South Asia is probably the largest area in the world where Islam exists within a mixed composite culture, overlapping with several other religions. No matter how many origins of political conflicts one may find in the domain of culture and religion, there are, at the same time, elements of peaceful co-existence as well.
Imtiaz Ahmad is former professor of Political Sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Helmut Reifeld is India representative of Konrad Adenauer Foundation, New Delhi.