qadamgāh Imām ʿAlī of Hyderabad, Sindh (Pakistan), has embodied since its installation at the beginning of the nineteenth century.