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

Islamic SlaveryDuring 715 to 1000 CE: After Qasim’s recall in 715, Muslim campaigns of slaughter and enslavementbecame somewhat subdued, but low-intensity campaigns continued nonetheless. During the reign of the onlyorthodox Umayyad Caliph Omar (717–20), his lieutenant Amru bin Muslim made several Jihad expeditionsagainst Hindu territories and subdued them; these undoubtedly had yielded slaves. During Caliph Hasham binAbdul Malik (r. 724–43), Sindh military chief Junaid bin Abdur Rahman engaged in a number of victoriouscampaigns. In his attack of Kiraj, he ‘stormed the place, slaying, plundering, and making captives.’ In hisincursions against Ujjain and Baharimad, he burnt down the suburbs and plunder great booty. 689 Bootyinvariably included captives.After the orthodox Abbasid dynasty was founded in 750, Caliph al-Mansur (r. 755–74) sent Hashambin Amru for waging holy war against Hindu territories. He ‘subdued Kashmir and took many prisoners andslaves…’ 690 He attacked many places between Kandahar and Kashmir, and every victory must have yieldedcaptives, which are not recorded.Great Muslim historian Ibn Asir (Athir) records in Kamil-ut Tawarikh that during Caliph Al-Mahdi’s reign,Abdul Malik led a large naval Jihad expedition against India in 775. They disembarked at Barada and in thesustained battle with the people of the neighborhood, the Muslim army prevailed. ‘Some of the people wereburned, the rest were slain and twenty Musalmans perished in testimony of their faith,’ records Asir. 691 Thenumber of captives is not recorded.During Caliph al-Mamun’s reign (r. 813–33), Commander Afif bin Isa led an expedition against therevolting Hindus. After defeating and slaughtering them, the surviving 27,000 men, women and children wereenslaved. 692 The next Caliph al-Mutasim’s governor of Sindh, Amran bin Musa, attacked and defeated Multanand Kandabil, and ‘carried away its inhabitants’ as captives. 693 In about 870, Yakub Lais attacked Ar-Rukhaj(Aracosia) and the enslaved inhabitants were forced to embrace Islam. 694By Ghaznivid invaders: Nearly three centuries after Qasim’s exploits, Sultan Mahmud launched seventeendevastating incursions into Northern India (1000–27), involving mass slaughter, plunder, destruction oftemples and enslavement in large numbers. In his attack of King Jaipal in 1001–02, records al-Utbi: ‘Godbestowed upon his friends such amount of booty as was beyond all bounds and all calculation, including fivehundred thousand slaves, men and women.’ Among the captives were King Jaipal and his children andgrandchildren, and nephews, the chief men of his tribe and his relatives. 695 He drove them away to Ghazni forselling.In the attack of Ninduna (Punjab) in 1014, writes al-Utbi, ‘slaves were so plentiful that they becamevery cheap; men of respectability in their native land were degraded by becoming slaves of common shopkeepers(in Ghazni).’ From the next year’s assault in Thanesar (Haryana), the Muslim army ‘brought 200,000captives so that the capital appeared like an Indian city; every soldier of the army had several slaves andslave girls,’ testifies Ferishtah. From his expedition to India in 1019, he brought 53,000 captives. Of hisseventeen expeditions to India, the campaign to Kashmir was the only failure. In each victorious campaign, heplundered booty, which normally included slaves, but their records have not been recorded systematically.Caliph’s one-fifth share of the booty was kept aside, which, records Tarikh-i-Alfi, included 150,000 slaves. 696This means that a minimum of 750,000 slaves were captured by Sultan Mahmud.689. Ibid, p. 125–26690. Ibid, p. 127691. Ibid, Vol. II, p. 246692. Ibid, p. 247–48693. Ibid, Vol. I, p. 128694. Ibid, Vol. II, p. 419695. Ibid, p. 25–26696. Lal (1994), p. 19–20210