Common Ground - Islam and Buddhism
Common Ground - Islam and Buddhism
Common Ground - Islam and Buddhism
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COMMON GROUND BETWEEN ISLAM AND BUDDHISM<br />
monasteries. 30 It is clear that up until the Mongol invasions of the<br />
thirteenth century, <strong>Buddhism</strong> was still widespread in Eastern Muslim<br />
l<strong>and</strong>s, <strong>and</strong> Buddhists could be found in Iran <strong>and</strong> Central Asia.<br />
After the Mongolian invasion of these l<strong>and</strong>s, Muslims suffered<br />
greatly <strong>and</strong> many of their subjects found an opportunity to exact<br />
revenge for previous Muslim transgressions. The level of animosity<br />
felt against the Muslims by some of their previous subjects is<br />
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stantly being incited by the Buddhist priests to acts of oppression<br />
towards the [Muslims] <strong>and</strong> the persecution of the<br />
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a b<strong>and</strong> of idol-worshipping Buddhist priests made a request<br />
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-<br />
lims] that they might hold a controversy with him <strong>and</strong> get<br />
him to prove the superiority of the faith of Muhammad <strong>and</strong><br />
his prophetic mission—otherwise, he should be put to death.<br />
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ensued upon the claim of Muhammad to be a prophet <strong>and</strong><br />
the manner of his life as compared with that of other prophets.<br />
At length, as the arguments of those accursed ones were<br />
weak <strong>and</strong> devoid of the force of truth, they withdrew their<br />
h<strong>and</strong> from contradiction <strong>and</strong> drew the mark of oppression<br />
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according to the rites <strong>and</strong> ordinances of the [Muslim] law, in<br />
order that his unbecoming movements in the performance<br />
of this act of worship might become manifest to them <strong>and</strong> to<br />
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who was with him had placed their foreheads on the ground<br />
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summoned, greatly annoyed them <strong>and</strong> knocked their heads<br />
with force upon the ground, <strong>and</strong> committed other abomina-<br />
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30. Glasse, 302.<br />
126