Replicating that multi-storeyed tower with no staircase

Seeking Allah’s Hierarchy by PC Saidalavi is a compelling exploration of social stratification among Muslims in Malabar

- Syed Saad Ahmed

“There is no caste in Islam.” Anthropologist PC Saidalavi frequently received this response to his enquiries about hierarchies among Muslims in the Malabar region of Kerala.

Indeed, egalitarianism is a core tenet of the religion. The idea that all humans are equal in God's eyes distinguishes Islam from earlier belief systems in Arabian society. And yet, casteism is rife among Muslims in South Asia.

Saidalavi mentions multiple such instances from Malabar. As recently as 2019, an Islamic scholar compared barbers (lower in the caste hierarchy) to children from adulterous relationships, claiming that both were ineligible to lead prayers, even though his stance had no religious basis. Earlier, barbers were not allowed to wear footwear or dress well. They largely received payment in kind, making them dependent on their dominant-caste patrons.

So, why did many barbers still tell Saidalavi that caste was not part of Islam? He explores this dichotomy, among other facets of Islam and caste, in his book Seeking Allah’s Hierarchy: Caste, Labor, and Islam in India. Like many of his interlocutors, the author had never thought about caste as “even a remote possibility for social organisation among Muslims in India”. He began to explore the subject after his PhD supervisor suggested it. It finally hit home when he wanted to marry, and his mother peremptorily rejected a potential match due to concerns about her caste.