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

Islamic JihadIt is an extremely significant fact that, before the coming of the Mohammedans, there wasvirtually no persecution in India. The Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang, who visited India in the firsthalf of the seventh century and has left a circumstantial account of his 14 years in the country,makes it clear that Hindus and Buddhist lived side by side without any show of violence. NeitherHinduism nor Buddhism is disgraced by anything corresponding to the Inquisition; neither wasever guilty of such iniquities as the Albigensian crusade or such criminal lunacies as thereligious wars of the 16 th and 17 th centuries. 490Indisputably, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism arose in India as a revolt against Hinduism. Although Hinduismhad its shortcomings, these new religious off-shoots grew from the midst of the Hindu society without facingany persecution of the type Islam brought to India or meted out to its revolting heretics throughout Islam’shistory. The Christian persecution and brutality caused death of millions of Pagans, Jews, heretics, apostatesand witches in Europe, South America and India’s Goa. In Islam, Prophet Muhammad himself had orderedexecution of critics and apostates of Islam, while the killing and torture of apostates and heretics havecontinued ever since to this day. It should be noted that Buddhism was a flourishing religion in Central andSoutheast Asia and was quite vigorous in parts of India at the time of Islam’s birth. Islam has nearlyextinguished this most humane and peaceful ancient religious creed from India. It extinguished Paganismfrom Arabia by the sword in the life-time of Muhammad. Zoroastrianism in Persia and Christianity in theLevant, Egypt, and Anatolia etc. have suffered near extinction caused by the violent exertions of Islam. Itshould be noted that, to escape the brutal persecution of Islam, tens of thousands of Zoroastrians (Persis) fledto India, where—welcomed by the Hindu society—they live as a peaceful and well-off community till today.However, they suffered Islamic persecution in India too, after the Muslim invaders later occupied India.Sultan Ibrahim, a Ghaznivid descendent of Sultan Mahmud, marched to India; and according to historianNizamuddin Ahmad, the author of Tabakat-I Akbari, ‘he conquered many towns and forts, and amongst themwere a city exceedingly populous, inhabited by a tribe of Khurasani descent (Persis), whom Afrasiyah hadexpelled from their native country. It was completely reduced… he took away no less than 100,000captives.’ 491Indian tolerance in the eyes of Muslim chroniclersThe humanity, tolerance and chivalry of Indians also caught the attention of Muslim historians. The Arabgeographer Abu Zaid wrote of the rulers and people of Sarandib (Sri Lanka), an extension of Indiancivilization, that in late ninth century, ‘There are numerous colonies of Jews in Sarandib, and people of otherreligions, especially Manicheans. The King allows each sect to follow its own religion.’ 492 Al-Masudi, afamous Muslim historian and traveler, writing in the early tenth century, describes the disposition of the mostpowerful Indian king, Balhara, toward Muslim settlers of his kingdom. He placed Balhara (Rashtrakutadynasty, South India) in the same league of the world’s three greatest monarchs: the caliph of Baghdad, theemperors of China and Constantinople. 493 On Balhara’s treatment of Muslims, noted al-Masudi: ‘Of all thekings of Sindh and India, there is no one who pays greater respect to the Musalmans than Balhara. In hisKingdom, Islam is honored and protected.’ 494 Al-Masudi’s description (916–17) of a large Muslimcommunity near Bombay, created by Arabian and Iraqi pepper and spice traders who had settled there, isalready noted. This Muslim community was ‘granted a degree of political autonomy by the local raja’ and490. Swarup R (2000) On Hinduism Reviews and Reflections, Voice of India, p. 150–51491. Elliot & Dawson, Vol. V, p. 559492. Ibid, Vol. I, p. 10493. Nehru (1989), p. 210494. Ibid, p. 24159