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Islam in India: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Islam in India
The year 629 CE marks the construction of the Cheraman Juma Mosque in Kodungallur, Kerala, standing as the oldest mosque in India and possibly the first in the entire subcontinent. This structure was commissioned by the last ruler of the Chera dynasty, known as the Cheraman Perumal, who converted to Islam during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad. Unlike the later military conquests that would define the political history of the region, this initial arrival of Islam was a peaceful affair driven by Arab merchant seamen who had been trading along the Malabar Coast for centuries before the rise of Islam. These traders, arriving with the monsoon winds, did not bring armies but rather goods like dates and aromatic herbs, eventually marrying local women and settling in India to form a distinct Indian-Arabian Muslim community. The legend of the Cheraman Perumal suggests that the king traveled to Arabia, met the Prophet, and returned to India to build the mosque, a narrative that has been preserved in local tradition for over a millennium. While historians debate the exact dates and the extent of early conversion, the existence of these early mosques, including the one in Ghogha, Gujarat, built before 623 CE, proves that Islam was present in India almost immediately after its emergence in the Arabian Peninsula. This early period was characterized by a warm reception from South Indian communities who facilitated the construction of mosques and the integration of Arab culture with local traditions, setting a foundation for a unique Indian Islamic identity that would evolve over the next fourteen centuries.
The Arab Invasion Of Sindh
In the year 712 CE, a seventeen-year-old general named Muhammad bin Qasim led an army into the Indian subcontinent, marking the first major military invasion of the region by Muslim forces. This campaign was launched by the Umayyad Caliphate to conquer Sindh, a region in present-day Pakistan, following repeated raids by local pirates on Arab ships. The young general managed to defeat the local Hindu ruler Dahir and establish Umayyad control over the area, though the conquest was checked and contained to Sindh rather than spreading immediately into the heart of India. This event initiated a series of battles between the Umayyad Caliphate and Indian kingdoms that lasted for decades, yet it was the later invasions by the Ghaznavids and Ghurids in the 12th century that would fundamentally alter the political landscape of North India. The early Arab presence in Sindh was not merely a military occupation but also a cultural exchange, as Arab traders and scholars interacted with the local population, transmitting knowledge and religious ideas. The historical record shows that Arab traders had been visiting the Konkan-Gujarat coast and Malabar Coast since ancient times, linking them with the ports of Southeast Asia, but the military conquest of Sindh represented a shift from commercial interaction to political domination. The legacy of this invasion is complex, as it laid the groundwork for future Islamic rule while also demonstrating the resilience of Indian kingdoms in resisting further expansion for centuries. The Umayyad campaigns in India were eventually checked, but the seeds of Islamic political power had been sown, waiting for the next wave of invaders to take root and flourish.
When was the Cheraman Juma Mosque built and who commissioned it?
The Cheraman Juma Mosque was built in the year 629 CE and was commissioned by the last ruler of the Chera dynasty known as the Cheraman Perumal. This structure stands as the oldest mosque in India and possibly the first in the entire subcontinent.
Who led the first major military invasion of the Indian subcontinent in 712 CE?
A seventeen-year-old general named Muhammad bin Qasim led an army into the Indian subcontinent in the year 712 CE to conquer Sindh. This campaign was launched by the Umayyad Caliphate following repeated raids by local pirates on Arab ships.
When was the Delhi Sultanate established and what technologies did it introduce to India?
The Delhi Sultanate was established in the year 1206 CE by the slaves of the Ghurid dynasty. During this era India began to widely adopt mechanical technologies from the Islamic world including water-raising wheels with gears and pulleys machines with cams and cranks papermaking technology and the spinning wheel.
What was the economic status of the Mughal Empire in the 17th century?
The Mughal Empire became the world's largest economy in the 17th century and produced about a quarter of the world's economic and industrial output. This economic dominance was driven by policies that mandated taxes be paid in well-regulated silver currency and derived most revenues from agriculture.
When did the partition of British India occur and how many people were displaced?
The partition of British India occurred in the year 1947 with the Indian Independence Act 1947 deciding the 15th of August 1947 as the appointed date for the partition. The partition resulted in the displacement of up to 12.5 million people with estimates of loss of life varying from several hundred thousand to a million.
What percentage of India's population identified as Muslim in the 2011 census?
India is home to the world's third-largest Muslim population with approximately 172.2 million people identifying as adherents of Islam in the 2011 census. This group constitutes 14.2% of the country's total population.
The year 1206 CE witnessed the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate by the slaves of the Ghurid dynasty, a political entity that would control much of North India and make many forays into South India. This period marked a synthesis of Indian civilization with Islamic civilization, integrating the subcontinent into a growing world system and wider international networks spanning large parts of Afro-Eurasia. The Delhi Sultanate was responsible for repelling the Mongol Empire's potentially devastating invasions of India in the 13th and 14th centuries, a feat that preserved the region from total destruction and allowed for the development of a unique Indo-Islamic culture. During this era, India began to widely adopt mechanical technologies from the Islamic world, including water-raising wheels with gears and pulleys, machines with cams and cranks, papermaking technology, and the spinning wheel. The period also saw the emergence of the Hindustani language and the earliest forms of Indo-Islamic architecture, such as the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque built in 1193 CE and the Qutb Minar, which started around 1192 CE. The Sultanate's rule was not without internal squabbling, which eventually led to its decline and the rise of new Muslim sultanates such as the Bengal Sultanate in the east and the Bahmanid Empire in the Deccan. Despite these internal conflicts, the Delhi Sultanate left an indelible mark on Indian history, creating a legacy of architectural grandeur, linguistic evolution, and technological advancement that would influence the region for centuries to come.
The Mughal Golden Age
In the early 16th century, the northern Indian subcontinent fell to the superior mobility and firepower of a new generation of Central Asian warriors, leading to the establishment of the Mughal Empire. This empire did not stamp out the local societies it came to rule but rather balanced and pacified them through new administrative practices and diverse and inclusive ruling elites, leading to more systematic, centralized, and uniform rule. Under the reign of Akbar, the Mughals eschewed tribal bonds and Islamic identity, uniting their far-flung realms through loyalty expressed through a Persianised culture, to an emperor who had near-divine status. The Mughal state's economic policies, deriving most revenues from agriculture and mandating that taxes be paid in the well-regulated silver currency, caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets, resulting in the empire becoming the world's largest economy in the 17th century, larger than Qing China and Western Europe. The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of the 17th century was a factor in India's economic expansion, resulting in greater patronage of painting, literary forms, textiles, and architecture. The Mughal Empire produced about a quarter of the world's economic and industrial output, a testament to its economic dominance and cultural sophistication. However, by the 18th century, Mughal power had become severely limited, with the Marathas routing Mughal armies and invading several Mughal provinces from the Punjab to Bengal. The decline of the Mughal Empire paved the way for the rise of other dominant economic powers in the Indian subcontinent, such as the Bengal Subah under the Nawabs of Bengal and the South Indian Kingdom of Mysore under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, before the British East India Company conquered Bengal in 1757 and then Mysore in the late 18th century.
The Struggle For Independence
The history of India's struggle for independence is deeply intertwined with the contributions of Muslim revolutionaries, poets, and writers who fought against British rule. Figures such as Titumir, who raised a revolt against the British Raj, and Abul Kalam Azad, a prominent leader of the Indian independence movement and a strong advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity, played crucial roles in the fight for freedom. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 saw the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah II, exiled to Burma by the British Raj, marking the end of Mughal authority and the beginning of direct British rule. Muslim revolutionaries like Ashfaqulla Khan of Shahjahanpur, who conspired to loot the British treasury at Kakori, and Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, known as the Frontier Gandhi, who spent 45 of his 95 years of life in jail, exemplified the commitment of Muslims to the cause of independence. The struggle was not limited to men; women like Hazrat Mahal, Asghari Begum, and Bi Amma also contributed significantly to the fight for independence from the British. Until 1920, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, later the founder of Pakistan, was a member of the Indian National Congress and part of the independence struggle, while Muhammad Iqbal, a poet and philosopher, was a strong proponent of Hindu-Muslim unity and an undivided India, perhaps until 1930. The collective efforts of these individuals and many others laid the groundwork for the eventual independence of India, demonstrating the integral role of Muslims in the nation's history and their commitment to the principles of freedom and justice.
The Partition And Its Aftermath
The partition of British India in 1947 led to the creation of the dominions of Pakistan and India, resulting in the dissolution of the British Indian Empire and the end of the British Raj. The Indian Independence Act 1947 decided the 15th of August 1947 as the appointed date for the partition, though Pakistan celebrates its day of creation on the 14th of August. The partition resulted in a struggle between the newly constituted states of India and Pakistan and displaced up to 12.5 million people, with estimates of loss of life varying from several hundred thousand to a million. The violent nature of the partition created an atmosphere of mutual hostility and suspicion between India and Pakistan that plagues their relationship to this day. The partition included the geographical division of the Bengal province into East Bengal, which became part of Pakistan, and West Bengal, which became part of India, and a similar partition of the Punjab province. The partition agreement also included the division of Indian government assets, including the Indian Civil Service, the Indian Army, the Royal Indian Navy, the Indian railways, and the central treasury. After the partition, two-thirds of the Muslims resided in Pakistan, but a third resided in India, with 7,226,000 Muslims going to Pakistan from India while 7,249,000 Hindus and Sikhs moved to India from Pakistan. The partition was a task at which both states failed to keep public order, leading to a complete breakdown of law and order, with many dying in riots, massacres, or just from the hardships of their flight to safety. The historian Lawrence James concurs that in 1947, Lord Mountbatten was left with no option but to cut and run, as the alternative seemed to be involvement in a potentially bloody civil war from which it would be difficult to get out.
Demographics And Social Stratification
India is home to the world's third-largest Muslim population, with approximately 172.2 million people identifying as adherents of Islam in the 2011 census, constituting 14.2% of the country's total population. The majority of Indian Muslims are Sunni, with Shia making up around 15% of the Muslim population, and there are also significant communities of Bohras, Khojas, and Ahmadiyya. Despite the core Islamic theological principle of the equality of all believers, a caste-like hierarchy has developed among Indian Muslims, with Ashrafs presumed to have a superior status derived from their foreign Arab ancestry, while Ajlafs are assumed to be converts from Hinduism and have a lower status. This social stratification stands in direct contrast to the Quranic teaching that all mankind is from Adam and Eve, and an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. Genetic studies have shown that the Muslim population in India is overwhelmingly similar to the local non-Muslims, with only minor but detectable levels of gene flow from outside, primarily from Iran and Central Asia, rather than directly from the Arabian Peninsula. The caste system among Indian Muslims is not as rigid as that among Hindus, but it persists, with some higher caste Muslims opposing the burials of lower caste Muslims in the same graveyard. The Sachar Committee Report, published in 2005, highlighted the socio-economic conditions of Muslims in India, revealing that they tend to have lower income levels and educational attainment compared to Hindus, though their infant mortality rate is about 12% lower than that of Hindus due to higher urbanization. The report also noted that Muslim families are more traditional in their approach to family planning, and Muslim women tend to marry at a younger age compared to Hindu women, leading to a longer fertility period and a higher total fertility rate.
Architecture And Religious Life
Islamic architecture in India took a new shape with the advent of Islamic rule in the subcontinent towards the end of the 12th century CE, introducing new elements such as the use of shapes instead of natural forms, inscriptional art using decorative lettering or calligraphy, inlay decoration, and the use of colored marble, painted plaster, and brightly colored glazed tiles. The Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, built in 1193 CE, was the first mosque to be built in the Indian subcontinent, and its adjoining Tower of Victory, the Qutb Minar, started around 1192 CE, marking the victory of Muhammad of Ghor and his general Qutb al-Din Aibak over local Rajput kings. The concept of the arch or dome was borrowed and further perfected by Muslims from the architectural styles of the post-Roman period, and they used a cementing agent in the form of mortar for the first time in the construction of buildings in India. The development of Indo-Islamic architecture was greatly facilitated by the knowledge and skill possessed by Indian craftsmen, who had mastered the art of stonework for centuries and used their experience while constructing Islamic monuments in India. There are more than 300,000 active mosques in India, which is higher than any other country, including the Muslim world, and the mosque is basically an open courtyard surrounded by a pillared verandah, crowned off with a dome. The tomb or maqbara could range from being a simple affair to an awesome structure enveloped in grandeur, such as the Taj Mahal, which was built under Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century. Sufis played an important role in the spread of Islam in India, with their belief systems and practices having parallels in Indian philosophical literature, particularly nonviolence and monism, making it easier for Hindus to practice Islam. The Chishti Order, founded by Moinuddin Chishti in the 13th century, became the most influential Sufi lineage in India, creating a large literature in regional languages that embedded Islamic culture deeply into older South Asian traditions.