Indian Muslims: Who Are They c5.s3: Proselytizing Activity of the Government
Indian Muslims: Who Are They c5.s3
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Proselytizing Activity of the Government
c5.s3.1
It was not during expeditions and wars alone that conversions were effected. For increasing the number of their co-religionists, Muslim rulers made free use of the governmental machinery in peace time. This was done not only by the sultans of Delhi, but by all Muslim rulers - of Bengal, Kashmir, the Deccan - wherever Muslim rule was established. Another step was the building and maintenance of mosques, Khanqahs and Sarais from government funds. The buildings were often constructed on the sites of Hindu shrines and from materials obtained by demolishing them. These mosques, besides being houses of worship and centres of Islamic learning, often provided asylum to the needy and the indigent, who could be potential converts. Sometimes conquests were undertaken with a missionary motive.⁴⁹ Some rulers like Sikandar Butshikan of Kashmir (1394-1417) just compelled their subjects to embrace Islam.⁵⁰
c5.s3.2
An important and effective means of obtaining converts was economic temptation or pressure. Ibn Battuta writes that Sultan Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah Khalji (1316-1320) used to encourage Hindus to accept Islam by presenting a convert with a robe of honour and a gold ornament.⁵¹ In Bengal the landlords and Rajas who could not deposit land revenue by a certain date had to convert to Muhammadanism.⁵² Under Frioz Tughlaq (1351-88) the state openly became an agency of conversion. Shams Siraj Afif says that he ordered his Amils to convert Hindus to Islam.⁵³ Firoz Tughlaq himself writes that he rescinded the Jiziyah to lure people to become Muhammadans, and this measure brought him groups of converts day by day from every quarter.⁵⁴ And so were Indian Muslims made.
c5.s3.3
Contemporary sources do not supply any figures of the converted in this way. But the number of converts was perhaps not small. Ibn Battutas assertion that Qutbuddin Mubarak Shahs system of proselytization provided a convenient handle to his enemies to murder him by introducing into the palace a large number of Hindus declaring them to be possible converts, shows that Qutbuddin was accustomed to converting large numbers.⁵⁵