Introduction

Postcolonial studies has been broadly dismissive of religion and its role in subject-formation. There are various reasons: for one, postcolonial studies traditionally prioritizes discussions of racial heritage and national belonging as more vital parts of postcolonial identity and puts special emphasis on the challenges of racial co-existence within national borders. Overlooking religion's centrality to the mobilization of resistance groups against the colonizer, neglecting its impact in post-independence politics, or denying its significance in the construction of diasporic consciousness generates a limited and circumscribed account of postcolonial existence. The way in which postsecularism invites religion into critical discussions of identity politics, cultural policies, and minority rights provides a basis for our project. We think that a critical study that invites Muslim subjectivity into the scope of postcolonial discourse across disciplines is long overdue.