Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India, A.D. 1000–1800 c21.9

c21.9

Hand in hand with the proselytizing efforts of the rulers was the work of Sufis and Maulvis. From the time of Muhammad bin Tughlaq to that of Akbar, Bengal had attracted rebels, refugees, Sufi Mashaikh, disgruntled nobles and adventurers from northern India. The militant type of Mashaikh found in Bengal a soil fertile for conversion, and worked hard to raise Muslim numbers. Professor K.R. Qanungo has noted that the conversion of Bengal was mainly the work of Barah-Auliyas.⁵ Professor Abdul Karim has also referred to militant Sufi proselytization.⁶ But Dr. I. H. Qureshi is the most explicit in this regard. He writes: "The fourteenth century was a period of expansion of Muslim authority in Bengal and the adjoining territories. A significant part was played in this process by the warrior saints who were eager to take up the cause of any persecuted community. This often resulted (in clash) with the native authority, followed, almost invariably, by annexation...⁷ This also shows how elastic were the methods adopted by the Sufis. They acted mostly as peaceful missionaries, but if they saw that the espousal of some just cause required military action, they were not averse to fighting. The Sufis...did not adopt the Ismaili technique of gradual conversion...They established their *khanqahs* and shrines at places which had already had a reputation for sanctity before Islam. Thus some of the traditional gatherings were transformed into new festivals. As a result of these efforts, Bengal in course of time became a Muslim land"...⁸