142 d omestic politicsMuslims and the Middle East
Any discussion of the domestic factor has to recognize two objec-
tive realities: India’s Muslim population and the general Muslim interest
and involvement in Middle Eastern developments, especially regarding
the Jewish- Arab and Israeli- Arab confl icts. Islam has been an important
ingredient of India’s sociocultural milieu. Arab invasion in the eighth
century brought Islam to India, and it soon spread to diff erent parts of the
country. While the religion traces its origin to the Arabian deserts, most of
its followers live in the Indian subcontinent. During British rule, India
had the largest Muslim population in the world. This infl uenced not only
British policy toward Palestine but also compelled both the yishuv and the
emerging Palestinian leadership under the mufti of Jerusalem to look to
India for po liti cal support.
The partition of the subcontinent in 1947 somewhat changed these
demographics. While he succeeded in creating Pakistan, Mohammed Ali
Jinnah could not solve the problem of the Muslims of the subcontinent.
A large number of Muslims consciously chose to stay behind and become
part of a multicultural, multireligious, and multiracial India, which
emerged as the third largest Islamic center after Indonesia and undi-
vided Pakistan. According to the 2001 census, India’s Muslim population
is estimated at 138 million, or 12.4 percent of its total population.^14 This
makes the Indian Muslim population the third largest in the world, after
Indonesia and Pakistan. To imagine that India could ignore or remain
insensitive toward such a large segment of its population would be worse
than irresponsible.
The second objective reality is the interests of Muslims in Middle East-
ern developments. For a Muslim, the Middle East is not just another piece
of land on Earth. As Jazirat al- Arab, it has religious importance and enjoys
the sanctity of the prophet Mohammed. For Indian Muslims, the Islamic
holy land also includes Jerusalem and historic Palestine. The religious
and historic importance of the region evoke interest and passion among
Muslims worldwide. Even an atheist would not dispute the Islamic signifi -
cance of the region. From opposition to a Jewish national home in Pales-
tine to recognizing Israel or accepting Jewish claims to Jerusalem, reli-
gion remains a dominant force in determining the position of Muslims
the world over. Even when states adopt realistic or Realpolitik stances, the
masses refuse to compromise. The normalization of Egyptian- Israeli rela-
tions, for example, has not made Egyptians friendlier toward Israel. The