Islam in India. - Research Paper Example

Inserts His/her Inserts Inserts Grade Inserts Here (Day, Month, Year) ISLAM IN INDIAIslam in India is the second largest religion which is being practiced there. Moreover India has become the third largest country of the world where Islam is being practiced. The Muslim minority has become the largest minority of the world. Islam came in south-Asia long time before Muslims invaded India. Arabs were the first who were responsible to spread Islam in south- Asia. The first mosque which was built in India was built by Malik Bin Deenar in Kodungallurin in 612 C.E. during the time of Prophet Muhammad. Mappilas were the first community which converted to Islam. The role of sufis was of great importance in the spread of Islam in India. Sufism played an important role which greatly helped the Hindus to understand the Muslim faith.Hazrat khwaja muin-ud-din Chisti, nizam ud-din Auliya, Amir Khusro and many others trained the other sufis to propagate Islam in various parts of India. Islam is a religion which has the quality to co-exist with other religions.The muslim poets, writers, played a very important role to help india to fight against the British.Not only Muslim men but a lot of muslim women contributed against the struggle of freedom from the british.some of them include Bi Amma,Asghari Begum, Hazrat Mahal etc.The muslims came to india in 711c.e.The Muslims established their capital at dehli by the 11th century.Many of the Mughal emperors were fanatic such as the Aurangzeb , during his reign the minorities suffered a lot because he forcibly destroyed the religious places of worship of other communities and built mosques on them but Akbar was liberal and this can be seen from the monuments which he has built .They represent different religions . The process of conversion to islam began in the 8th century which included hindus who belonged to lower class.Some of the british visitors were given permission by Akbar to stay in the eastern part of india but they misused their power and collabarated with the rajas and nawabs to fight against the mughals and muslim rulers and after fighting for almost two centuries, at last the british succeded and the mughal empire came to an end in 1857. The first War of independence was established in 1857 and in 1858 the Indian act was transferred to the British. Indian National Congress was established in 1885 to strengthen relations with the british.In 1905 partition of Bengal gave the Muslims a majority state. In the following year 1906, Muslim league was established.The downfall of the Mughal Empire greatly affected the muslims.Their laziness led to the downfall of Muslims in the sub-continent. Although Quaid-e-Azam was the embassador of hindu-muslim unity, he wanted to bring the Hindus and muslims closer but due to religious differences it became impossible. Both the nations thought that the other nation is harmful to them due to which the British took advantage and there existed more chaos and confusion among the two nations. On this basis the Muslims decided that for the protection of their culture, tradition, religion it is necessary to demand a separate homeland for themselves. A place where they could practice their religion without any fear.For this purose All-india muslim league was establihed so that the demands of the muslims of sub-continent could be properly addressed.Allama iqbal presented the concept of a separate homeland.Sir Syed Ahmed Khan played an imporatnt role in re-awakening the muslims of the un-divided india. He wanted the muslims to get educated so that they would not be lefet behind as the hindus were extremely qualified.The muslims refused to learn english and the hindus knew english and therefore were given favourable positions in government. He wanted the muslims to realize that education has a lot of importance.For this purpose he established M.A.O (Mohammad Anlo Oriental college). The congress made a lot of mistakes which convinced the Muslims that they cannot live together. They forced the Muslim students to recite the anthem known an “Bande Matram”. In 1940, The Lahore Resolution was passed demanding a separate homeland for the muslims of the un-divided india.All these reasons led to the creation of a new separate homeland known as Pakistan and As the concept of the muslim faith is Oneness of God so it was against their religion to bow before idols or statues.Another reason for the partition was that the hindus banned the slaughtering of cows, sheep for the muslims.They also wanted to replace the official scrit form fromPersian to Hindu Devanagri script. They wanted to make hindi the national language as against Urdu. Like the other muslim world muslims of india are divided into to sects Shia and Sunni.The diferent communities which converted have different community names for instance, Bohra and Khoja are two muslim communities in the west of India.Kerala, which is in south India icludes Mophilla community who are the descendants of arab merchants. Another community is known as the Pathans who are well known.They came from Afghanistan. Pathans are known for being strong and righteous. Muslims in India are given their due rights.The Shariat Act 1937, is followed and applied. Usually the law of the Sunni community is used by the court of law. However, certain amendments or changes are made for the Shia community as the practices of the Shia’s and the Sunni’s are different. In India, everybody is given their due rights irrespective of the religion that they belong to. When Islam spread in the East and upto Hindustan, the muslims came across a community they have never come across before. This was the Hindu community. There were vast differences of beliefs between the two religions. Hinduism was a polytheist religion whereas Islam preached Oneness of God. When the two beliefs had to co-exist, hindus who initially used to find God in stones were now expected to believe in One God who was invisible; hindus who believed in the concept of Rebirth were now expected to believe in the Day of Judgement and Life After Death; hindus who practiced the caste system were now expected to believe that all human beings are equal in the eyes of the Almighty. After the emergence of Islam in India many people converted and came into the fold of Islam. The Sufis who went to india not only preached the religion of Islam but also caried out business with the Hindus. Hence, there was interaction between the two communities long before Islam spread its roots far and wide in India. Moin-ulDin Chishti, who was a famous Sufi, was buried in Ajmer in India and every year his death anniversary is celebrated at his shrine. When we look at India today, we can see that people following different religions and cultures live together peacefully. About 13.4% of the people in India are Muslims. Facts show that from the year 1975 to the year 2000 about 25 million Muslims in India came under the category of the middle class. This shows that majority of the Muslims are in a stable financial condition. As Muslims are the biggest minority in India, Islam is the largest minority religion. There are a number of Muslim universities and institutions that have been established in India. These include, Aligarh Muslim University (including Deccan College of Engineering, Deccan School of Hospital Management and the Deccan College of Medical Sciences), Jamia Millia Islamia, the Hamdard University, Maulana Azad Education Society Aurangabad, Crescent Engineering College and the Al-Kabir educational society. There are certain universities that are Islamic in nature. These are, Raza Academy, Daarul-uloom Nadwatul Ulema, Daarul-uloom Deoband, Aazamgar and the Islamic institute which is India’s largest non-profit institution- the Sunni Markaz Kerala. With the emergence of Islamic rule in India the art and architecture changed to a great extent. Instead of natural forms the architects started using shapes and geometrical figures, they also included calligraphy and used colorful tiles and marbles for building purpose. The first mosque built in India called the Qooat-ul-Islam Masjid which is a reflection of the Muslim architecture. Other prominent structures include, Agra’s Taj Mahal built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the remembrance of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. There is the tomd of the Mughal emperor Humayun in Delhi. Gol Gumbad in Bijapoor is another site which shows Muslim culture and architecture. Its dome is the second largest in the world. The Qutub Minar in Delhi is among the cultural heritages sits of UNESCO. The establishment of these renowned structures required the help and skill of the indian craftsmen who were expert in stonework. The Islamic architecture consists of mosques or tombs and forts built for security and defence. Majority of the tombs have Quranic verses engraved on their walls, ceilings and dombs. The Indian Muslims have every right to go to their place of worship that is their Mosques. They have complete independence to celebrate their festivals just like the Hindus celebrate their festivals. Among the Muslim festivals, Eid-ul-Azha and Eid-ul-Fitr are the most important. These are celebrated with complete freedom. The beliefs, culture and traditions of the Muslims are respected by all the other existing communities. Muslims in india are engaged in all professions and occupations. We see many Muslim film actors who are famous all over the world. Prominent names are Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, A.R.Rehman, and Salman Khan. Famous lyricists are Javed Akhtar, Gulzar sahab etc. Muslims are part of every field. They are also part of the political structure of the country and take active part in politics. Altough the impact of islam has changed after the 9/11 incident almost everywhere in the world.Due to which the muslims not only in india but also in foreign countries have been facing a lot of problems but it does not mean that all the muslims should be looked down upon. Islam is a religion of peace and it promotes harmony in the world. All the chaos and confusion created by these militants potraying a very negative imact of the muslims but with time eveything is coming back to normal.There were a lot of differences between hindus and muslims in india but now not only muslims but people of other religions such as Christianity, Jainism and many more are living together with peace and happiness.The impact of islam has brought about a new change in india. Muslims in India are contributing a lot in almost all the fields. Their role is of great importance in the development of the country.Now with time the muslims and hindus are trying to sort out their differences and there seems to be a change in relations .The problem of kashmir is also an issue between the the hindus and muslims but both the communities are making strong efforts to establish cordial relations. References "Islam in India." New World Encyclopedia. 6 July 2011 . Rabbani, I. Pakistan Studies for Secondary School Certificate Syllabus. Karachi: Aga Khan University- Examination Board, 2004. Ahmed, S.Q, F.H Khokhar and M.R. Dhanani. Pakistan Studies for Class IX-X for Sindh Textbook Board Jamshoro. Karachi: Azam Sons, 2010. Read More