The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c22.36

v3.c22.36

Sikandar had an opportunity while at Sambhal of displaying the bigotry which was a prominent feature of his character. A Brāhman of Bengal excited some interest and, among precisians, much indignation, by publicly maintaining that the Muhammadan and Hindu religions were both true, and were but different paths by which God might be approached. A‘zam-i-Humāyūn, governor of Bihār, was directed to send the daring preacher and two rival doctors of the Islamic law to court, and theologians were summoned from various parts of the kingdom to consider whether it was permissible to preach peace. They decided that since the Brāhman had admitted the truth of Islam he should be invited to embrace it, with the alternative of death in the event of refusal. The decision commended itself to Sikandar and the penalty was exacted from the Brāhman, who refused to change his faith.