How Hindu Temples Were Destroyed And Replaced By Mosques

How Hindu Temples Were Destroyed And Replaced By Mosques

by Bangladeshi Hindu on Friday, October 1, 2010 at 1:06pm

For those who don’t believe or do not know of the amount of destruction that took place in India at the hands of the Muslim invaders and Islamic rulers who established themselves in parts of India, we can review the Islamic chronicles of the deeds of these rulers of the day, as written by the Muslim contemporary writers or historians. So what follows is a review of some of the books and their authors who recorded the histories of the Islamic rulers, and quotes from some of the descriptions within them about the cities they attacked and the temples they destroyed. It really shows how demoniac and cruel these rulers were.

The evidence of destruction of thousands of Hindu temples can be primarily found from two different sources:

1. Literary Evidence from the work of renowned Islamic historians

2. Epigraphic Evidence from the inscriptions on numerous Mosques all over India.

This article deals with only the literary evidence.

Hundreds of Muslim historians have glorified the deeds of their Muslim heroes all over India. This by no means is an exhaustive list! To learn more about this, please read both volumes of, Hindu Temples: What Happened To Them? by Sita Ram Goel. There is elaborate literary evidence from the Islamic sources which glorify the crimes committed by the Muslims in India. Crimes such as the desecration of the Hindu idols, looting of the temples, killing devotees and raping have been well documented by the Muslim historians themselves. They have done so because according to them these Muslim rulers by doing such deeds were following the tenets of Islam and Sunnah of the prophet Mohammed. The literary evidence stated below is in chronological order with reference to the time at which a particular work was written.

1. Name Of The Book: Hindustan Islami Ahad Mein (India under Islamic Rule)

Name Of The Historian: Maulana Abdul Hai.

About The Author: He is a highly respected scholar and taken as an authority on Islamic history. Because of his scholarship and his services to Islam, Maulana Abdul Hai was appointed as the Rector of the Darul Nadwa Ullum Nadwatal-Ulama. He continued in that post till his death in February 1923.

The following section is taken from the chapter Hindustan ki Masjidein (The mosques of India) of the above mentioned book. Here we can see a brief description of few important mosques in India and how each one of them was built upon plundered Hindu temples.

a. Qawwat al-Islam Mosque at Delhi: "According to my findings the first mosque of Delhi is Qubbat al-Islam or Quwwat al-Islam which, Qutubud-Din Aibak constructed in H. 587 after demolishing the Hindu temple built by Prithvi Raj and leaving certain parts of the temple outside the mosque proper; and when he returned from Ghazni in H. 592 he started building, under orders from Shihabud-Din Ghori, a huge mosque of inimitable red stones, and certain parts of the temple were included in the mosque..."

b. The Mosque at Jaunpur: "This was built by Sultan Ibrahim Sharqi with chiseled stones. Originally it was a Hindu temple after demolishing which he constructed the mosque. It is known as the Atala Masjid."

c. The Mosque at Qanauj: "It is well known that this mosque was built on the foundations of some Hindu temple that stood here. The mosque was built by Ibrahim Sharqi in H. 809 as is recorded in Gharbat Nigar."

d. Jami Masjid at Etwah: "This mosque stands on the bank of the Jamuna at Etawah. There was a Hindu temple at this place, on the site of which this mosque was constructed. ."

e. Babri Masjid at Ayodhya: "This mosque was constructed by Babar at Ayodhya which Hindus call the birth place of Ramchandraji... Sita had a temple here in which she lived and cooked for her husband. On that very site Babar constructed this mosque in H.963 " f. Mosque at Benaras: "Mosque of Benares was built by Alamgir Aurangzeb on the site of Bisheshwar Temple. That temple was very tall and held as holy among Hindus. On this very site and with those very stones he constructed a lofty mosque, and its ancient stones were rearranged after being embedded in the walls of the mosque. It is one of the renowned mosques of Hindustan." g. Mosque at Mathura: "Alamgir Aurangzeb built a mosque at Mathura. This mosque was built on site of the Govind Dev Temple which was very strong and beautiful as well as exquisite."

Kanauj (Uttar Pradesh) "In Kanauj there were nearly 10,000 temples, which the idolaters falsely and absurdly represented to have been founded by their ancestors two or three hundred thousand years ago...Many of the inhabitants of the place fled and were scattered abroad like so many wretched widows and orphans, from the fear which oppressed them, in consequence of witnessing the fate of their deaf and dumb idols. Many of them thus effected their escape, and those who did not fly were put to death."

2. Name Of The Book: Futuhu'l-Buldan

Name Of The Historian: Ahmed bin Yahya bin Jabir

About The Author: This author is also known as al-Biladhuri. He lived at the court of Khalifa Al-Mutawakkal (AD 847-861) and died in AD 893. His history is one of the major Arab chronicles.

The Muslim Rulers He Wrote About:

a. Ibn Samurah (AD 653) Siestan (Iran) "On reaching Dawar, he surrounded the enemy in the mountain of Zur, where there was a famous Hindu temple." "...Their idol of Zur was of gold, and its eyes were two rubies. The zealous Musalmans cut off its hands and plucked out its eyes, and then remarked to the Marzaban how powerless was his idol..."

b. Qutaibah bin Muslim al-Bahili (AD 705-715) Samarkand (Farghana) "Other authorities say that Kutaibah granted peace for 700,000 dirhams and entertainment for the Moslems for three days. The terms of surrender included also the houses of the idols and the fire temples. The idols were thrown out, plundered of their ornaments and burned..."

c. Mohammed bin Qasim (AD 712-715) Debal (Sindh) "...The town was thus taken by assault, and the carnage endured for three days. The governor of the town, appointed by Dahir, fled and the priests of the temple were massacred. Muhammad marked a place for the Musalmans to dwell in, built a mosque, and left 4,000 Musalmans to garrison the place..." "...Ambissa son of Ishak Az Zabbi, the governor of Sindh, in the Khilafat of Mu'tasim billah knocked down the upper part of the minaret of the temple and converted it into a prison..."

Multan (Punjab) "...He then crossed the Biyas, and went towards Multan...Muhammad destroyed the water-course; upon which the inhabitants, oppressed with thirst, surrendered at discretion. He massacred the men capable of bearing arms, but the children were taken captive, as well as ministers of the temple, to the number of 6,000. The Musalmans found there much gold in a chamber ten cubits long by eight broad..."

d. Hasham bin 'Amru al-Taghlabi Khandahar (Maharashtra) "He then went to Khandahar in boats and conquered it. He destroyed the Budd (idol) there, and built in its place a mosque."

3. Name Of The Book: Tarikh-i-Tabari

Name Of The Historian: Abu Ja'far Muhammad bin Jarir at-Tabari

About The Author: This author is considered to be the foremost historian of Islam. The above mentioned book written by him is regarded as the mother of histories.

The Muslim Rulers He Wrote About:

a. Qutaibah bin Muslim al-Bahili (AD 705-715) Beykund (Khurasan) "The ultimate capture of Beykund (in AD 706) rewarded him with an incalculable booty; even more than had hitherto fallen into the hands of the Mohammedans by the conquest of the entire province of Khorassaun; and the unfortunate merchants of the town, having been absent on a trading excursion while their country was assailed by the enemy, and finding their habitations desolate on their return contributed further to enrich the invaders, by the ransom which they paid for the recovery of their wives and children. The ornaments alone, of which these women had been plundered, being melted down, produce, in gold, 150,000 meskals; of a dram and a half each. Among the articles of the booty, is also described an image of gold, of 50,000 meskals, of which the eyes were two pearls, the exquisite beauty and magnitude of which excited the surprise and admiration of Kateibah. They were transmitted by him, with a fifth of the spoil to Hejauje, together with a request that he might be permitted to distribute, to the troops, the arms which had been found in the palace in great profusion."

Samarkand (Farghana) "A breach was, however, at last effected in the walls of the city in AD 712 by the warlike machines of Kateibah; and some of the most daring of its defenders having fallen by the skill of his archers, the besieged demanded a cessation of arms to the following day, when they promised to capitulate. The request was acceded to the Kateibah; and a treaty was the next day accordingly concluded between him and the prince of Samarkand, by which the latter engaged for the annual payment of ten million of dhirems, and a supply of three thousand slaves; of whom it was particularly stipulated, that none should either be in a state of infancy, or ineffective from old age and debility. He further contracted that the ministers of his religion should be expelled from their temples and their idols destroyed and burnt; that Kateibah should be allowed to establish a mosque in the place of the principal temple...." "...Kateibah accordingly set set fire to the whole collection with his own hands; it was soon consumed to ashes, and 50,000 meskals of gold and silver, collected from the nails which had been used in the workmanship of the images."

b.. Yaqub bin Laith (AD 870-871) Balkh and Kabul (Afghanistan) "He took Bamian, which he probably reached by way of Herat, and then marched on Balkh where he ruined (the temple) Naushad. On his way back from Balkh he attacked Kabul..." "Starting from Panjhir, the place he is known to have visited, he must have passed through the capital city of the Hindu Sahis to rob the sacred temple -- the reputed place of coronation of the Sahi rulers -- of its sculptural wealth..." "The exact details of the spoil collected from Kabul valley are lacking. The Tarikh [-i-Sistan] records 50 idols of gold and silver and Mas'udi mentions elephants. The wonder excited in Baghdad by baghdad by elephants and pagan idols forwarded to the Caliph by Ya'qub also speaks for their high value."

4. Name Of The Book: Tarikhu'l-Hind

Name Of The Historian: Abu Rihan Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Biruni al-Khwarizmi.

About The Author: This author spent 40 years in India during the reign of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997 - 1030). His history treats of the literature and learning of the Hindus at the commencement of the 11th century.

The Muslim Rulers He Wrote About:

a. Jalam ibn Shaiban (9th century AD) Multan (Punjab) "A famous idol of theirs was that of Multan, dedicated to the sun, and therefore called Aditya. It was of wood and covered with red Cordovan leather; in its two eyes were two red rubies. It is said to have been made in the last Kritayuga .....When Muhammad Ibn Alkasim Ibn Almunaibh conquered Multan, he inquired how the town had become so very flourishing and so many treasures had there been accumulated, and then he found out that this idol was the cause, for there came pilgrims from all sides to visit it. Therefore he thought it best to have the idol where it was, but he hung a piece of cow's flesh on its neck by way of mockery. On the same place a mosque was built. When the Karmatians occupied Multan, Jalam Ibn Shaiban, the usurper, broke the idol into pieces and killed its priests..."

b. Sultan Mahmud of Gazni (AD 997-1030) Thanesar (Haryana) "The city of Taneshar is highly venerated by Hindus. The idol of that place is called Cakrasvamin, i.e. the owner of the chakra, a weapon which we have already described. It is of bronze, and is nearly the size of a man. It is now lying in the hippodrome in Ghazna, together with the Lord of Somnath, which is a representation of the penis of the Mahadeva, called Linga."

Somnath (Gujrat) "The linga he raised was the stone of Somnath, for soma means the moon and natan means master, so that the whole word means master of the moon. The image was destroyed by the Prince Mahmud, may God be merciful to him! --AH 416. He ordered the upper part to be broken and the remainder to be transported to his residence, Ghaznin, with all its coverings and trappings of gold, jewels, and embroidered garments. Part of it has been thrown into the hippodrome of the town, together with Cakrasvamin, an idol of bronze, that had been brought from Taneshar. Another part of the idol from Somnath lies before the door of the mosque of Ghaznin, on which people rub their feet to clean them from dirt and wet."

5. Name Of The Book: Kitabu'l-Yamini

Name Of The Historian: Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad al Jabbaru'l-Utbi.

About The Author: This author's work comprises the whole of the reign of Subuktigin and that of Sultan Mahmud down to the year AD 1020.

The Muslim Rulers He Wrote About:

a. Amir Sbuktigin Of Ghazni Lamghan (Afghanistan) "The Amir marched out towards Lamghan, which is a city celebrated for its great strength and abounding wealth. He conquered it and set fire to the places in its vicinity which were inhabited by infidels, and demolishing idol temples, he established Islam in them. He marched and captured other cities and killed the polluted wretches, destroying the idolaters and gratifying the Musulmans."

b. Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030) Narain (Rajasthan) "The Sultan again resolved on an expedition to Hind, and marched towards Narain, urging his horses and moving over ground, hard and soft, until he came to the middle of Hind, where he reduced chiefs, who, up to that time obeyed no master, overturned their idols, put to the sword the vagabonds of that country, and with delay and circumspection proceeded to accomplish his design..."

Nardin (Punjab) "After the Sultan had purified Hind from idolatry, and raised mosques therein, he determined to invade the capital of Hind to punish those who kept idols and would not acknowledge the unity of God...He marched with a large army in the year AH 404 (AD 1013) during a dark night..." "A stone was found there in the temple of the great Budda on which an inscription was written purporting that the temple had been founded 50,000 years ago. The Sultan was surprised at the ignorance of these people, because those who believe in the true faith represent that only seven hundred years have elapsed since the creation of the world, and the signs of resurrection are even now approaching. The Sultan asked his wise men the meaning of this inscription and they all concurred in saying that it was false, and no faith was to be put in the evidence of a stone."

Thanesar (Haryana) "The chief of Tanesar was...obstinate in his infidelity and denial of God. So the Sultan marched against him with his valiant warriors, for the purpose of planting the standards of Islam and extirpating idolatry.." "The blood of the infidels flowed so copiously, that the stream was discoloured, not withstanding its purity, and people were unable to drink it...The victory gained by God's grace, who has established Islam for ever as the best religions, notwithstanding that idolaters revolt against it...Praise be to God, the protector of the world, for the honour he bestows upon Islam and Musulmans."

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) "The Sultan then departed from the environs of the city, in which was a temple of the Hindus. The name of this place was Mahartul Hind... On both sides of the city there were a thousand houses, to which idol temples were attached, all strengthened from top to bottom by rivets of iron, and all made of masonry work..." "In the middle of the city there was a temple larger and firmer than the rest, which can neither be described nor painted. The Sultan thus wrote respecting it: --'If any should wish to construct a building equal to this, he would not be able to do it without expending an 100,000,000 red dinars, and it would occupy 200 years even though the most experience and able workmen were employed'... The Sultan gave orders that all temples should be burnt with naptha and fire, and levelled with the ground."

6. Name Of The Book: Diwan-i-Salman

Name Of The Historian: Khawajah Masud bin Sa'd bin Salman

About The Author: Khawajah Masud bin Sa'd bin Salman was a poet. He wrote poems in praise of the Ghaznavid Sultans-Masu'd, Ibrahim and Bahram Shah. He died sometime between AD 1126 and 1131.

The Muslim Rulers He Wrote About:

a. Sultan Abu'l Muzaffar Ibrahim (AD 1059-1099) "As power and the strength of a lion was bestowed upon Ibrahim by the Almighty, he made over to him the well-populated country of Hindustan and gave him 40,000 valiant horsemen to take the country, in which there were more than 1000 rais...The army of the king destroyed at one time a thousand temples of idols, which had each been built for more than a thousand years. How can I describe the victories of the King..."

Jalandhar (Punjab) "The narrative of any battles eclipses the stories of Rustam and Isfandiyar... By morning meal, not one soldier, not one Brahmin remained unkilled or uncaptured. Their heads were levelled with the ground with flaming fire… Thou has secured the victory to the country and to religion, for amongst the Hindus this achievement will be remembered till the day of resurrection. "

Malwa (Madhya Pradesh) "…On this journey, the army destroyed a thousand idol-temples and thy elephants trampled over more than a hundred strongholds. Thou didst march thy army toUjjain… The lip of infidelity became dry through fear of thee, the eye of plural-worship became blind..."

7. Name Of The Book: Chach-Namah

Name Of The Historian: Mohammed Al bin Hamid bin Abu Bakr Kufi

About The Author: The Persian history was translated from Arabic by the above mentioned author in the time of Nasiruddin Qabacha, a slave of Mohammed Ghori.

The Muslim Rulers He Wrote About:

a. Mohammed bin Qasim (AD 712-715) Siwistan and Sisam (Sindh) Mohammed bin Qasem wrote to al-Hajjaj, the governor of Iraq: "The forts of Siwistan and Sism have been already taken. The nephew of Dahir, his warriors and principal officers have been dispatched, and infidels converted to Islam or destroyed. Instead of idol temples, mosques and other places of worship have been built, pulpits have been erected, the Khutba is read, the call to prayers is raised so that devotions are performed at sacred hours."

Multan (Punjab) "Mohammed Qasem arose and with his counselors, guards and attendants, went to the temple. He saw there an idol made of gold, and its two eye were bright red rubies... Muhammed Qasem ordered the idol to be taken up. Two hundred and thirty ‘mans’ of gold were brought to the treasury together with the gems and pearls and treasures which were obtained from the plunder of Multan."

8. Name Of The Book: Jamiu'l-Hikayat

Name Of The Historian: Maulana Nuruddin Muhammed `Ufi

About The Author: The author was born in or near the city of Bukhara in Transoxiana. He came to India and lived in Delhi for some time in the reign of Shamsu'd-Din Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236)

The Muslim Rulers He Wrote About:

a. Amru bin Laith (AD 879-900) Sakawand (Afghanistan) "It is related that Amru Lais conferred the governorship of Zabulistan on Fardaghan and sent him there at the head of four thousand horses. There was a large Hindu place of worship in that country, which was called Sakawand and people used to come on pilgrimage from the most remote parts of Hindustan to the idols of that place. When Fardaghan arrived in Zabulistan he led his army against it, took the temple, broke the idols in pieces and overthrew the idolaters... "

9. Name Of The Book: Taju'l-Ma'sir

Name Of The Historian: Sadru'd-Din Muhammed Hasan Nizamii

About The Author: The author was born at Nishapur in Khurusan. He had to leave his ancestral place because of the Mongol invasion. He came to India and started writing his history in AD 1205.

The Muslim Rulers He Wrote About:

a. Sultan Muhammed Ghuri (AD 1175-1206) Ajmer (Rajasthan) "He destroyed the pillars and foundations of the idol temples and built in their stead mosques and colleges, and the precepts of Islam, and the customs of the law were divulged and established. .."

Kuhram and Samana (Punjab) "The Government of the fort of Kohram and Samana were made over by the Sultan to Kutuu-din. He purged by his sword the land of Hind from the filth of infidelity and vice, and freed it from the thorn of God-plurality, and the impurity of idol-worship and by his royal vigor and intrepidity, left not one temple standing..."

Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) "Kutub-d din marched from Kohran and when he arrived at Meerut which is one of the celebrated forts of the country of Hind, for the strength of its foundations and superstructure, and its ditch, which was as broad as the ocean and fathomless- an army joined him, sent by the dependent chiefs of the country. The fort was captured, and a Kotwal was appointed to take up his station in the fort, and all the idol temples were converted into mosques."

Delhi "He then marched and encamped under the fort of Delhi...The city and its vicinity were freed from idols and idol-worship, and in the sanctuaries of the images of the Gods, nosques were raised by the worshippers of one God. Kutub-d din built the Jami Masjid at Delhi and adorned it with stones and gold obtained from the temples which had been demolished by the elephants, and covered it with inscriptions in Toghra, containing the divine commands."

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) "From that place (Asni) the royal armi proceeded towards Benares which is the center of the country of Hind and here they destroyed nearly 1000 temples, and raised mosques on their foundations and the knowledge of the law became promulgated, and the foundations of religion were established. ."

Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh) "There was a certain tribe in the neighbourhood of Kol which had occasioned much trouble. Three bastions were raised as high as heaven with their heads, and their carcasses became the food of beasts of prey. That tract was freed from idols and idol-worship and the foundation of infidelity were destroyed."

Bayana (Rajasthan) "When Kutub-d din heard of Sultan's march from Ghazna, he was much rejoiced and advanced as far as Hansi to meet him. In the year AH 592 (AD 1196), they marched towards Thangar, and the center of idolatry and perdition became the abode of glory and splendour.."

Kalinjar (Uttar Pradesh) "In the year AH 599 (Ad 1202), Kutub-d din proceeded to the investment Kalinjar, on which expedition he was accompanied by the Sahib-Kiran, Shamsu-d din Altmash... The temples were converted into mosques and abodes of goodness, and the ejaculations of bead counters and voices of summoners to prayer ascended to high heaven, and the very name of idolatry was annihilated. ."

b. Sultan Shamsu'd-Din Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236) Delhi "The Sultan then returned from Jalor to Delhi..and after his arrival 'not a vestige or name remained of idol temples which had raised their heads on high; and the light of faith shone out from the darkness of infidelity.. and the moon of religion and the state became resplendent from the heaven of prosperity and glory."

10. Name Of The Book: Kamilu't-Tawarikh

Name Of The Historian: Ibn Asir

About The Author: The author was born in AD 1160 in the Jazirat ibn Umar, an island on the Tigris above Mosul. The Muslim Rulers he Wrote About:

a. Khalifa Al-Mahdi (AD 775-785) Barada (Gujrat) "In the year 159 (AD 776) Al Mahdi sent an army by sea under Abdul Malik bin Shahabu'l Musamma'i to India. They proceeded on their way and at length disembarked at Barada. When they reached the place they laid siege on it. The town was reduced to extremities and God prevailed over it in the same year. The people were forbidden to worship the Budd, which the Muhammadans burned."

11. Name Of The Book: Tarikh-i-Jahan-Kusha

Name Of The Historian: Alaud-Din Malik ibn Bahaud-Din Muhammed Juwaini

About The Author: The author was born a native of Juwain in Khurasan near Nishapur. He was the Halaku during the Mongol campaign against the Ismai'lians and was later appointed the governor of Baghdad. He fell from grace and was imprisoned at Hamadan

The Muslim Rulers he Wrote About:

a. Sultan Jalalud-Din Mankbarni (AD 1222-1231) Debal (Sindh) "The Sultan then went towards Dewal and Darbela and Jaisi... The Sultan raised Masjid at Dewal, on the spot where an idol temple stood."

12. Name Of The Book: Mifathu'l-Futuh

Name Of The Historian: Amir Khusru

About The Author: The author, Amir Khusru was born at Delhi in 1253. His father occupied high positions in the reigns of Sultan Shamsu'd Din Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236) and his successors. Reputed to be the dearest disciple of Shykh Nizamuddin Auliya, he became the lick-spittle of whoever came out victorious in the contest for the throne at Delhi. He became the court poet of Balban's successor, Sultan Kaiqbad.

The Muslim Rulers he wrote About:

a. Sultan Jajalu'd-Din Khalji (AD 1290-1296) Jhain (Rajasthan) "The Sultan reached Jhain in the afternoon of the third day and stayed in the palace of the Raya he greatly enjoyed his stay for some time. Coming out, he took a round of gardens and temples. The idols he saw amazed him. Next day he got those idols of gold smashed with stones. The pillars of wood were burnt down by his order. A cry rose from the temples as if a second Mahmud has taken birth. Two idols were made of brass, one of which weighed nearly thousand ‘mans’. He got both of them broken, and the pieces were distributed among his people so that they may throw them at the door of Masjid on their return to Delhi."

b. Sultan Alaud-Din Khilji (AD 1296-1316) Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh) "When he advanced from the capital of Karra, the Hindus, in alarm, descended into the earth like ants. He departed towards the garden of Behar to dye that soil with blood as red as tulip. He cleared the road to Ujjain of vile wretches, and created consternation in Bhilsan. When he affected his conquests in that country, he drew out of the river the idols which had been concealed in it.

Devagiri (Maharshtra) "But see the mercy with which he regarded the broken-hearted, for, after seizing the rai, he set him free again. He destroyed the temples of the idolaters, and erected pulpits and arches for mosques

13. Name Of The Book: Nuh Siphir

Name of the Historian: Amir Khusru

About the Author: The above mentioned book is the fourth historical mathnavi which Amir Khusru wrote when he was 67 years old. It celebrates the reign of Sultan Mubarak Shah Khalji.

The Muslim Rulers he wrote About:

a.. Sultan Mubarak Shah Khalji (AD 1315-1320) Warrangal (Andhra Pradesh) "They pursued the enemy to the gates and set everything on fire. They burnt down all those gardens and groves. That paradise of idol-worshippers became like hell. The fire-worshippers of ‘Bud’ were in alarm and flocked round their idols…"

14. Name of the Book: Siyaru'l-Auliya

Name of the Historian: Sayyed Muhammed bin Mubarak bin Muhammed

About the Author: He was the grandson of an Iranian merchant who traded between Kirman in Iran and Lahore. The family traveled to Delhi after Shykh Farid's death and became devoted to Shykh Nizamu'd-din Auliya.

The Muslim Rulers he wrote About:

a.. Shykh Mu'in al-Din ChistiAjmer (AD 1236) Ajmer (Rajasthan) "..Because of his Sword, instead of idols and temples in the land of unbelief now there are mosques, mihrab and mimbar. In the land where there were the sayings of the idol-worshippers, there is the sound of 'Allahu Akbar'...The descendants of those who were converted to Islam in this land will live until Day of Judgement; so too will those who bring others into the fold of Islam by the sword of Islam. Until the Day of Judgment these converts will be in debt of Shaykh al-Islam Mu'in al-din Hasam Sijzi..."

15. Name of the Book: Masalik'ul Absar fi Mamalik'ul Amsar

Name of the Historian: Shihabu'd-Din 'Abu'l Abbas Ahmed bin Yahya.

About the Author: He was born in AD 1301. He was educated in Damascus and Cairo. He is considered to be a great man and scholar of his time and author of many books. He occupied high positions in Syria and Egypt.

The Muslim Rulers he wrote About:

a. Sultan Muhammed bin Tughlaq (AD 1325-1351) "The Sultan is not slack in Jihad. He never lets go of his spear or bridle in pursuing jihad by land and sea routes. This is his main occupation which engages his eyes and ears. Five temples have been destroyed and the images and idols of ‘Budd’ have been broken, and the lands have been freed from those who were not included in the daru'l Islam that is, those who had refused to become zimmis. Thereafter he got mosques and places of worship erected, and music replaced by call to prayers to Allah... The Sultan who is ruling at present has achieved that which had not been achieved so far by any king. He has achieved victory, supremacy, conquest of countries, destruction of the infidels, and exposure of magicians. He has destroyed idols by which the people of Hindustan were deceived in vain..."

16. Name of the Book: Rehala of Ibn Battuta

Name of the Historian: Shykh Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Lawatt at-Tanji al-Maruf be Ibn Battuta. About the Author: He belonged to an Arab family which was settled in Spain since AD 1312. His grandfather and father enjoyed the reputation of scholars and theologians. He himself was a great scholar who traveled extensively and over many lands. He came to India in 1325 and visited many places. He was very fond of sampling Hindu girls from different parts of India. They were presented to him by the Sultan Mohammed bin-Tughlaq with whom Ibn Battuta came in close contact. He also married Muslim women wherever he stayed and divorced them before his departure.

a. His Travel description: (Delhi) "Near the eastern gate of the mosque, lie two very big idols of copper connected together by stones. Every one who comes in and goes out of the mosque treads over them. On the site of this mosque was a bud Khana that is an idol-house. After the conquest of Delhi, it was turned into a mosque..."

17. Name of the Book: Tarikh-i-Firuz

Name of the Historian: Shams Siraj Alif

About the Author: The author became a courtier of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq and undertook to complete the aforementioned history of Barani who had stopped at the sixth year of Firuz Shah's reign.

The Muslim Rulers he wrote About:

a. Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351-1388) Puri (Orissa) "The Sultan left Banarasi with the intention of pursuing the Rani of Jajnagar, who had fled to an island in the river...News was then brought that in the jangal were seven elephants, and one old shoe-elephant, which was very fierce. The Sultan resolved upon endeavoring to capture these elephants before continuing the pursuit of the Rai... After the hunt was over, the Sultan directed his attention to the Rai of Jajnagar, and entering the palace where he dwelt he found many fine buildings. It is reported that inside the Rai's fort, there was a stone idol which the infidels called Jagannath, and to which they paid their devotions. Sultan Firoz, in emulation of Mahmud Subuktign, having rooted up the idol, carried it away to Delhi where he placed it in an ignominious position."

b. Nagarkot Kangra(Himachal Pradesh) "..Sultan Muhammed Shah bin Tughlaq and Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq were sovereigns especially chosen by Almighty from among the faithful, and in their whole course of their reigns, wherever they took an idol temple they broke and destroyed it."

Delhi "A report was brought to the Sultan that there was in Delhi an old Brahmin who persisted in publicly performing the worship of idols in his house; and that people of the city, both Musalmans and Hindus, used to resort to his house to worship the idol. The Brahmin had constructed a wooden tablet which was covered within and without with paintings of demons and other objects. An order was accordingly given that the Brahmin, with his tablet, should be brought into the presence of the Sultan at Firozabad. The judges and doctors and elders and lawyers were summoned, and the case of the Brahmin was submitted for their opinion. Their reply was that the provisions of the Law were clear: the Brahmin must either become a Musalman or be burned. The true faith was declared to the Brahmin, and the right course pointed out, but he refused to accept it. Orders were given for raising a pile of faggots before the door of the darbar (court). The Brahmin was tied hand and foot and cast into it; the tablet was thrown on top and the pile was lighted. The writer of this book was present at the darbar and witnessed the execution. The tablet of the Brahmin was lighted in two places, at his head and at his feet; the wood was dry and the fire first reached his feet, and drew him a cry, but the flames quickly enveloped his head and consumed him. Behold the Sultan's strict adherence to law and rectitude, how he would not deviate in the least from its decrees!" Here Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq glorifies his own criminal acts in Bharat as sanctioned by the "holy" Koran.

18. Name of the Book: Futuhat-i-Firuz Shahi

Name of the Historian: Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq

About the Author: Sultan had got the eight chapters of his work inscribed on eight slabs of stone which were fixed on eight sides of the octagonal dome of a building near the Jami Masjid at Firuzabad.

a. Prayers of Temple-destroyers in this Book "The next matter which by God's help I accomplished, was the repetition of names and titles of former sovereigns which had been omitted from the prayers of Sabbaths and Feasts. The names of those sovereigns of Islam, under whose happy fortune and favour infidel countries had been conquered, whose banners had waved over many a land, under whom idol-temples had been demolished, and mosques and pulpits built and exalted..."

Delhi and Evirons "The Hindus and idol-worshippers had agreed to pay the money for toleration (zar-i zimmiya) and had consented to the poll-tax(jiziya) in return for which they and their families enjoyed security. These people now erected new idol-temples in the city and the enviorns in opposition to the law of the Prophet which declares that such temples are not to be tolerated. Under divine guidance I destroyed these edifices and I killed those leaders of infidelity who seduced others into error, and the lower orders I subjected to stripes and chastisement, until this abuse was entirely abolished. The following is an instance: In the vilalge of Maluh, there is a tank which they call kund (tank). Here they had built idol-temples and on certain days the Hindus were accustomed to proceed thither on horseback, and wearing arms. Their women and children also went out in palankins and carts. Then they assembled in thousands and performed idol-worship. ...when intelligence of this came to my ears my religious feelings prompted me at once to put a stop to this scandal and offence to the religion of Islam. On the day of the assembly I went there in person and I ordered that the leaders of these people and the promoters of this abominations should be put to death. I destroyed their idol-temples and instead thereof raised mosques."

Gohana (Haryana) "Some Hindus had erected a new idol-temple in the village of Kohana and the idolators used to assemble there and perform their idolatrous rites. These people were seized and brought before me. I ordered that the perverse conduct of the leaders of this wickedness should be publicly proclaimed, and that they should be put to death before the gate of the palace. I also ordered that the infidel books, the idols and the vessels used in their worship, which had been taken with idols, should all be publicly burnt. The others were restrained by threats and punishments, as a warning to all men, that no zimmi could follow such wicked practices in a Muslaman country."

19. Name of the Book: Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi

Name of the Historian: Yahya Ammad bin Abdullah Sirhindi

About the Author: The author lived in the reign of Sultan Muizu'd-Din Abu'l Fath Mubarak Shah (AD 1421-1434) of the Sayyid dynasty which ruled at Delhi from AD 1414-1451.

The Muslim Rulers he wrote About:

a. Sultan Shamsu'd-Din Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236) Vidisha and Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) "In AH 631 he invaded Malwah, and after suppressing the rebels of that place, he destroyed that idol-temple which had existed there for the past three hundred years. Next he turned towards Ujjain and conquered it, and after demolishing the idol-temple of Mahakal, he uprooted the statue of Bikramajit together with all other statues and images which were placed on pedestals, and brought them to the capital where they were laid before the Jami Masjid for being trodden under foot by the people

20. Name of the Book: Tarikh-i-Muhammadi

Name of the Historian: Muhammed Bihamad Khani

About the Author: The author was the son of the governor of Irich in Bundelkhand. He was a soldier who participated in several wars. His history covers a long period - from Prophet Mohammed to AD 1438-39

The Muslim Rulers he wrote About:

a. Sultan Ghiyasu'd-Din Tughlaq Shah II (AD 1388-89) Kalpi (Uttar Pradesh) "In the meanwhile Delhi received news of the defeat of the armies of Islam which were with Malikzada Mahmud bin Firuz Khan...This Malikzada reached the bank of the Yamuna via Shahpur and renamed Kalpi which was the abode and center of the infidels and the wicked, as Muhammadabad, after the name of Prophet Muhammed. He got mosques erected for the worship of Allah in places occupied by temples, and made that city his capital. "

b. Sultan Nasiru'd-Din Mahmud Shah Tughlaq (AD 1389-1412) Prayag and Kara (Uttar Pradesh) "The Sultan moved with the armies of Islam towards Prayag and Arail with the aim of destroying the infidels, and he laid waste both those places. The vast crowd which had collected at Prayag for worshipping false gods was made captive. The inhabitants of Kara were freed from the mischief of rebels on account of this aid from King and the name of this king of Islam became famous by this reason." Another Moghul ruler by the name of Babur who was in love with a young boy named Baburi glorifies his lecherously Islamic deeds in the Babur-Nama.

21. Name of the Book: Babur-Nama

Name of the Author: Zahiru'd-Din Muhammed Babur

About the Author: The author of this book was the founder of Mughal dynasty in India who proclaimed himself a Padshah (Ruler) after his victory in the First Battle of Panipat (AD 1526), and a Ghazi (killer of kafirs) after the defeat of Rana Sanga in the Battle of Khanwa (AD 1528) While presenting himself as an indefatigable warrior and drug-addict he does not hide the cruelties he committed on the defeated people, particularly his fondness for building towers of the heads of those he captured as prisoners of war or killed in battle. He is very liberal in citing appropriate verses from the Quran on the eve of the battle with Rana Sanga. In order to ensure his victory, he makes a covenant with Allah by breaking the vessels containing wine as also the cups for drinking it, swearing at the same time that "he would break the idols of the idol-worshippers in a similar manner". In the Fath-Nama (prayer for victory) composed for him by Shykh Zain, Allah is described as "destroyers of idols from their foundations" The language he uses for his Hindu adversaries is typically Islamic.

a. Zahirud-Din Muhammed Babur Padshah Ghazi (AD 1526-1530) Chanderi (Madhya Pradesh) "In AH 934 (AD 1528), I attacked Chanderi and, by the grace of Allah, captured it in a few hours. We got the infidels slaughtered and the place which had been a daru'l-harb for years, was made into daru'l-Islam. "

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) "Next day, at the time of the noon prayer, we went out for seeing those places in Gwalior which we had not seen yet. Going out of the Hathipole Gate of the fort, we arrived at a place called Urwa. Urwa is not a bad place It is an enclosed space. Its biggest blemish is its statues. I ordered that they should be destroyed... "

a. Name of the structure: Quwwat al-Islam Masjid Location: Delhi in Uttar Pradesh Inscription: "This fort was conquered and the Jami Masjid built in the year 587 by the Amir(*), the great, the glorious commander of the Army, Qutub-ud-daula wad-din, the Amir-ul-umara Aibeg, the slave of the Sultan, may Allah strengthen his helpers. The materials of 27 idol temples, on each of which 2,000,000 Delhiwals(** ) had been spent were used in the construction of the mosque." *The Amir mentioned above was Qutubud-Din Aibak, slave of Muhammed Ghori. **"Delhiwal" was a high denomination coin current at that time in Delhi.

b. Name of the structure: Mansuri Masjid Location: Vijapur in Gujrat Inscription: "The Blessed and Exalted Allah says, 'And verily, mosques are for Allah only; hence invoke not anyone else with Allah.' This edifice was originally built by the infidels. After the advent of Islam, it was converted into a mosque. Sermon was delivered here for sixty-seven years. Due to the sedition of the infidels, it was again destroyed. When during the reign of the Sultan of the time, Ahmad, the affairs of each Iqta attained magnificence, Bahadur, the Sarkhail, once again carried out repairs. Through the generosity of Divine munificence, it became like new."

c. Name of the structure: Masjid at Manvi Location: Manvi in Karnataka Inscription: "Praise be to Allah that by the decree of the Parvardigar, a mosque has been converted out of a temple as a sign of religion in the reign of the world-conquering emperor, the Sultan who is the asylum of the Faith and the possessor of the crown, who's kingdom is young, viz. Firuz Shah Bahmani, who is the cause of Exuberant spring in the garden of religion, Adu'l-Fath the king who conquered. After the victory of the emperor, the chief of chiefs, Safdar (the valiant commander) of the age, received the fort. The builder of this noble place of prayer is Muhammad Zahir Aqchi, the pivot of the Faith. He constructed in the year 809 from the Migration of the Chosen (prophet Muhammdad) this Ka'ba like momento."

d. Name of the structure: Mausoleum of Shykh 'Abdullah Shah Changal Location: Dhar in Madhya Pradesh Inscription: "The centre became Muhammadan first by him(*) (and) all the banners of religion were spread... This lion-man came from the centre of religion to this old temple with a large force. He broke the images of the false deities, and turned the idol temple into a mosque. When Rai Bhoj saw this, through wisdom he embraced Islam with the family of his brave warriors(**). This quarter became illuminated by the light of the Muhammadan law, and the customs of the infidels became obsolete and abolished." *Shykh 'Abdullah Shah Changal **In this case the Hindu King was Bhoj II and during his reign Jalalu'd-Din Khalji (AD 1290-1296) of Delhi invaded Malwa. Changal was the Muslim missionary who accompanied Khalji's army. This army after plundering and looting the kingdom of >Bhoj II converted a Hindu temple into a mosque and forced the ruler and his subjects to accept Islam.

e. Name of the structure: Jami' Masjid Location: Malan in Gujrat Inscription: "...(The Prophet), on him be peace, says 'He who builds a mosque in the world, the Exalted Allah builds for him a palace in Paradise.' In the auspicious time of the government and peaceful time of Mahmud Shah, son of Muhammad Shah, the sultan, the Jami', mosque was constructed on the hill of the fort of Malun (or Malwan) by Khan-i-Azam Ulugh Khan...at the request of the thandar Kabir, (son of Diya), the building was constructed by the son of Ulugh Khan who is magnanimous, just, generous, brave and who suppressed the wretched infidels. He eradicated the idol-houses and mine of infidelity, along with the idols... with the edge of his sword, and made ready this edifice... He made its walls and doors out of the idols; the back of every stone became the place for prostration of the believer..."

f. Name of the structure: Jami' Masjid Location: Amod in Gujrat Inscription: "Allah and His grace. When divine favour was bestowed on Khalil Shah, he constructed the Jami' Masjid for the decoration of Islam; he ruined the idol-house and temple of the polytheists, (and) completed the Masjid and pulpit in its place. Without doubt, his building was accepted by Allah."

g.. Name of the structure: Shrine of Shah Madar Location: Narwar in Mdhya pradesh Inscription: "Dilawar Khan, the chief among the king's viceroys, caused this mosque to built which is like a place of shelter for the favourites. Infidelity has been subdued, and Islam has triumphed because of him. The idols have bowed to him and the temples have been razed to the ground along with their foundations, and mosques and worship houses are flowing with riches."

h. Name of structure: Hamman Darwaza Masjid Location: Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh Inscription: "Thanks by the guidance of Everlasting and the Living Allah, this house of infidelity became the niche of prayer. As a reward for that, the Generous Lord constructed an abode for the builder in paradise..."

i. Name of structure: Jami Masjid Location: Ghoda in Maharashtra Inscription: "O Allah O Muhammed ! O Ali ! When Mir Muhammed Zaman made up his mind, he opened the door of prosperity on himself by his own hand. He demolished thirty-three idol temples and by divine grace laid the foundation of a building in the abode of perdition."

j. Name of structure: Gachinala Masjid Location: Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh Inscription: "He is Allah, may be glorified. During the august rule of...Muhammed Shah, there was a well established idol-house in Kuhmum...Muhammed Salih...razed to the ground, the edifice of the idol-house and broke the idols in a manly fashion. He constructed on its site a suitable mosque, towering above the building of all."

Note: Works of Arun Shourie, Harsh Narain, Jay Dubashi and Sita Ram Goel have been used in this article

Why did the Muslims destroy Hindu temples ANWAR SHAIKH Continued II

continued from I

In conjunction with the above events, one should also remember the following episode described in chapter 32 of Exodus:

As Moses took longer to return from God, his people contributed golden earrings to make a molten calf to worship it. God tells Moses to rush back to his people who have corrupted themselves. As he came near the camp, he found them dancing round the calf. Moses' anger knew no bounds; he burnt the calf in the fire, and ground it to powder, which he dissolved in water and made the children of Israel drink.

Had Moses left the molten calf to stand, it would have become a symbol of divinity, and eventually the Divine. He could not accept this situation because he had assumed the status as the sole Medium of God.

Islam and Idolatry

This Semitic tradition was enthusiastically followed by the Prophet Muhammad, who repeatedly claimed that Islam was not a new faith but the same religion as promulgated by Adam, Noah, Ibrahim, Moses and Jesus. He called- himself the last exponent of this faith. He hated idols, and advocated their destruction because he himself wanted to be treated as an idol to be worshipped. It seems a crazy theory, but it happens to be the truth. To understand it, one must bear in mind that Allah was originally an idol of the Kaaba where it was worshipped by the Quresh, clan of the Prophet. I shall demonstrate later, Muhammad was inspired *o idolise himself by Allah-worship. He destroyed all statues of Kaaba including that of Allah, yet he raised Allah to the status of God who is the Almighty, the Creator and the Omnipotent. He did so to replace Allah's statue with himself as the symbol of divinity. He knew that is the symbol of divinity, i.e., the idol, which eventually comes to be worshipped as God. Now I may provide evidences in support of

my claim : 1 . Following the Mosaic model, first he claimed that Allah, the Islamic God, has forced him into accepting prophet-hood. (Sahih Muslim: 301)

2. In the beginning, to impress upon people that he had no axe to grind the matter, he asserted : "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger". This is the basic belief of Islam and is called Shahadah. Until he gained a large following which guaranteed him suzerainty, he projected himself as a mortal who was entrusted with the duty of Allah's message. See for yourself:

(a) "The Koran calls the Prophet a servant". (The Cow :20).

(b) "He does not know the Unseen". (Cattle : 50)

(c) "He does not have the power to perform miracles". (Thunder : 5)".

(d) "... I have only been commanded to serve God, and not to associate aught with Him. To Him I call, and to Him turn".

(Thunder : 35)"

(e) "The Prophet, being a mortal, is equally subject to Allah's reward and punishment : "If He will, He will have mercy on you (Muhammad), or if He will, He will chastise you" (The Night Journey : 55)

(f) The Prophet is warned by Allah : "Set not up with Allah another God, or you will be cast into Gehenna (Hell), reproached and condemned". (The Night Journey : 40)

So far the Prophet has claimed that he is just a human who has been forced by Allah to convey His message to the people. He desperately needs this approach to convince people that he is simply discharging his duty. Thus it is easier for the masses to listen to him and believe him, but when he becomes powerful enough and can stand on his own, he discards this style and expresses himself as an integral, part of Allah:

(g) It is no longer enough to be God only: "(Obey God and the Messenger, (Muhammad). (The House of Imran, 25)

(h) "Whoso obeys God and His Messenger, He will admit him to gardens..": (Women: 15)

(i) As the Prophet gets stronger, he becomes a co-sovereign with Allah because whatever they do, they do it together, and people are not left with any choice but to obey the decision:

"It is not for any believer, man or women, when God and His Messenger have decreed a matter, to have the choice in the affair. Whosoever disobeys God and His Messenger has gone astray into clear error". (The Confederates : 35)

Gradually, the Prophet who was once a mortal and Allah's servant, and then an equal partner in Godhead, now raises himself to the status of real God, and Allah Himself becomes Muhammad's devotee. It sounds blasphemous, but this is how the Koranic truth is. Here is the authority:

" God and His angels pray peace to the Prophet, 0 believers, do you also bless him, and pray him peace." (The Confederates : 55)

Praying peace is the highest form of worship. It is very much like the devotional movement within Hinduism known as Bhakti which came into being during second or third century A.D. The Bhakti attitude has been inspired by the Bhagavadgita though Ramayana and Puranas have also contributed towards it. Bhakti means the intense emotional attachment and love of a devotee to his personal God. Though a Hindu can choose any of his gods as the centre of his devotion, it has been particularly developed around Vishnu represented by his two earthly incarnations, namely, Rama and Krishna. The Hindu worship includes the recitation of God's name, singing of hymns in his praise, undertaking pilgrimages to the places associated with him, adoring him in shrines, private meetings and temples as well as through charitable acts.

The Muslims, especially of the Indian sub- continent, have adopted the same attitude towards the Prophet: they have developed a highly emotional cult known as "Ishq-e- Rasool" i.e. the intense love of Muhammad. This devotion is so great that a priest, politician or "pioneer" can easily mislead the Muslims in the name of Muhammad, and make them do anything, no matter how irrational.

The Muslims hold exclusive meetings to recite the name of Muhammad for hours, sing his praises endlessly, visit the holy places and even recite his name in the regular daily prayers.

It is amazing that when the Hindus pray to their gods with the aid of their statues, which are symbolic representations of the reality, they are dubbed as idolators. but when the Muslims resort to similar practices, they become monotheists! In fact, they carry the magic of this riddle even further. In Hinduism it is inevitably man who worships God, but in Islam, both angles and Allah worship Muhammad by praying peace to him!

Muhammedanism and Idolatry

Islam is essentially the cult of Muhammad- worship, yet it is called the True Religion of God, instead of being termed as Muhammadanism. How did the Prophet create such a large band of followers, who worship him but claim to prostrate before God?

One can find the answer to this enigma by considering the following facts:

1. He destroyed the statue of Allah which was housed in the Kaaba; it was considered the most sacred idol of the Arabs because people took it for the real God owing to ignorance and tradition. As long as the statue of Allah existed, nobody could take the place of Allah because His statue was His divine symbol. It had to be demolished by someone to present himself as the divine symbol of Allah. Muhammad did that by projecting himself as the sole representative of Allah on earth, and like other idols came to be treated as the real God. He chose Allah because it represented his tribe and was considered the most sacred and powerful.

2. To further his cause, the Prophet, claimed that he was sent into this world as mercy i. e. love for mankind:

"We have not sent you, except as mercy unto all beings." (The Prophets: 100) By projecting himself as love of his followers. There are several Hadiths which ardently advocate for the love of Muhammad. For example: "No person attains faith, till I am dearer to him than the persons of his household, his wealth and the whole of mankind." (Muslim Sahih, Vol. 1:70)

3. To be obeyed to the dot, he claimed that he was the divine model of behaviour and must be copied by all his followers: You (believers) have a good example in God's Messenger for whosoever hopes for God and the last Day." (The Confederates:20)

It is clearly stated herein that whoever wants to go to paradise ("hopes for God and the last day") must imitate the behaviour pattern of the prophet. This is what Sinnah is; all Muslims want to live as Muhammad did, even to the minor detaifs such as eating, drinking, walking, talking, sleeping, dressing, etc. In fact, the Prophet has come to control the psyche of his followers.

4. Intercessory power of the Prophet is the master stroke of his divinity. I may briefly state here the Koranic attitude for the benefit of readers; it repeatedly states that on the last Day, it is exclusively for Allah to decide whether a person will go to heaven or hell. To suit Muhhamad's purpose, as in several other important affairs, the Koran changes its tone and eventually states:

"On that Day no intercession availeth except (that of) him unto whom the Beneficient (God) hath given leave and whose He accepteth" (TA HA: 109)

This point is well explained by the following Hadith (Sahih Muslim: Vol. 4:5655).

"I will be the first intercessor and the first person whose intercession will be accepted (by Allah)".

It means that the Prophet has the power to force Allah to do whatever he wills. He will send his followers to paradise even if they are murderers, rapists, thieves and liars but shall specify hell for all non-believers even if they have been highly righteous. The Koran states : "Truly this is the word of a noble Messenger having power, with the Lord of the Throne secure, obeyed, moreover trusty." (The Darkening: 15-20).

The Muslims interpret it to mean that on the Day of Judgement, the Prophet will share the Throne of Justice with Allah and sit

on His right-hand side. His recommendations will be binding on God. This is what they sincerely believe is meant by "obeyed, moreover trusty."

Now, one can see that Allah is no more than a figure of speech because the Prophet has taken, over the destiny of humankind. Allah is a factotum of Muhammad because He does what He is told by the latter. For example, the change of Kibla, the vital issue, is decided by Allah to please Muhammad. Again, it is an Islamic law that if a Muslim has more than one wife, he must treat them all equally but God gave dispensation to the Prophet to suspend any of his wives as he thought fit. One should also bear in mind that the Islamic law lays down that a Muslim cannot have more than four wives at the same time, but the Prophet had at least nine wives simultaneously. He was obviously above Allah's laws. It is universally accepted that law is equally binding on the law giver Unless Muhammad believed himself to be Allah's superior, he could not defy His law. It shows the intensity of the Prophetic dominance urge.

Now, It is obvious that the Prophet did not disapprove of idolatry but hated other idols because he wanted to substitute himself for them. In short, he himself aspired to be worshipped to the total exclusion of all other idols. However, the Prophet realised that there are other people who have a tremendous ego and want to be remembered as spiritual heroes and adored accordingly. So he allowed the creation of a pantheon under his own divine shadow, which means that whoever believed in these lesser deities automatically followed him. One learns about these minor divinities in Hadith no. 145 of the Sahih Muslims: they are members of the household of the Prophet, namely Ali (Fatima, Hassan and Hussain) as well as Abu Bakr, Umar Usman and several others who served him well to make his mission a success.

I think that I have said enough about the nature of Islamic attitude towards idolatory: it is really not iconoclastic i.e. anti-idol, but idolatrous as long as it is only the Prophet Muhammad, his close relations and associates who are adored under his spiritual hegemony.

Muslims and Idolatory As students of history know, the Muslims have always done their worst to destroy the pre-lslamic period of every country where they have been able to spread their tentacles. Even Arabia, the cradle of Islam, is no exception to this rule. It is not easy to trace its pre-lslamic history. However, certain facts can be discovered from the Hadith (sayings and practices of the Prophet) and scholarly writings found in theEncyclopaedia Britannica. Having studied these sources of information, I come to the conclusion that the Prophet Muhammad had developed an unfavourable attitude towards India, it is because he was a national leader, par excellence. His patriotic zeal required of him to destroy the glory of Egypt, Iran, Byzantine and India. The last i.e. India, posed a special problem. Why?

It is because India constituted a real threat to the dreams of Muhammad, who was highly enthused by the love of his people, the Arabs and wanted to make a great nation of them. He also knew that Moses, before him, had created a magnificent nation of Jews who should perpetuate his name. So the national dream of Muhammad sought to deify himself through the efforts of a great Arab nation to fight for his glory, which should also prove the pivot of Arab nationalism.

Muslims and Idolatory

As students of history know, the Muslims have always done their worst to destroy the pre-lslamic period of every country where they have been able to spread their tentacles. Even Arabia, the cradle of Islam, is no exception to this rule. It is not easy to trace its pre-lslamic history. However, certain facts can be discovered from the Hadith (sayings and practices of the Prophet) and scholarly writings found in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Having studied these sources of information, I come to the conclusion that the Prophet Muhammad had developed an unfavourable attitude towards India, it is because he was a national leader, par excellence. His patriotic zeal required of him to destroy the glory of Egypt, Iran, Byzantine and India. The last i.e. India, posed a special problem. Why?

It is because India constituted a real threat to the dreams of Muhammad, who was highly enthused by the love of his people, the Arabs and wanted to make a great nation of them. He also knew that Moses, before him, had created a magnificent nation of Jews who should perpetuate his name. So the national dream of Muhammad sought to deify himself through the efforts of a great Arab nation to fight for his glory, which should also prove the pivot of Arab nationalism. India stood in the way of the apostolic designs of Muhammad. The reason was that the Arabian way of life and religion were deeply influenced by the Indian culture and religious attitudes. To make the position clear, I must add that as the Indian subcontinent is dominated by the Islamic way of life today, so was the Arabian peninsular under the Hindu influence at the time of the Prophet's advent. Unless he could successfully strike at the roots of Hinduism, he could not make himself adorable. In a nutshell, he had to destroy the Hindu idols to erect his own.

Is there evidence for this point of view? Of course, there is. Let us start with the following Hadith:

Abdullah bin Amr bin Al-As reported. "Allah's Messenger (may peace be on him) saw me wearing two clothes dyed in saffron, whereupon he said: These are the clothes (usually worn by) the non- believers, so do not wear them". (Sahih Muslim: 51 73)

The next Hadith no. 5175 reports this

event in a heated manner: Seeing Abdullah b. Amr attired in two clothes which had been dyed in saffron, the Prophet said, "Has your mother ordered you to do so?" Abdullah replied: "I will wash them." The prophet replied: "Burn them."

The Hadith no. 5177 adds that the prophet forbade reciting the Koran when one wore gold and clothes dyed in saffron

To understand the built-in prophetic hatred of Hinduism in particular, and India at large, one must realise that colour of the Hindu or Om flag is saffron, which is also called Bhagwa, Gerua and Kesariya. The Om flag also represents the rising sun which not only alludes to the saffron colour but also to the internationally ascendant might of the then India. Saffron was, in fact, the national colour of India because the Hindu heroes, seers, sages and monks wore clothes dyed in saffron. Moreover, it implied the Hindu tradition of valour, elegance and commitment to noble causes as laid down by the Scriptures: some hymns of the Atharva Veda openly refer to the saffron colour. Therefore, it is not just

traditional but also a part of the Hindu religious piety, purity and probity.

From the above quoted Hadiths, it is evident that not only the Arab divines but also ordinary people wore yellowish clothes under the Indian influence which the Prophet hated to such an extent that he advocated burning of saffron dresses and forbade the recitation of the Koran when one wore such garments.

One should bear in mind that the Prophet wanted to create a distinct Arab nation dedicated to spreading his greatness. This is the reason that he told his followers to dye their hair and beards red (henna) so that they should look different from the Jews wean them from the Hindu tradition, he prescribed green colour for his followers..

The Koran has stated almost all its major

tenets ambiguously i.e.

relationship between Allah and Prophet, free will and predestination and so on. It equally applies to the Idea of creation and procreation. In this context, one can see the influence of the Gita on the Koran, which states: "God originates creation, then brings it back again, and unto him you shall be returned." (The Greeks: 10)

The Druzes of Lebanon., a sect of Islam, practise the Hindu doctrine of Samsara ardently even today. This is a continuation of the pre-lslamic tradition which is a remnant of the Hindu influence on the Arab culture. The prophet practically obliterated the pre-lslamic history of his people, which makes cultural assessment of Arabia a very hard task, indeed. Yet the modern scholarship has discovered certain religious facts about this country which confirm that it would have been impossible to establish Muhammadanism without destroying Hinduism in Arabia and elsewhere.

The truth is that the Arabs were not only statue-worshippers but their idolatry was founded on the Hindu principle of triad, also known as Trimurti, Since the Prophet wanted to plant his own image in people's mind, it was not possible without supplanting the Hindu idols, which had considerable appeal owing to their visual effect and the legendary magic, built-up over a period of many centuries. I am certainly not forging history; the Hadith provides cogent evidence to this effect : "Jabir

b.Samura reported

Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: I recognise the stone in Mecca which used to pay me salutations before my advent as a Prophet and I recognise that even now. (Sahih Muslim: 5654)

The Hadith confirms three facts:

1.

Though the Muslims assert that Muhammad was a prophet even before the creation of Adam, this statement demonstrates that it is not so, and is borne out by "before my advent as a Prophet" Again, it is historically known that he claimed to have received his first revelation when he was forty. It is at this point of life that the Prophet started preaching Islam. Obviously, it could not have been his religion earlier. If it were, he would have started disseminating its fundamentals from his cradle. What was then his religion previously ? This Hadith also answers this question:

2. "Stone in Mecca" cannot be anything but the Black Stone (Hajr-E-Asward) at Kabba, the main temple of Mecca, which also housed many other statues. The words: "used to pay me salutations" clearly show that the Prophet Muhammad was a fairly regular visitor to the temple before becoming the founder of Islam. I hardly need say why people go to the temples.

The Black Stone, as I shall discuss shortly, is an unshaped idol which still adorns the Kaaba, and forms a prominent part of Islamic rituals. The Prophet claims that this statue used to salute him. Since salutation is a form of worship, Muhammad was inspired by idolatry at Kaaba to be worshipped like an idol. Therefore, it was necessary for him to replace other idols with his own person to perpetuate Muhammadanism. He picked on Hinduism because it was the source of the Arab idolatry.

Description of the god Agni as having three faces is the basis of the three- headed Shiva, who has been depicted as such on some seals found in the Indus Valley. It should be borne in mind that Shiva is a Vedic god, known as Rudra. He has been mentioned so often in the

Rigveda that it is hard to call him a minor deity. Though there is no mention of image- worship in the Rigveda, the Shivite traditions represent the tampered form of the vedic doctrines the same way as nonviolence has become the basic principle of the modern Hinduism though the Vedas and Gita prescribe fighting for a righteous cause and declare it the greatest honour for a true Hindu. Dasa and Dasyus, the epithets of contempt, were invented for these dissenters, who were every bit as Aryan as anyone else. It shows that the Rigveda is older than the Indus Valley Civilisation, and this fact is also supported by the archaeological excavations which have taken place in the areas close to Rawalpindi (Pakistan) during recent years. It demonstrates the antiquity of. the Indian civilisation.

The idolatrous principle associated with the three-faced Shiva became a fundamental doctrine of the Arab religion and culture as triad in the same way as it is known in India the triad of Vishnu-Brahma and Shiva. One has only to look at the Arab history to realise this fact.

Despite their lofty claims of antiquity, the word "Arabs!' does not appear in historical sources until the middle of the First millennium B.C. The Arabian peninsula had received cultural inspiration from the Indus Valley many centuries earlier, but its religious influence increased dramatically when changes took place in the Greco- Roman trade routes to India during the first century B.C. The southern Arabia i.e. Yemen had experienced the Indian faith for a long time, but then its cultural effect shifted northward to the Hejaz, land of the Prophet Muhammad.

In the south Arabian kingdom, the principle of Triad or Trimurti was practised extensively. For example, they had a triad of astral deities representing the moon god, the sun god and the Venus god. The chief deity of this triad was the moon god, who protected the principal cities. However, it ought to be mentioned that the god EL. the Allah of Mecca, was not well known in the south A triad of gods was also found in Palmyra; it consisted of Bel, Yarhibol, a solar deity, and Aglibol; a lunar deity. Belshamini (Lord of the Heavens) also stood in a triadic

relationship with the god Malakbel and Aglibol.

This triadic principle travelled from the south to Mecca. The Koran itself describes the three daughters of Allah, namely, al- Lat, al-Uzza and Manat. It is worth mentioning that al-Lat in Palmyra was equated with the Greek goddess of Athena; al-Uzza was a goddess of the Nabataeans whereas Manat (fate) was associated with the Greek Nemesis at Palmyra.

It is absolutely misleading to say that Islam is free from idolatry. They have an idol in the central Islamic shrine of Kaaba which marks the climax of hajji because the faithful have to kiss it individually. This is the Black Stone known as Hajr-Easwad, and, according to Ibn al-Kalbi, is a continuation of the Square Stone which was central to the cult of al-Lat at at-Taif. Suidas, a Greek compiler of encyclopaedia of C.A.D. 1000, states that the Dhu Shara at Petra had a similar Black Stone on a gold base.

The Muslims say that when Allah expelled

Adam from paradise, He gave Adam the Black Stone which is now built into the eastern wall of the Kaaba and consists of three large pieces and some fragments, surrounded by a stone ring and held together by a silver band. It was carried away by members of the Qarmatian sects in 930. However, the above evidence shows that the other Arab temples had similar black stones;. God would not have given Adam so many black stones to carry. What was then, the reality behind a black stone in the Arab culture?"

"A principal sacred object in Arabian religion was the stone, either a rock out cropping or a large boulder, often, a rectangular of black basaltic stone without representative sculptural details." Such stones were considered suitable material of worship to former part of the house of a god i.e.. temple. This is the reason that the Christian writers of Byzantine during the 5th and 6th centuries called such a stone Baetyl, which is derived from Bet'E (House of the god).

Shape or no shape, a stone which is an object of worship, is an idol. Moses forbade images of any kind but Muhammad allowed to continue the worship of Kaaba make it the most sacred shrine of Islam for national reasons. The idea was, if Arabia, lost its political dignity, even then the Muslim nations must bow before it. God lives everywhere in the world but the genius of Muhammad seems to have permanently housed Him in Mecca for the benefit of his own people, the Arabs.

One should also realise that annual pilgrimage was a principle celebration of the pre-Islamic Arabs. All tribes having the same god were required to gather at his sanctuary and go around the baetyl in a ceremonial procession. The Prophet also retained this pre-Islamic rite to benefit his nation financially. What relationship can have this pagan ceremony with the true God? "

The faithful usually forget that the Prophet was the founder of the Arab Empire; it could not be built without structuring a really strong nation which could batter, blast and bewilder the powers of the time such as Iran and Byzantine. As other nations sought strength from their gods through crying, cringing and crawling, the Prophet wanted his people solicit and supplicate him for inspiration, might and victory. For this reason, he aspired to become an idol himself, the object of adoration and worship. Adroitly, he projected Allah as the God but became the driving force behind Him on the Indian principle, which holds that there is a deity behind every physical phenomenon. However, he could achieve this ambition by destroying other idols only. As long as they existed, his chances of becoming the object of worship were minimal. Since India was the home of idolatry, the Muslim warriors made this land the target of their ambitions.

Human culture is not based on uniformity but multiety. It is because man is endowed with free will. Without free choice, humans cease to be human. Therefore, Allah, if He is the real God, cannot order murder of those who do not believe in him. In the case of India, it is even more absurd because the Hindus had developed the concept of Prajapati, the Lord of Creatures; He was more monotheistic than the Arabian Allah whose divinity is shared by Prophet,"

his descendants and companions. His oneness is theoretical only. Therefore the Muslims had no quarrel with India on account of a Universal God. Their dispute centred around Muhammad who declared that faith, without believing in him along with Allah, was useless.

The true God is the champion of virtue, but the God, who sanctions murder, rape, arson,slavery to make people acknowledge Him, falls far short of the standard of righteousness. He is not only extremely selfish but also impotent; if He is the Almighty Creator, He could have surely created a believing and obedient man. Again, what kind of God is He whose own satisfaction depends upon man's acknowledgement? When man accepts Allah, the concept of Godhead is nothing but the gross contempt of Allah. The Muslims must realise that they do not adore Allah but deplore Him.

Finally religion is the search for peace of mind and moral perfection. Making innocent children orphans, and turning happily married women into widows, cannot be the command of God. Seeking suzerainty over other people for their freedom is no part of righteousness, but the religion that the Prophet Muhammad invented expressly sought dominance over non-believers. The Koran repeatedly says: "He (Allah) it is who hath sent His messenger with the guidance and the Religion of Truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all religions, however much the idolators may dislike" (Repentance: 33)

To establish a permanent excuse for fighting non-believers, the Prophet abrogated all other religions by declaring them as false (Sahih Muslim, CHAPTER. LXII) and then announced a permanent state of war against them until they were completely uprooted (Sahih Muslim no. 31, 32 and 33). The whole purpose of acquiring dominance trough carnage is that the Prophet should have the largest following. (Sahih Muslim no. 381)

This search for followers to satisfy the Prophetic urge of dominance brought the Muslims to India, the home of polytheism.

A serious search for the roots of polytheism not only leads to India but also to the Indian glory whose radiance has been tarnished by the dark clouds of history for a very long time, indeed. I am not trying to be a misguided patriot who treats fiction as a fact to mollify the painful national scars inflicted by the caprices of history, but a sober student of this subject who is satisfied with establishing the truth irrespective of its palatability.

The Hindu aversion to writing, especially the reluctance to keeping historical records, is the main cause of the Hindus lacking pride in their traditions; it has heavily contributed to the lowering of national aspirations and standards of honour. However, the truth cannot be held back infinitely. It is like the sunlight which eventually breaks through the barriers of a dark eclipse. Until some fifty years ayo, we were told that the Hindus had been so primitive in their ways' that they never left the Indian soil. Thank to the modern technical advancement which revealed that the Hindus held a political sway over the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo, Champa (Annam), Cambodia, Burma, Siam and Indo-China. The political hegemony of India over these lands extended for about a 1000 years, while her cultural influence over all the Far Eastern countries survives even today.

Yet, it is only a part of the Indian glory. This picture becomes more vivid when we study the European civilisation with reference to paganism. Then, one can see that once European countries were dominated by the vedic culture, which is a peculiarity of India and clearly shows that the Aryans were the people of Indian origin, and not the other way round, as we have been led to believe by historians. If this were not true, one could not find the Europeans observing Asvamedha i.e. the horse-sacrifice, closely associated with the Vedas. On a 5,000 years old Harappan seal, we find an ithyphallic figure (Shiva as Pasupati) on the interior of the cauldron, which is in the Danish National Museum, Copenhagen, and belongs to the 2nd century. Shiva, a Vedic god, would not have reached the Western lands without the Hindus themselves.

That the Europeans took their polytheistic faith from India is proved by the triadic principle of representing godhead as discussed earlier. Even today there are thirty images of a three-headed god extant on the European Continent. That is the mighty Shiva of India.

By comparing the Greek mythology with that of India, we realise that Zeus, the Chief god of Greece, is none other than Indra, the Chief god of India. There is abundant evidence which demonstrates that the Greco-Roman polytheism is firmly rooted in the Indian doctrine of idol worship. The Christian writers refer to it as paganism or heathenism.

As Islam challenged idolatory in India, Christianity, declared war on it in the West. However, the two tales have different endings.

Christianity succeed in smashing idolatry in the West, and whatever persists in the Roman Catholic Church is just a shadow of the original but it has survived in India despite persistent persecution at the hands of the foreign predators and has risen once again with a vigour, virility and vivacity unknown to any religious movement. On the contrary, Islam has ceased to have any relevance with the Koranic principles; it has become a slogan of the power seekers, and this fact is fully vouched for by the recent histories of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Why do these monotheistic religions i.e., Islam and Christianity seek destitution of idolatory? Firstly, both these religions are dictatorial in essence, They both claim that the government belongs to God and must be run by the theocrats i.e., the clergy and the Mullah. Idea of the Oneness of God is appealing and logical but presenting God as a power-maniac is the gross insult to Him. To start with, presentation of monotheism through the exclusive agency of a prophet is a big joke indeed. No matter what the prophet calls himself, he is an equal partner in Godhead right from the outset; for example, belief in Allah alone is totally useless unless Muhammad is also included in it. If God is absolute and Almighty, then believing in the Prophet is a glaring proof of Shirk or polytheism. Not only that, a prophet always bestows daintily on the members of his family, and thus creates a pantheon. Just look at the Sayyads of the Indian sub-continent who are believed to possess intercessory powers for their Muslim followers. What applies to the Muslims is equally true of the Christians. The Popes became infallible despite the fact that many of them were just mundane rulers, and had mistresses and illegitimate children. The Christ rose to become the Son of God, and many Christians believe that He was God- incarnate.

Why do these so-called monotheists

oppose

polytheism?

It is because monotheism serves the purpose of dominance-urge by concentrating power in one person. It is the representation of human jealousy for personal worship and glory. On the contrary, polytheism advocates belief in many gods, who happen to be equally sacred. This is the reason that the Vedic society calls for electing a king if he fails to govern according to the dharma, or leaves no issue to follow him.

More sins have been perpetrated to please God than to suppressing Devil. Destruction of the Hindu idols was partly an exercise of the Muslim invaders to satisfy their lust for power and wealth. This is what brought Mahmud Ghaznavi to India repeatedly. Though his raids were abominable, yet I am reluctant to praise my Hindu ancestors who defied the Vedic Principle of Power and became the devotees of Ahimsa, an utterly non-Hindu doctrine. I find it hard to bear this most painful disgrace but accept the fact that set is the destiny of a sparrow to be humbled by a falcon. One ought to know that Falcon, being a Vedic bird is a symbol of the Kshatriya qualities. The Hindus brought misery on themselves by acting as sparrows. The nation which loses its hawkish virtue is bound to be molested, mutilated and murdered by

the Messengers of perdition such as Mahmud Ghaznavi, Juna Khan and Feroz Shah Tughlaq.

The Christians acted likewise against polytheism in the West. They closed down pagan temples and confiscated their property. Constantine discouraged pagan sacrifices; Constaus went even further to forbid them on pain of death. Constantius ordered the closing of all pagan temples and rituals. Those who disobeyed perished at his command.

However, these Byzantinian Emperors were succeeded by Flavius Claudius Julianus who was born in 332. He was not only a competent

administrator and solider but also a philosopher. He ridiculed the basic tenets of monotheism and justified use of idols in worship. He thought of the deities of polytheism as impersonal forces and did not believe in their anthropomorphic forms. He preferred to be called the priest of polytheism instead of an emperor. He was able to reverse the tide of Christianity, at least during his reign, by withdrawing state subsidies from the Church and close to the Christians chairs of rhetoric, philosophy, and literature in the universities. He insisted that these subjects should be taught by the pagans only. He went even further: he permitted demolition of the Christian Churches, which had been built on the lands seized from the pagan shrines. He ordered reconstruction of the pagan temples and imposed levies on the Christians to make full reparations for the damage that had been caused to the pagan institutions during preceding reigns of the Christian emperors. His orders provoked riots but he stood firm, and succeeded.

What Hindus Should Do

Here is an example for the Hindus to follow. Polytheism represents the Hindu ethos. They shall not be able to live honourably without sticking to their basic way of life, especially when it harms nobody. Though I am not an idolater, I support the Human right to worship as one thinks fit.

Dominance urge is the biggest predator of human rights. It has another aspect; human psychology is polar, like physical objects, which have negative and positive sides. As humans are naturally kind and curt, sagacious and stupid, they are also dominant and submissive.

Thus, dominance and submissiveness are the opposite poles of human disposition. They both have their virtues, but when dominance has no purpose except enjoyment of power at the expense of people's honour, safety and freedom, then it becomes the worst evil that there can be. On the other hand, submission without fighting the dominance-seeker or aggressor is even greater vice because it makes the dominant or aggressor a lot more daring, devilish and destructive. A wolf without pugnacity is just a lamb -only

fit for the dining table. The nation which loses nerve to defend its honour, becomes a football to be played with by every Tom, Dick and Harry, By making Ahimsa i.e., non-violence the way of life. Hindus have made themselves a tempting target for any aggressor. This is not a religious virtue but a sign of profanity and a shameful exercise to enshrine a most despicable vice as a splended virtue. Gods do not want cowards for devotees; they bless the Vedic patriots who fight with a sense of honour.

Finally as a footnote to the above discussion, I may add that this thesis agitated my mind for a long time but I resisted the temptation of putting it on paper because I did not want to open up the old wounds. After reading works of some patriotic Hindu scholars, I realised my mistake; their cuts have not healed but become deeper Though it is painful, it is a sign of renaissance -a new life, because it is only the senseless who forget the humiliation of 1000 years; the lively seek rejuvenation through honourable conduct based on determination and the will to succeed.

Though my views are totally different, I salute the Indian' writers who have written on this subject. Among them was intellectual giant, Sri Ram Swarup, whose piety forbids him to pass judgement on the atrocious conduct of the

foreign iconoclasts. Sri Sita Ram Goel is another scholar whose patriotic protests echo through the flourish of his pen and desperately seek, the restoration of Hindu ascendancy Sri G.M. Jagtiani, the Maratha mystic, was Vedic preacher, whose writings are national glory. Sri A. Ghosh of Texas, is the Kshatriya stalwart who wonders what happened to the cutting edge of his ancestral sword. He will do anything to revive the martial character of his people.

What the Invaders Really Did ?

RIZWAN SALIM

On the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition (December 6, 1992), it is important for Hindus (and Muslims) to understand the importance of the event in the context of Hindustan's history, past and recent, present and the future.

Savages at a very low level of civilisation and no culture worth the name, from Arabia and west Asia, began entering India from the early eighth century onwards. Islamic invaders demolished countless Hindu temples, shattered uncountable sculptures

and

idols,

plundered innumerable palaces and forts of Hindu kings, killed vast numbers of Hindu men and carried off Hindu women. This story, the educated — and a lot of even the illiterate Indians — know very well. History books tell it in remarkable detail. But many Indians do not seem to recognise that the alien Muslim marauders destroyed the 2The Hindustan Times. New Delhi, (28 December 1997.)

historical evolution of the earth's most mentally advanced civilisation, the most richly imaginative culture, and the most vigorously creative society.

It is clear that India at the time when Muslim invaders turned towards it (8 to 11th century) was the earth's richest region for its wealth in precious and semi- precious stones, gold and silver; religion and culture; and its fine arts and letters. Tenth century Hindustan was also. too far advanced than its contemporaries in the East and the West for its achievements in the realms of speculative philosophy and scientific theorising, mathematics and knowledge of nature's workings. Hindus of the early medieval period

were unquestionably superior in more things than the Chinese, the Persians (including the Sassanians), the Romans and the Byzantines of the immediate preceding centuries. The followers of Siva and Vishnu on this subcontinent had created for themselves a society more mentally evolved — joyous and prosperous too — than had been realised by the Jews, Christians, and Muslim monotheists of the time. Medieval India, until the Islamic invaders destroyed it, was history's most richly imaginative culture and one of the five most advanced civilisations of all times.

Look at the Hindu art that Muslim iconoclasts severely damaged or destroyed. Ancient Hindu sculpture is vigorous and sensual in the highest degree — more fascinating than human figural art created anywhere else on earth. (Only statues created by classical Greek artists are in the same class as Hindu temple sculpture.)

Ancient Hindu temple architecture is the most awe-inspiring, ornate and spell-binding architectural style found anywhere in the world. (The Gothic art of cathedrals in France is the only other religious architecture that is comparable with the intricate architecture of Hindu temples.) No artists of any historical civilisation have ever revealed the same genius as ancient Hindustan's artists and artisans.

Their minds filled with venom against the idol-worshippers of Hindustan, the Muslims destroyed a large number of ancient Hindu temples. This is a historical fact, mentioned by Muslim chroniclers and others of the time. A number of temples were merely damaged and remained standing. But a large number — not hundreds but many thousands — of the ancient temples were broken into shreds of cracked stone. In the ancient cities of Varanasi and Mathura, Ujjain and Maheshwar, Jwalamukhi and Dwaraka, not one temple survives whole and intact from the ancient times.

The wrecking of Hindu temples went on from the early years of the 8th century to well past 1700 AD, a period of almost 1000 years. Every Muslim ruler in Delhi (or Governor of Provinces) spent most of his time warring against Hindu kings in the north and the south, the east and the west: and almost every Muslim Sultan and his army commanders indulged in large- scale destructions of Hindu temples and idols. They also slaughtered a lot of Hindus. It is easy to conclude that virtually every Hindu temple built in the ancient times is a perfect work of art.

The evidence of the ferocity with which the Muslim invaders must have struck at the sculptures of gods and goddesses, demons and apsaras, kings and queens, dancers and musicians, is frightful. At so many ancient temples of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, for example, shattered portions of stone images still lie scattered in the temple courtyards. Considering the fury used on the idols and sculptures, the stone-breaking axe must have been applied to thousands upon thousands of images of hypnotic beauty.

Giving proof of the resentment that men belonging to an inferior civilisation feel upon encountering a superior civilisation of individuals with a more refined culture, Islamic invaders from Arabia and western Asia broke and burned everything beautiful they came across in Hindustan. So morally degenerate were the Muslim Sultans that, rather than attract Hindu "infidels" to Islam through force of personal example and exhortation, they just built a number of mosques at the sites of torn down temples — and foolishly pretended they had triumphed over the minds and culture of the Hindus. I have seen stones and columns of Hindu temples incorporated into the architecture of several mosque,'

including the Jama Masjid and Ahmed Shah Masjid in Ahmedabad; the mosque in the Uparkot fort of Junagadh (Gujarat) and in Vidisha (near Bhopal); the Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra right next to the famous dargah in Ajmer and the currently controversial Bhojshala "mosque" in Dhar (near Indore).

Hindu culture was at its imaginative best and vigorously creative when the severely- allergic-to-images

Muslims entered Hindustan. Islamic invaders did not just destroy countless temples and constructions but also suppressed cultural and religious practices; damaged the pristine vigour of Hindu religion; prevented the intensification of Hindu culture, debilitating it permanently; stopped the development of Hindu arts; ended the creative impulse in all realms of thought and action; damaged the people's cultural pride, disrupted the transmission of values and wisdom, cultural practices and tradition from one generation to the next; destroyed the proper historical evolution of Hindu kingdoms and society; affected severely the acquisition of knowledge, research and reflection and violated the

moral basis of Hindu society. The Hindus suffered immense psychic damage.

The Muslims also plundered the wealth of the Hindu kingdoms, impoverished the Hindu populace, and destroyed the prosperity of Hindustan.

Gaze in wonder at the Kailas Mandir in the Ellora cave and remember that it is carved out of a solid stone hill, an effort that (inscriptions say) took nearly 200 years. This is art as devotion. The temple built by the Rashtrakuta kings (who also built the colossal sculpture in the Elephanta caves off Mumbai harbour) gives proof of the ancient Hindus' religious fervour. But the Kailas temple also indicated a will power, a creative imagination, and an intellect eager to take on the greatest of artistic challenges.

The descendents of those who built the magnificent temples of Bhojpur and Thanjavur, Konark and Kailas, invented mathematics and urban surgery, created mind-body disciplines (yoga) of astonishing power, and built mighty empires would almost certainly have attained technological superiority over Europe.

It is not just for "political reasons" that Hindus want to build grand temples at the sites of the (wrecked) Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, and the Mathura idgah. The efforts of religion-intoxicated and politically active Hindus to rebuild the Ram Mandir, the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir, and the Krishna Mandir are just three episodes in a one-thousand year long Hindu struggle to reclaim their culture and religion from alien invaders.

The demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, on 6 December 1992, was just one episode in the millennial struggle of the Hindus to repossess their religion- centred culture and nation. Meanwhile, hundreds of ancient Hindu temples forsaken all over Hindustan await the reawakening of Hindu cultural pride to be repaired or rebuilt and restored to their original, ancient glory.