Re: Holi's Muslim history
really? if all they wanted was power and wealth, they had acquired both on conquest. Why then go around destroying temples and building mosques in the very spots, if not to super impose islam?
sure they allied with Hindu kingdoms - marriage of convenience is as old as tyranny
And the last part about 'good graces' of muslim administrations to enjoy patronage - isn't that just another form of coercion? if you conver you get this job, otherwise someone else gets it..
There's nothing Hindu or fundamentalist in what I am saying. Simply, the facts and I know they are ugly for muslims to accept but facts are facts
You can not classify a few hundred years of Muslim rule to be monolithic. Temple destruction was hardly a Muslim invader policy. Did it happen? Sure. Just like many Hindu rulers flattened newly constructed Mosques during the same period. Islamic history does have a period of time where conquests were done based on religion. However India (or Spain) should not be included in that category.
The patronage argument does not qualify as outright coercion, but what did you expect during those times: A Western European liberal democracy, at a time when the West itself was struggling with government? What can I say, if an hindu (or a person of any faith) converts for a job? Weak faith to begin with?
I am not here to deny that Muslim invasion of India was bloodless nor the fact that the Hindus were persecuted at times - however that argument of Islam being spread by the sword is false. I said Hindu fundamentalist because that precisely what they believe. You can try to force a person to change his faith, he may do visibly, but he will always be a crypto-Hindu. I can give you countless examples of Muslims in USSR, present day China, or in the Carribean, where they have held on to their faith despite the odds so there is no reason for the 'coerced' new Muslims to do the same - pass down the hindu faith to their children. However as history will show you, this did not happen. People largely accepted Islam for the reasons I mentioned previously.
To convert India to Islam by force is numerically impossible. In fact, even occupying India would have impossible had the Brits not had collaborators. India is in some ways like China - large and diverse in population.