Cosmopolitanism and Authenticity: The Doctrine of Tashabbuh Bi’l-Kuffar (“Imitating the Infidel”) in Modern South Asian Fatwas

This paper¹ examines the frequently held assumption that the quest for cultural authenticity and religious identity in present-day Muslim societies discourages cosmopolitanism. This assumption problematises the notion of cosmopolitanism as an issue of cultural authenticity. In order to understand the concept of cosmopolitanism as well as cultural authenticity in Islamic thought and practice, I have chosen to study the doctrine of tashabbuh bi’l-kuffar that forbids imitating non-Muslims and is, therefore, frequently cited as a decisive factor for cultural authenticity. G. E. Von Grunebaum² observed that this specific doctrine formed the basis of a sense of religious superiority that inhibited interaction