islamic-jihad-legacy-of-forced-conversion-imperialism-slavery

Propagation of Islam: By Force or Peacefully?Tohfat-ul-Ahbab, records that ‘on the instance of Shamsud-Din Iraqi, Musa Raina had issued orders thateveryday 1,500 to 2,000 infidels be brought to the doorstep of Mir Shamsud-Din by his followers. They wouldremove their sacred thread (zunnar), administer Kelima (Muslim profession of faith) to them, circumcise themand make them eat beef.’ There they became Muslim. Tarikh-i-Hasan Khuiihami notes of the conversion ofHindus to Islam by Shamsud-Din Iraqi that ‘twenty-four thousand Hindu families were converted to Iraqi’sfaith by force and compulsion (qahran wa jabran).’ 282Later on in 1519, Malik Kaji Chak rose to the rank of military commander under Sultan MuhammadShah. And ‘one of the major commands of Amir Shamsud-Din Muhammad Iraqi carried out by him (KajiChak) was the massacre of the infidels and polytheists of this land,’ says Baharistan-i-Shahi. 283 Many ofthose, converted to Islam by force during the reign of Malik Raina, later reverted to polytheism (Hinduism). Arumor was spread that these apostates ‘had placed a copy of the holy Quran under their haunches to make aseat to sit upon.’ Upon hearing this, the enraged Sufi saint protested to Malik Kaji Chak that,‘This community of idolaters has, after embracing and submitting to the Islamic faith, now goneback to defiance and apostasy. If you find yourself unable to inflict punishment upon them inaccordance with the provisions of Sharia (which is death for apostasy) and take disciplinaryaction against them, it will become necessary and incumbent upon me to proceed on a selfimposedexile.’ 284It must be noted that Shaykh Iraqi’s complaint does not mention the alleged disrespect of the Quran butsimply emphasize the Hindus’ abandonment of Islam after accepting it. In order to appease the great Sufisaint, Kaji Chak ‘decided upon carrying out wholesale massacre of the infidels,’ notes Baharistan-i-Shahi.Their massacre was scheduled to be carried out on the holy festival day of Ashura (Muharram, 1518 CE) and‘about seven to eight hundred infidels were put to death. Those killed were the leading personalities of thecommunity of infidels at that time.’ Thereupon, ‘the entire community of infidels and polytheists in Kashmirwas coerced into conversion to Islam at the point of the sword. This is one of the major achievements of MalikKaji Chak,’ records Baharistan-i-Shahi. 285 This horrifying action, of course, was order by the great Sufi saint.Sayyid Ali Hamdani was another famous Sufi saint, who had arrived in Kashmir earlier in 1371 or1381. The first thing he did was to build his khanqah on the site of ‘a small temple which wasdemolished…’ 286 Before his coming to Kashmir, the reigning Sultan Qutbud-Din paid little attention toenforcing religious laws. Muslims at all levels of the society, including the Qazis and theologians of thosedays, paid scant attention to things permitted or prohibited in Islam. The Muslim rulers, theologians andcommoners had tolerantly and comfortably submerged themselves in Hindu tradition. 287 Horrified by the un-Islamic practices of Kashmiri Muslims, Sayyid Hamdani forbade this laxity and tried to revive orthodoxy.Sultan Qutbud-Din tried to adopt the orthodox way of Islam in his personal life but ‘failed to propagate Islamin accordance with the wishes and aspirations of Amir Sayyid Ali Hamdani.’ Reluctant to live in a landdominated by the infidel culture, customs and religion, the Sufi saint left Kashmir in protest. Later on, his sonAmir Sayyid Muhammad, another great Sufi saint of Kashmir, came during the reign of Sikandar the idolbreaker.The partnership of holy Sayyid Muhammad and Sikandar the Iconoclast succeeded in wiping outidolatry from Kashmir as discussed above. And ‘the credit of wiping out the vestiges of infidelity and heresy282. Pundit, p. 105–106283. Ibid, p. 116284. Ibid, p. 117285. Ibid286. Ibid, p. 36287. Ibid, p. 3596