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Page 4 of 9
ISLAM Introduction into Hindu India
A new single-god faith (monotheistic) founded by Mohammed in Arabia
around 600 AD had now found some powerful warrior converts notably
Turkish war lords from similar origins to the Seljuk Turk, Saladin, who
following his conversion to Islam reorganised the Arabic armies and
conquered Jerusalem. c1170-80.
In 1175 the Muslim Turk Mohammed Ghuri invaded India and commenced the
establishment of a Muslim state in the north.
c 1200 Buddhism ceases to have a significant presence in India but it
has already become established in parts of China, Japan and Indonesia
together with Nepal and Sri Lanka.
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1206 The Delhi Islamic Sultanate is founded.
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1335 The Sultan Mohammed ibn Tughlug rules most of India.
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1341 Bengal breaks away from the Delhi Sultanate.
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1370 A Hindu state becomes dominant in the south of India.
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1398 The Islamic north comes under attack from the Mongolian Tamerlane
(sometimes called Timur) grandson of the Mongolian leader Genghis Khan.
Tamerlane was the last of the Mongolian marauders who had laid flat the
whole of Northern Asia from China to Europe (Hungary) including Russia,
Persia and parts of Turkey. His forces, entered, conquered, raped and
pillaged and left without leaving a standing army.
Hordes of intellectuals fled Tamerlane's brutal conquests many ending
up in India where they integrated with the melting pot of cultures
created by the mixing of Hindu and Islam. The Sufis who were the
mystical arm of Islam achieved many converts from Hindu to Islam. One
of the big attractions of the Muslim faith to Hindus was the removal of
the Caste system on conversion, which obviously particularly appealed
to the lower Castes. In general however Muslim rulers did not force
their single-god faith on the multi-god faith of the Hindu and as in
other countries conquered by Muslims the subjects were permitted to
follow their ancestral faith and worship so long as they paid premium
taxes!
500 YEARS AGO
Sikhism and the Mughals. Bhakti expansion
Sikhism
After some 300 years of co-existence, with Islamic rulers alongside the
Hindu indigenous population, a man called Nanak was born (1469) in the
Punjab, now in the North West of India south of Kashmir, a disputed
area with Pakistan. He was certainly something special because even as
a child he was admired for what he said by both Hindus and Muslims
alike. His father, a Hindu working as an accountant for a wealthy
Muslim, found Nanak difficult to handle and sent him away to stay with
his sister in the country. There Nanak disappeared for three days and
when he reappeared he said to his sister that he had met with God.
Sikhism was born. More details of this faith appear at the end of the
pages on Hinduism but here suffice to say Nanak appeared to combine
what was the best from both Hinduism and Islam and started a Religion
which has remained strong and intact in many parts of the world and
particularly England. Sikhs claim that Nanak had a direct message from
God and was not choosing the best features from Islam and Hinduism.
Sikhism in Summary:
Personal recognition and identification rules were developed by Sikhs to
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make sure they were not confused with Hindus and Muslims
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eliminated class distinction through their family name.
Practising male Sikhs will always wear a turban because firstly, they
will not cut their hair and secondly the style easily identifies them
as Sikhs. (Even in England this is now respected and Sikhs do not have
to wear a crash helmet when riding a motorbike). All Sikhs have the
word Singh as the last word in their name. The name rules arise because
in India your cast can be determined by your name and as Sikhs reject
the caste principle it is important to suppress their Indian family
name.
THEOLOGY
Herewith an introduction to give the flavour of the Sikh religion. More
details on later pages.
GOD
Sikhs believe in one supreme God like Muslims (and Christians) but also
in reincarnation like Hindus. Nanak was against the involvement of
idols as practiced by Hindus.
WOMEN
Nanak was perhaps the first leader of any religion to accept women as
equal to men. The Hindu treatment of all women, resulting in them being
confined to the lowest Caste, was abhorrent to him and also he
certainly did not approve of the Islamic habit of largely confining
women to menial tasks in the household and covering their faces when in
public. A Sikh woman could be appointed to any religious position,
although none of the major Sikh leaders-Gurus, were women. Nanak was
however seen to positively discriminate in favour of women more than
once to make a point.
PERSECUTION AND DEFENCE
Being a minority religion and persecuted regularly like Jews, Sikhs,
although taught love was better than war, were at liberty to defend
themselves and were very good at it. All Sikhs to this day may carry a
ceremonial dagger hidden on their person. When the English ruled India
they actively recruited Sikhs for military duty because of their
fighting skills.
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