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

Islamic Jihadland-tax (kharaj) fixed as followed: ‘The land tax was usually rated at two-fifths of the produce of wheat andbarley, if the field were watered by the public canals; three-tenths, if irrigated by wheels or other artificialmeans; and one-fourth, if altogether unirrigated...’ This was in accordance with the original institution ofOmar, when he ‘assessed the cultivated land (Sawad) of Iraq.’ 357 To be noted here that Hindu laws stipulatethe tax as one-sixth to one-twelfth of the produce.Of the revenues generated from these taxes, state’s one-fifth share was routinely forwarded to thecaliphal treasury. The province of Sindh possibly combined with Multan yielded annual revenue of 11.5million dirhams (~ £270,000 in 1860s) and 150 pounds of aloe-wood for the caliphal treasury. This includedthe poll-tax, the land-tax and other customs duties. The annual yield of public revenue, remitted to the caliphaltreasury from other provinces of the Muslim caliphate, has been estimated by Elliot and Dawson asfollows: 3581. Markhan: 400,000 dirhams2. Sijistan: 460,000 dirhams, 300 variegated robes, and 20,000 pounds of sweetmeats3. Kirman: 4,200,000 dirhams, 500 precious garments, 20,000 pounds of dates, and 1,000pounds of caraway seeds4. Tukharistan: 106,000 dirhams5. Kabul: 1,500,000 dirhams and 1000 heads of cattle (~700,000 dirhams)6. Fars: 27,000,000 dirhams, 30,000 bottles of rose-water and 20,000 bottles of black currants7. Khultan: 1,733,000 dirhams8. Bust: 90,000 dirhamsThese facts clearly demonstrate that the rule imposed in Sindh by Muhammad bin Qasim was nothing lessthan a foreign rule imposed from the distant caliphal heartland in Arabia. The same applies to other foreignlands Muslim had conquered. It becomes clear that the Muslim invaders came to Sindh not only to rule butalso to exploit and skim off the wealth and resources for remitting to the caliphal head-quarter in Damascus(later in Baghdad). This protocol is very similar to the one, which the Europeans applied in their colonies. It isnoted already that the taxes imposed by Muslim rulers on the Hindus of India were so crushing that they evenhad to sell their wives and children in order to meet the tax demand. This, according to the chronicles ofcontemporary Muslim historians and European travelers, was common during the reign of EmperorShahjahan and Aurangzeb (c. 1620–1707). Large numbers of Indian peasants also took refuge in jungles forfailing to pay the crushing taxes.When the second wave of Islamic invasion was unleashed on India by Sultan Mahmud (1000), theauthority of the Baghdad caliph had become relatively weak. Defying the weak Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad,the Fatimids established independent rule in Egypt in 909; Umayyads were ruling Spain independently since756. The Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad still retained a significant sway over Sultan Mahmud, the brutal invaderof India. When Mahmud defeated Abdul Malik of Khurasan, Caliph Al-Qadir Billah—pleased with the rising,powerful general—recognized him as the amir (leader) and bestowed upon him the titles of Yamin-ud-Daulah(Right Hand of the State) and Amin-ul-Millah (Trustee of the Community). With this caliphal blessing, SultanMahmud started his attacks in Northwest India in about 1000 CE. In return for the caliphal recognition andblessing, Mahmud used to send large amount of money and presents to the caliph from his plunder and tributeobtained in India, consisting of "all kinds of wealth". According to Tarikh-i-Alfi, Sultan Mahmud kept aside357. Ibid, p. 474358. Ibid, p. 471–472121