The Ulama in Contemporary Islam: Custodians of Change is a book by Muhammad Qasim Zaman, a professor at Princeton University. Published in 2002 by Princeton University Press under the series titled Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics, this academic work examines the ulama of South Asia, with a focus on the Deobandis. Zaman explores their understanding of Islamic tradition, their role as interpreters of Islamic law, their impact on and involvement in political Islam, and their role in sectarian conflicts within the Indian Subcontinent. Widely recognized for its innovative approach, this work marks the first comparative study on Muslim Ulama. Zaman's primary lens is on the Deobandi Ulama in Pakistan, with a peripheral look at their counterparts in India during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Inspired by Barbara D. Metcalf's Islamic Revival in British India, where Metcalf navigates the origins of the Deobandi movement, Zaman extends the narrative by exploring their maneuvers, expressions, contested engagements, and defense of religious authority through an array of discursive and non-discursive avenues.

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